• 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

  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Hold on to your butts: Anheuser-Busch to invest $2 billion in U.S. brewing strategy by 2020

May 16, 2017Chris Crowell

If you suddenly felt a cold chill mid-day May 15, 2017, it might be because Anheuser-Busch announced new, bold plans to invest in its U.S. operations — to the tune of $500 million in 2017 and $2 billion through 2020. This is among the largest ever capital investment programs in U.S. brewing history. Here’s a live look at the announcement:

Yea, not a very informative press conference, but here are the 2017 investments we found on its website:

  • Over $200 million for brewery and distribution projects
  • $180 million for product packaging and innovation initiatives
  • $58 million to improve and increase sustainability at our facilities

Diving in further, you can see how its recent craft brewery acquisitions were just phase one of this much broader country-wide investment battle plan (note the shout out to Elysian below). Batten down the hatches, everyone. Whatever that phrase means, its feels like an appropriate thing to do now.

Individual investments in the new capital expenditure program

$82 million to enhance nationwide supply chain operations and to build new, state-of-the-art distribution facilities in Los Angeles and Columbus.

$28 million at the Fort Collins brewery to expand production of aluminum bottle products and increase diversity of products through installation of dry hop capabilities.

$18 million at the Williamsburg brewery on new technology and equipment to maintain quality and to install new labeling machines.

$15 million to begin innovative cross brewing capabilities at the Fairfield brewery through Elysian partnership, including significant updates to brewery infrastructure.

$12 million for the Cartersville brewery to install a new multi-packer to diversify packaging capabilities, as well as new programming and metering devices to increase energy efficiency.

$13 million to the St. Louis brewery, including updates to the beechwood-aging tanks and several other initiatives that allow for production capability of new brands, as well as investments to increase sustainability.

$11 million to expand aluminum bottling capabilities at the Jacksonville brewery, as well as upgrades to improve energy efficiency.

$11 million to begin innovative cross brewing capabilities at the Merrimack brewery alongside craft partners.

$10 million in continued investments at the Los Angeles brewery to add water efficiency and treatment capabilities.

$10 million to the Baldwinsville brewery to increase production of non-alcoholic product offerings, mainly Teavana, and to install a new multi-packer.

$8 million to the Houston brewery to begin brewing the popular Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus product and to expand aluminum bottle production.

$7 million to the Columbus brewery to support various improvements, including projects to conserve resources and to develop and integrate new products.

Mondays, meh: Enjoy some fun Tweets about the Wicked Weed/AB InBev transaction

AB InBev cuts off craft breweries from South African hops this year
Beer Voltron Ab Inbev cbb crop
Anheuser-Busch adds to craft beer roster with brewery from hometown (and maybe Vietnam too)
Craft-Brew-Alliance
Craft Brew Alliance, AB InBev sign new master distributor agreement
Beer Voltron Ab Inbev cbb crop
AB InBev, SABMiller merger approved in U.S. — but there is hope for craft beer

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Craftpeak launches Square integration within its digital storefront
  • Why (and how) Cabarrus Brewing will stick with online sales post-lockdown
  • Marketing Idea of the Week: CraftHaus Brewery’s scratch ‘n sniff cans
  • Portland Cider Co. donates $12,500 to Hunger-Free Schools

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • libdib online beer distributorWhy (and how) Cabarrus Brewing will stick with online sales post-lockdown
    February 25, 2021
  • craft beer consumer tastesCraft Beer Consumer Habits in February 2021: Are on-site attitudes changing?
    February 24, 2021
  • No and low alcohol beer grew 30+ percent last year, now enjoy some big haps in the NA beer sector
    February 23, 2021
  • How to Seduce a Distributor: The importance of branding, common misconceptions and automatic disqualifiers
    February 22, 2021
  • I would totally sit in a hot tub of hops and drink chill pints at this new beer spa in Denver
    February 18, 2021
  • truly hard seltzer‘Truly’ crushing it: Boston Beer nets over $1.7 billion in 2020 revenue
    February 18, 2021

Footer

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

© 2021 · CBB Media LLC

Continue ...

sponsored by