Heineken's set to invest a 50
percent stake in one of the best craft breweries in the U.S. The value? How about approximately a cool $1 billion?
Whaddup!
While many of us beer lovers grumble at any mention of a
craft brewery joining forces with anything associated with the words “being
bought,” “selling stake,” etc., I am not really mad at this news: Heineken is set to invest a 50 percent
stake in Lagunitas.
Now I am a huge fan of the Petaluma, California-based Lagunitas
Brewing, a microbrewery that has become a giant in its own right thanks to
their delicious, often aggressively hopped concoctions, risqué marketing
campaigns and fearless founder Tony Magee's candor. Assuming nothing changes with what
made them one of the most exciting brewing companies in the nation, I see
Lagunitas’ teaming with Heineken a great benefit when it comes to pacifying my
hop fix across outside of the U.S.’ borders. According to the official press
release posted on Lagunitas’ website here,
I let out a big sigh when I read, “Tony Magee, founder of Lagunitas, will
remain at the helm, with the same leadership and staff, same brewers, same
recipes and same suppliers and distributors helping to drive the brand forward.”
In other words, it sounds like their liquid gold won’t be watered down, skunked out and abused due to the global
stretch. How they plan on keeping the hops gangster still remains a mystery but I am all ears.
And how much money are we talking with this deal? I have read from various
sources that this puppy is valued at approximately a whopping $1 billion.
Dizzzaaaamn!
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| Tony Magee Facebook/Lagunitas Brewing |
So what are the advantages for Heineken and Lagunitas
making the merger? The media release says, “Heineken provides Lagunitas with a global
opportunity to present its beers to new consumers and Lagunitas provides
Heineken with the opportunity to build a strong foothold in the dynamic Craft
Brewing category on a global scale, with the category growing in popularity
almost everywhere now.”
Magee explains, “This venture will create a way for
Lagunitas to help Heineken's global distribution network participate in the
growing craft beer category in places from Tierra Del Fuego and Mongolia to the
far-flung Isle of Langerhans." He continues, “Lagunitas will share in the
best quality processes in the world and enjoy an open door to opportunities
that took lifetimes to build. This alliance with the world's most international
brewer represents a profound victory for American craft. It will open doors
that had previously been shut and bring the U.S. craft beer vibe to communities
all over the world." He also provides a genuine, heartfelt breakdown with
no apologetic feel (as Magee always does) in a blog post he put up this morning
here. One significant quote from his Tumblr statement says:
‘This is not the end of anything at all at Lagunitas,
except maybe it is the end of the beginning, meaning that we are now standing
at the threshold of an historic opportunity to export the excitement and vibe
of American-born Craft Brewing and meet beer-lovers all over the Planet Earth,
our true homeland. This could one day even be seen as a crucial victory for
American Craft Brewing.’
- Tony Magee, Founder of Lagunitas
On the Heineken
side, CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer chimes in, "We are very
excited to partner with Lagunitas. We recognize and respect the tremendous
success of Tony and his team in building one of the great American Craft Beer
brands. We look forward to that same team partnering with us to expand
Lagunitas globally, so it can reach parts that other craft beer brands have
not."
After my creative agency AllWays Open worked with Heineken (especially John Romano) on the awesome “Dedication Two” mural by incredible
artist Hebru Brantley in Atlanta
(see the documentary here), coupled with my recent trip to their original headquarters in Amsterdam blogged here, I learned a lot more about the brew with the red star and garnered more respect for their brand.
While hate will surface from those who want American microbreweries
to be solely, well, American, only
time will tell how this merger will really work for all of us. In the meantime,
I will be more than happy ordering a Lagunitas in countries I usually couldn’t. And hell, I see cans coming for easier shipping and better hop preservation in the future, too.
Stay tuned for more beer news soon. The response is going to be an interesting one so grab your popcorn!
Peace,
Ale
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