• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers

Constellation sells Funky Buddha and Four Corners back to original owners, says see ya to craft sector

May 31, 2023Keith Gribbins

Funky Buddha 1

It appears Constellation has had enough of the craft beer sector. It’s not difficult to see why. The company bought Ballast Point Brewing in 2016 for $1 billion at the incredible height of the craft brewery acquisition craze. Constellation borrowed $400 million to make that transaction happen. Only a few years later in 2019, Constellation sold the Ballast Point brand to Illinois-based Kings and Convicts Brewing Co. for supposedly something like $40+ million.

In 2023, Constellation is now shedding the rest of its craft beer brands — Florida’s Funky Buddha Brewery and Texas’ Four Corners Brewing Co. — and saying see ya to the craft sector. When it comes to beer, Constellation is a fan of Mexican imports like Modelo and Corona (and why not?!?) and I guess collaboration beers with Luke Bryan (Two Lane).

News just dropped that the founders of Funky Buddha Brewery — Ryan and KC Sentz — are reacquiring their Oakland Park, Florida.-based business from Constellation Brands. Its flagship beer portfolio, including Floridian and Hop Gun, will remain available for distribution. From the press release:

“Beverage innovation has always been our biggest strength, and Ryan and his team have some incredible ideas in the pipeline,” said KC Sentz, Owner and Co-Founder of Funky Buddha Brewery. “As we approach our 10th anniversary, it seems like the perfect time for our business to evolve and reignite the community’s passion for craft beverages.”

Funky Buddha was founded in 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, by husband and wife Ryan and Giani Sentz. As the demand for Funky Buddha’s beers grew, Ryan and Giani invited Ryan’s brother KC Sentz, and his wife Melissa Sentz, to join the business. In 2013, the Sentz family started Funky Buddha Brewery, located in the heart of Oakland Park’s burgeoning Culinary Arts District. The brand was acquired by Constellation Brands in 2017 where it went through a rebranding.

“We enjoyed working with Constellation and we learned a lot from them. As we embark on the next chapter, we plan to push boundaries and create entirely new drinking experiences in beer and beyond,” added Ryan Sentz, Owner and Co-Founder. “We’ll be serving good vibes on tap for many years to come.”

The reacquisition of Funky Buddha Brewery by the Sentz brothers is targeted for June 2023.

Complementing this move, Texas news outlets announced last week that Constellation was selling Four Corners Brewing back to its original owners as well. Four Corners was founded by three friends — George Esquivel, Greg Leftwich and Steve Porcari — in 2012 in west Dallas. Grounded in Texas roots, Four Corners’ portfolio plays up Hispanic-American styles, flavors and branding that complemented Constellation’s marquee beer brands, pushing popular nameplates like Local Buzz Honey-Rye Golden Ale and El Chingón IPA. Even with similar beers, the fit wasn’t exactly right.

From the The Dallas Morning News:

“This is a small and growing brand, and it needs different attention and focus, and that’s what we’re going to put into it,” Esquivel tells The Dallas Morning News. “We’re getting back to the entrepreneurial roots we started with.”

Here is Esquivel a few years ago, when I interviewed him after the acquisition:

“Mexican imports are about heritage and tradition; while craft beers are typically about flavor and adventure. Four Corners Brewing bridges both. Texas is a special place when one considers flavor profiles versus environment. The climate is hot and humid, so you constantly crave refreshment. Meanwhile, Texas food is as bold as can be — smoked meats, Tex-Mex, tacos with salsas and chiles. That’s standard fair. Our intent is to balance the two dynamics with flavors that pair with bold food but still quench a thirst.”

In finale, I guess kudos to Constellation for selling these brands back to the folks who started them.

Ballast Point opens brewpubs in Chicago, Downtown Disney and soon San Francisco
Four Corners Brewing Cofounder George Esquivel discusses the Texas craft brewery’s sale to Constellation
Four Corners pint cbb crop
Constellation announces acquisition of Dallas’ Four Corners Brewing
Billion-dollar Ballast Point sold to a Chicago brewery I’ve never even heard of, Constellation prefers Corona Hard Seltzer

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Kalamazoo Valley expands Sustainable Brewing Program online
  • Outlaw on the rise: How Tivoli’s light beer brand continues to break the macro mold
  • California Craft Beer Week will feature ‘California Pint Day’ for the first time
  • Blasty Bough Brewing installs solar array, expects $23K in yearly savings

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Outlaw beer cans very wetOutlaw on the rise: How Tivoli’s light beer brand continues to break the macro mold
    May 14, 2025
  • Blasty Bough 2Blasty Bough Brewing installs solar array, expects $23K in yearly savings
    May 13, 2025
  • shocktop Wedgehead carrying shocktop through a door (fuck up shit man)-001Shock Top rebrands with a fresh look and the return of Wedgehead
    May 12, 2025
  • beer bottle empty fall over dead sad-001Alcohol sales underperform during Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby weekend
    May 8, 2025
  • Barley field in the sunLess barley, more data: AMBA launches barley tracking effort as acreage hits record low
    May 8, 2025
  • HPAHop Products Australia produces bumper crop of hops through new facility
    May 6, 2025

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2025 · CBB Media LLC

Continue ...

sponsored by