Nice for the Hall family but I doubt AB is not going to be making changes…
Goose Island selling to Anheuser-Busch
Big shake up on the local beer scene: Goose Island Beer Co., responsible for the delicious (Bourbon Country Brand Stout) and the hugely popular (312 wheat ale) is being bought out by Anheuser-Busch.
The makers of Budweiser will pay a total of $38.8 million for the brewery on Fulton Street that sends its beers across the globe. Though jarring in an industry that prides itself on independence and creativity, the move isn’t completely unexpected. Anheuser-Busch has held a minority stake in the company since 2006, and been playing a role in distribution of the company’s beer.
Brewmaster Greg Hall, whose father John Hall started the brewery in 1988, will be stepping down and replaced by (the appropriately named) head brewer Brett Porter. Porter was previous head brewer of well-respected Oregon brewery Deschutes Brewery before coming to Goose last year.
I’m told Greg will announce his future plans in the next few weeks.
Goose’s two brew pubs in the city, on Clark Street and Clybourn Avenue, are not involved in the deal and will continue to be owned by John Hall and a group of partners.
I just got off the phone with John Hall, who is remaining as the company’s chief executive officer. He said Goose’s commitment to interesting and creative beer, like the recently released Pepe Nero (a black saison) or the upcoming Big John (a stout aged with cocoa nibs) will not change.
“They didn’t buy us to change what we’re doing,” he said.
If AB was going to water down the product, “I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have worked 23 years to build what I have to (throw) it away in five minutes.”
Hall also issued a letter to Goose fans this morning on the company’s web site, touting the ability for “growth and innovation” as a result of the deal.
The Stew and the Tribune’s business section will be updating the story throughout the day.
What is the relationship of A-B with Redhook? I believe that A-B distributes beer for Redhook, but is there more to it than that?
I still find it mind-boggling that A-B beer is routinely transported in refrigerated vehicles, but no one seems to be able to get it together for wines of much higher value.
This is to bad. These deals never work well long term for a small company. Goose Island will now have to deal with a corporate bureaucracy in order to get the capital they need.
This had been strongly hinted at for a few months now by our local A-B guys. Apparently their core beers are already approved in Virginia and due sometime in the next month, and some of the specialty bottlings will be along shortly; I’m more excited about this than New belgium coming to VA, as we are likely to not see any of their specialty releases for some time.
As long as the beers aren’t contracted out to other facilities (a la Redhook) it won’t effect the beers that much. Plus the brewpubs in Chicago will not change, so it isn’t like the entire brand is being consumed in the deal
My understanding is that they are contracting some of the Honker’s production to a facility in the Northeast (best that I recall - I can’t remember the location) to meet their expansion demand
I’m going to say this is incentive for me to load up on Sofie & Night Stalker while the gettin’ is good.
Farming out the base brews–312, Honker’s, etc.–seems like it would be fine. Even the seasonals could make sense. But if the specialty brews end up being made elsewhere…I’ll have concern.
I don’t personally think A-B will try to “make” GI themselves, but my biggest concern will be the financial statements. "Hmmmm…that Bourbon County sure costs a lot to make…can’t you use a cheaper (fill in the blank) instead? “Do you really need to age it that long?” “What if we just use wood chips instead of barrels?”