Once again BrewDog says, "Hold my beer and watch this..."

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This week's top story spawns a flurry of aphorisms. If you can't beat them, join them. Actions speak louder than words. The early bird gets the worm. Since time is of the essence, let's get to it. First, I'll quickly remind you that we'd appreciate it if you referred friends and colleagues to subscribe. Grab your unique referral link below and share it however you like.

BrewDog gets a leg up, so to speak

On Monday, BrewDog Brewing announced a joint venture with AB-InBev’s Chinese subsidiary, Budweiser China. The Scotland-based company will now brew its flagship Punk IPA and other beers at Budweiser China's facility in the Fujian Province for distribution across the country. The deal gives BrewDog a leg up on the competition in China’s rapidly growing and already enormous craft beer marketplace. China is the world's largest beer market and consumer trends are swinging in craft beer's direction with the rise of the Chinese middle class.

The official announcement from the company, which mentioned similar partnerships with the likes of Molson Coors and Heineken, included a moment of self-awareness: "Not everyone will agree with our strategy here but it’s helped us to become the world’s leading independent beer brand." The statement also noted, "We’ve always wanted to go for growth in China - now we can do it from a position of strength, while remaining fiercely independent."

A headline-making machine that also brews beer, BrewDog's first big splash happened in 2009 when the then-young company launched Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which it dubbed the world’s strongest beer. That got people talking and the company has provided plenty of reasons for the chatter to persist over the years --- a continuum of headlines, ambitious expansion plans, enormous crowdfunding campaigns, controversies, faux pas, and eye-catching antics. Recently, as the company positions itself for an initial public offering (IPO), it’s been hard to keep up.

We all know the old saying, no publicity is bad publicity. There are limits, of course. We are curious to know what the crowd thinks. For the moment, BrewDog is a privately held company, but does anyone still think of it as a "fiercely independent" craft brewery? Leave some feedback or shoot us an email. We read it all.

There's a lesson here. Not every brewery, taproom, or bar aims to become “a global beer business,” but even if you’re ambitions are far less grandiose, it doesn’t hurt to give people something to talk about every now and again. Within reason, of course. We’d recommend avoiding controversies, lawsuits, and alliances with the evil empire.

Around the Web

• Racer 5 pulling into a new garage - It's a very friendly acquisition/takeover. The owners of Bear Republic Brewing and Drake's Brewing have been friends, and even business partners, for many years. Now the two legendary California breweries will merge as one when Drake's acquires Bear Republic. Fans of Racer 5 IPA need not worry; following the merger, Drake's will continue to make Bear Republic's iconic IPA. (Story at Good Beer Hunting.)

• Anheuser-Bush shut down Platform Beer Co. - Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired the Cleveland-based brewery in 2019. They recently shuttered the brewery and laid off employees but will continue to produce three of Platform Beer Co's beers, all of which are IPAs. Platform is the smallest brewery in the A-B Brewers Collective, its pool of once-craft brands (Goose Island, Elysian, Golden Road, etc). Is this contraction a harbinger of things to come at those other breweries? Stay tuned. (Story at Craft Brewing Business.)

• When Bill Gates buys a beer... - The tech billionaire just bought a $902 million stake in Heineken Holdings (3.8% of the company). Gates is not a beer drinker. He's also heavily invested in Caterpillar, Inc. and Canadian National Railway but does not drive bulldozers or trains. (Story at Bloomberg.)

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This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones.

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