DuClaw Brewing Company, the 25-year-old Maryland brewery that is distributed in 21 states has been acquired by River Horse Brewing Company in Ewing, NJ. It is the third acquisition or merger in the craft brewing industry in the last few weeks.
In just the last few weeks Flying Dog Brewery was bought by FX Matt Brewing Company and Ninkasi Brewing announced a merger with Californian hard seltzer and RTD brand owner Wings & Arrow.
“While each brand will be managed separately, the efficiencies created by combining facilities and sharing production capacity and certain distribution partnerships will strengthen both entities,” DuClaw said in a statement.
It is a familiar story in a near zero growth segment with almost 10,000 craft breweries now open across the country.
Dave Benfield, founder of DuClaw will remain and oversee “strategy, portfolio, product innovation and vibe of DuClaw and will ensure the continuity of the highest quality beer,” the company said in a Facebook post. “River Horse will be expanding capacity in its Ewing, NJ facility in order to meet the demands of DuClaw’s national distribution footprint. Stay tuned to some new innovative product releases to supplement the amazing DuClaw lineup.”
River Horse, the smaller of the two companies is currently distributed in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. They will no doubt use the existing distribution network of DuClaw to expand the reach of River Horse beers. River Horse will expand their brewery to accommodate making the beers from DuClaw and it was not clear on what would happen to the Baltimore DuClaw brewery. If the brewery in Baltimore closes following the divestment, it will be the third major brewing operation to be shuttered in the state of Maryland in as many months.
More on the story here.