Craft Brewing Business

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Small Wisconsin craft brewer purchases two other small Wisconsin craft brewers

Here we go again: Continuing on its never-ending quest for global domination, Wisconsin-based mega brewer Sand Creek Brewing Co. (9,990 bbls annually) bought up two other Wisconsin craft breweries, Furthermore Brewing Co. (1,500 bbls) and Cross Plains Brewing Co. (2,000 bbls). Will Big Beer stop at nothing before it has it all?

Sand Creek BrewingJust kidding. In the age of the big brewery acquisition, seeing some local strategizing like this is pretty great. Furthermore Brewing and Cross Plains have been brewed on contract at Sand Creek for some time now (2006 and 2013, respectively), which will make for a pretty seamless transition and allow for all three brands to take better advantage of economies of scale.

From the La Crosse Tribune:

“Each brewery has its unique take on its style of beers,” Jim Wiesender and Todd Krueger, co-owners of Sand Creek said in a joint statement. “All three breweries together will complement each other’s strengths.

Under the arrangement, finalized in October but announced Tuesday, Furthermore and Cross Plains will operate as subsidiaries of Sand Creek Brewing Co. and retain their names and distributor networks “for the time being.” Both Wayne and Larry Esser of Cross Plains Brewing Co. and Aran Madden of Furthermore will continue on as brewery representatives of Sand Creek and their respective brands, Wiesender and Krueger said.

Be sure to head to the full story in the Tribune for a bunch more details on the breweries and their future together.

 

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Comments

  10. Ha! Todd is most wise. I believe this lede is a joke. Feel free to read the whole post. Life cannot be captured in one sentence.

  11. I’m not sure I’d consider a brewery with 10,000 barrels of annual production a “big beer” company. Most analysts have said 2016 will be a year of consolidation.

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