World's Largest Cannabis Co. Buys Into Beer, and Dr Pepper Does Too. Other beer news

Just Tapped

Everyone wants a piece of the action. Today, I share stories about a couple of not-beer companies that made heavy investments in beer companies.

An International Cannabis Company Acquires a Craft Brewery

Roadhouse Brewing recently signed a purchase agreement to acquire Melvin Brewing and its operations. This means that Wyoming’s two largest craft breweries are now one. Both breweries are based in the town of Jackson. The deal was announced late last week.

In 2021, Melvin Brewing produced an estimated 23,500 barrels according to the Brewers Association. Roadhouse Brewing’s volume was estimated at about 11,000 barrels. Colby Cox, Roadhouse Brewing co-founder, told Brewbound that the deal is in place and he expects it to close within the next few weeks. He added that following the merger, the two companies will exist as two distinct brands.

So why do you recognize the name Melvin and how did Melvin Brewing get here? In 2014 and 2015, Melvin won the coveted Alpha King award, which acknowledges greatness in brewing exceptionally hoppy beers. Then, in 2017 Melvin became one of the most talked about breweries in the nation.

At that year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, the brewery attracted a lot of attention inside and outside the festival. A Melvin-branded van towed a brass band on a trailer around town, for instance. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Also in 2017, at Melvin’s location in Bellingham, Washington one of the brewery’s co-founders, Kirk McHale, was accused of groping a server at a nearby brewery. In 2018, the incident came to light. Melvin Brewing eventually confronted it publicly. The story is chronicled here. Melvin Brewing’s Bellingham location closed in 2019.

In June of 2022, Melvin enlisted the services of GLC Advisors and Ethan Stienstra, a beverage brand portfolio and marketing strategist, to assist in its search for a partner or potential buyer. At this year’s Great American Beer Festival, Melvin and Roadhouse were set up right next to each other. Admittedly, they were teasing the crowd with the hint of an impending merger.

Dr Pepper Buys Into the Non-Alcoholic Beer Biz

On Wednesday, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP) announced that it acquired a $50 million stake in Athletic Brewing, a leading producer of N/A craft beer. According to NielsenIQ, the non-alcoholic beer category grew 31.7 percent from 2020 to 2021, but if those kinds of numbers don't convince you that N/A beer is a big deal, maybe this will. KDP is a leading beverage company in North America, with annual revenue approaching $13 billion and approximately 27,000 employees. If KDP is buying into the N/A beer thing, then the N/A beer thing is definitely a thing.

Within the overall N/A beer segment, Athletic is the undisputed champion when it comes to N/A craft beer, holding a reported 55 percent market share. Today's announcement noted that KDP's $50 million equity stake in Athletic Brewing is similar to investments made by other big-money companies with less-recognizable names. For example, TRB Advisors and Alliance Consumer Growth invested $50 million in Athletic Brewing back in July 2021, primarily to fund the building of an East Coast brewery.

Athletic Brewing was founded in 2017 by Bill Shufelt and John Walker and is a top-20 U.S. craft brewer, according to Nielsen. In 2022, Athletic Brewing was ranked as the 26th fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine and was also named to the Time Magazine list of the "100 Most Influential Companies."

"We're thrilled to welcome Keurig Dr Pepper as an investor and strategic partner," said Bill Shufelt, co-founder of Athletic Brewing. "Their team brings a tremendous amount of expertise and truly embraces our mission of brewing great-tasting non-alcoholic beers that are fit for all times. This investment will enable Athletic Brewing to further accelerate our growth across North America."

Around the Web

• Researchers discover something in hops that offers hope for Alzheimer's researchers. In particular, a compound that is especially prevalent in one particular hop variety.

• AB InBev and Constellation Brands are battling it out in court. The fight is over the meaning of the word beer. No kidding.

• Brewery owners, get your ducks in a row. The TTB is poised to take a more enforcement-focused approach to permitting. Here's what you should know.

Beer Bric-a-Brac

They always assume it's beer's fault, but there ain't no law when you're drinkin' the 'claw. At the recent World Series victory parade in Houston, Senator Ted Cruz was assaulted by the crowd. Not just jeered and booed, but according to widespread reports, he was hit by a can of beer tossed by one of the paradegoers. Problem is, it wasn't a can of beer. Following the incident, Senator Cruz said he was "... thankful that the clown who threw his White Claw had a noodle for an arm." Misrepresenting it as a can of beer was not the only factual error relayed by most media outlets. The man actually hurled two cans of White Claw at the Senator. The noodle-armed perpetrator was arrested and charged.

Geek Speak

Malt Beer, Malzbier - If you ever come across malt beer, or malzbier, understand that it is vastly different than malt liquor. It's a German thing and it is oddly popular in Iceland. Unlike malt liquor, malzbier has no alcohol or very little alcohol. By definition, less than 2.5 percent ABV. Maltzbier is made by brewing a low-hopped beer and cooling it before any yeast is added (if any yeast is added at all). The sticky-sweet beverage is then filtered and carbonated. Some say it is similar to root beer. Learn more about malzbier here.  

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This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones. Have news you'd like to share with us? Reply to this email or reach out to [email protected].