Portland craft brewing titan gives East Coast partner a nudge toward national growth.
Owen Covington
Reporter-
Triad Business Journal
A new partnership between Portland-based Craft Brew Alliance and Appalachian Mountain Brewery of Boone, North Carolina, could propel the small N.C. brewery onto a national stage through enhanced capacity and connections.
In the near term, it spells greater exposure in the Triad and throughout North Carolina for Appalachian Mountain Brewery, launched in 2011 and one of the few publicly traded craft breweries in the country.
"I would say it's definitely unique," said Andy Thomas, CEO of Craft Brew Alliance. "I think it's something that you might start to see more of. ... There's more to this partnership than meets the eye."
In Craft Brew Alliance, Appalachian Mountain Brewery finds a partner that already has a national distribution network through distributors affiliated with Anheuser-Busch, which also owns a share of Craft Brew Alliance. Last year, that network distributed more than 766,000 barrels of beer from CBA brands.
Additionally, CBA has breweries located in Oregon, New Hampshire, Washington state, Hawaii and Tennessee, with an overall capacity of more than 1 million barrels annually. Those breweries produce CBA's well-known brands Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. and Kona Brewing Co..
"It's a powerful step forward for Appalachian Mountain Brewery to be aligned with Craft Brew Alliance," said Tim Kent, executive director of the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association. "Appalachian now will have strong exposure initially through the Piedmont and North Carolina, and I would expect their production will increase significantly. Ultimately, I would expect Appalachian Mountain Brewery to become a recognizable brand all the way from Georgia to Vermont."
The Triad Business Journal has much more on the arrangement.
