Bell’s Brewery, one of the most well-known craft brewing companies in the U.S., announced Wednesday it’s being sold to a subsidiary of Japanese beverage giant Kirin, marking the latest instance in a trend of craft breweries getting purchased by large companies.
Bell's Brewery will soon be owned by a subsidiary of Japanese beverage giant Kirin.
Julia Ewan/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Larry Bell, who founded the company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1983, said he’s planning to retire and the company’s board felt this would be a good time to sell Bell’s Brewery.
The company said the sale will be finalized in the coming months to Australian-based beverage company Lion, which is a subsidiary of Kirin.
Lion is the same company that purchased Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Co. in 2019, which Bell’s will join with after the sale.
PROMOTED
Bell’s is the seventh-largest craft brewery in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association, and is best known for its Two Hearted Ale, an IPA with 7% alcohol by volume.
Crucial Quote
“I wanted to make a brewery that would last longer than us, for generations to come, like the great 500-year-old breweries in Germany—and I believe we have only begun on that path,” Bell said in a letter to the Kalamazoo community on Wednesday.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dini...0211110-sqyz4gkcp5h73ovfrovdmab2ti-story.html
The sale amount—no number was disclosed.
According to the company’s website, in 1985, Bell first started selling beer that he brewed using a 15-gallon soup kettle. The timing put the company at the forefront of the craft beer craze that would take place over the coming decades, with Bell’s being one of the oldest American craft breweries east of Colorado. In 1986, Bell’s produced 135 barrels of beer, and by 2014, the company started shipping more than 300,000 barrels a year. There are now around 9,000 craft breweries operating in the U.S., which sold $22.2 billion worth of beer in 2020, according to the Brewers Association, which accounted for nearly 24% of all U.S. beer sales. The massive success of independent companies has led to a string of major corporations entering the craft beer industry over the past few years by purchasing the local breweries. Some notable transactions include the sale of the Anchor Brewing Co. to Sapporo in 2017, the Lagunitas Brewing Co. to Heineken in 2015 and the Elysian Brewing Co. to Anheuser-Busch InBev, also in 2015.
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Bell's Brewery will soon be owned by a subsidiary of Japanese beverage giant Kirin.
Julia Ewan/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Key Facts
Larry Bell, who founded the company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1983, said he’s planning to retire and the company’s board felt this would be a good time to sell Bell’s Brewery.
The company said the sale will be finalized in the coming months to Australian-based beverage company Lion, which is a subsidiary of Kirin.
Lion is the same company that purchased Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Co. in 2019, which Bell’s will join with after the sale.
PROMOTED
Bell’s is the seventh-largest craft brewery in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association, and is best known for its Two Hearted Ale, an IPA with 7% alcohol by volume.
Crucial Quote
“I wanted to make a brewery that would last longer than us, for generations to come, like the great 500-year-old breweries in Germany—and I believe we have only begun on that path,” Bell said in a letter to the Kalamazoo community on Wednesday.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dini...0211110-sqyz4gkcp5h73ovfrovdmab2ti-story.html
What We Don't Know
The sale amount—no number was disclosed.
Key Background
According to the company’s website, in 1985, Bell first started selling beer that he brewed using a 15-gallon soup kettle. The timing put the company at the forefront of the craft beer craze that would take place over the coming decades, with Bell’s being one of the oldest American craft breweries east of Colorado. In 1986, Bell’s produced 135 barrels of beer, and by 2014, the company started shipping more than 300,000 barrels a year. There are now around 9,000 craft breweries operating in the U.S., which sold $22.2 billion worth of beer in 2020, according to the Brewers Association, which accounted for nearly 24% of all U.S. beer sales. The massive success of independent companies has led to a string of major corporations entering the craft beer industry over the past few years by purchasing the local breweries. Some notable transactions include the sale of the Anchor Brewing Co. to Sapporo in 2017, the Lagunitas Brewing Co. to Heineken in 2015 and the Elysian Brewing Co. to Anheuser-Busch InBev, also in 2015.
Bell’s Brewery Announces Sale To Japanese Beverage Giant Kirin’s Subsidiary
Larry Bell, who first sold beer he brewed out of a soup kettle in 1985, said he’s retiring and selling the company.
www.forbes.com
Bell’s Brewery to sell to Japanese beer company Kirin, to be operated by New Belgium
Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery, which has forged some of Chicago’s deepest craft beer roots since launching in the 1980s, has agreed to be sold to Australian beer company Lion and its …
www.chicagotribune.com
