What’s Behind MillerCoors’ Craft Beer Bender?
MillerCoors announced this past week that it has gained a majority stake in yet another craft beer brewery, Revolver Brewing. This Texas based brewery is best known for their Blood and Honey ale, a wheat ale with honey and orange zest. This makes it three in the last couple weeks after they bought majority interests in both Terrapin Beer Co. and Hop Valley Brewing Co. at the end of July. That’s a lot of brewery buying in a short amount of time.
Let’s take a look at what is currently happening with MillerCoors. Everyone has been talking about the upcoming merger between the two beer behemoths, AB InBev and SABMiller. SABMiller is part owner of MillerCoors in a joint venture with Molson Coors. In order for U.S. anti-trust regulators to approve the merger, SABMiller is required to divest their interest in MillerCoors which will then become fully owned by Molson Coors.
But Why Now?
With all of these changes on the horizon, why is MillerCoors choosing now to go on a craft brewery buying spree? The company which MillerCoors invests in craft beer under is their Tenth & Blake brand. This high end division owns other craft breweries like Leinenkugel, Blue Moon, Saint Archer and the most recent three breweries already mentioned here.
Craft beer insiders can lament all they want about another independent, craft brewery biting the dust, but it doesn’t look like MillerCoors is going to stop anytime soon. It seems as though they are following in the footsteps of AB InBev. Budweiser’s parent company has greatly expanded their craft beer portfolio over the last couple of years in a “if you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em” strategy.
Maybe MillerCoors is making its move to compete with AB InBev in the craft beer world. Once they are owned fully by Molson Coors, the new company will in effect be the biggest competition to the yet-to-be-renamed AB InBev/SABMiller company. Maybe they are gearing up for that competition. On the other hand, maybe they are just seeing same benefits that AB InBev saw in buying up craft breweries. MillerCoors doesn’t get the same hate as AB InBev does because they haven’t been caught with their pants down in the same way. AB InBev gets shade for things like anti-competitive practices in the beer community or making fun of craft beer in Super Bowl commercials at the same time they are buying into craft beer. But are they really that different?
Only time will tell, but our guess is that MillerCoors will continue on this craft beer buying bender. AB InBev bought interests in 15 craft breweries over the last few years and MillerCoors could follow in those footsteps.
What do you think is behind MillerCoors craft beer buying spree?
Anna Brigham
8/17/16