Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Acquisition Playbook.

Three patterns run through The Boston Beer's acquisitions — what it looks for, how it pays, and how it folds in what it buys.

01
Acquisition criteria
Founder-to-founder combinations, not financial roll-ups.
The defining Dogfish Head deal was built around two founder-brewers - Jim Koch and Sam Calagione - with Calagione taking a board seat and Boston Beer stock, the Calagiones reinvesting nearly all of their proceeds, and the combined company explicitly keeping its independent craft status under the Brewers Association definition.
Dogfish Head Brewery (Dogfish Head Holding Company)Coney Island Brewing (Coney Island craft-beer business of Shmaltz Brewing Company)Angel City Brewing (assets of Southern California Brewing Company, Inc.)
02
Capital deployment
Small craft brands incubated through Alchemy & Science.
Angel City (2012, ~$1.9M) and Coney Island (2013, ~$2.9M) were sub-$3M asset purchases made through the A&S Brewing subsidiary, each retaining the target's founder on an advisory or personal-services agreement rather than absorbing the brand into the core Sam Adams organization.
Dogfish Head Brewery (Dogfish Head Holding Company)Coney Island Brewing (Coney Island craft-beer business of Shmaltz Brewing Company)Angel City Brewing (assets of Southern California Brewing Company, Inc.)
03
Integration approach
Rare, deliberate M&A layered on an organic growth engine.
Boston Beer grows mainly organically - Samuel Adams, Truly, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard were built in-house - so acquisitions are infrequent and used to add high-end craft or 'beyond beer' capability rather than to buy scale.
Dogfish Head Brewery (Dogfish Head Holding Company)Coney Island Brewing (Coney Island craft-beer business of Shmaltz Brewing Company)Angel City Brewing (assets of Southern California Brewing Company, Inc.)

The Full Deal Book

3 acquisitions — each with the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, and executive commentary where disclosed.

01 Dogfish Head Brewery (Dogfish Head Holding Company) · Milton, Delaware, USA $300M
Announced May 2019 Closed Jul 2019 Cash and stock
Craft IPAssour and experimental ('off-centered') beersdistilling and 'beyond beer' innovationMilton DE brewery plus brewpub and hospitality operations

Boston Beer merged with Dogfish Head Brewery, the Milton, Delaware craft brewer founded in 1995 by Sam and Mariah Calagione and known for its IPAs and 'off-centered' sour and experimental beers. Under the May 8, 2019 merger agreement, Dogfish Head Holding Company merged into Boston Beer's subsidiary Canoe Acquisition Corp. for aggregate consideration of roughly $300 million - about $173.0 million in cash plus 427,096 restricted Class A shares (around $128 million of stock at signing, priced off a 10-day volume-weighted average of $314.60 per share). Structured as a tax-free reorganization, the deal turned Dogfish Head into a wholly owned subsidiary and kept the combined business independent under the Brewers Association craft definition. approximately $300 million (approximately $173.0 million cash + 427,096 restricted Class A shares).

Why it was attractive
  • Award-winning
  • founder-led craft brand strong in IPAs and 'beyond beer' innovation
  • complementary to Boston Beer's Sam Adams
  • Truly
  • Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard portfolio
We believe we are creating the most dynamic and diverse American-owned platform for craft beer and beyond.Jim Koch — Founder and Chairman, The Boston Beer Company
Mariah and I believe so much in the future of our merged companies that we are all in, and personally we're reinvesting nearly all of the proceeds back into the combined entity.Sam Calagione — Founder and Brewer, Dogfish Head
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Per the July 3, 2019 closing 8-K (Item 8.01): at closing Boston Beer entered employment agreements with Sam and Mariah Calagione; Sam Calagione was appointed an officer (Founder and Brewer, Dogfish Head) and joined the board, and George J. Pastrana was named President, Dogfish Head, both reporting to CEO Dave Burwick.

02 Coney Island Brewing (Coney Island craft-beer business of Shmaltz Brewing Company) · Brooklyn, New York, USA $2.9M
Closed Aug 2013 All cash
Coney Island Brewing trade name and Brooklyn craft-beer heritage

Through its Alchemy & Science craft-beer subsidiary, Boston Beer acquired substantially all of the assets of the Coney Island craft-beer business, plus certain other assets, from Shmaltz Brewing Company on August 26, 2013 for a preliminary aggregate price of about $2.9 million, with $400,000 held in escrow against seller indemnities. Per the FY2013 10-K, the price was allocated mainly to the Coney Island trade name (about $1.6 million) and goodwill (about $1.1 million); the founder signed a five-year personal-services agreement to advise on the brand. Boston Beer later divested the Coney Island brand to Sixpoint Brewery in 2017. approximately $2.9 million.

Why it was attractive
  • Established craft trade name suited to the Alchemy & Science incubator model
03 Angel City Brewing (assets of Southern California Brewing Company, Inc.) · Los Angeles, California, USA $1.9M
Closed Jan 2012 All cash
Angel City Brewing trade name and Los Angeles craft brewery/brand

In the first acquisition by its Alchemy & Science subsidiary, Boston Beer bought substantially all of the assets of Southern California Brewing Company, Inc. (doing business as Angel City Brewing Company) on January 4, 2012 for an aggregate price of about $1.9 million. Per the FY2013 10-K, the consideration was allocated to property and equipment (about $0.3 million), the Angel City trade name (about $0.4 million) and goodwill (about $1.2 million). Founder Michael Bowe signed a two-year advisory agreement and Alchemy & Science leased the Los Angeles brewery to keep brewing and selling under the Angel City brand. approximately $1.9 million.

Why it was attractive
  • Available craft brand plus a Los Angeles brewing footprint for the A&S incubator

More Acquirer Playbooks

See how VectorShift works for your firm

Request Demo