As craft beer sales decline and excess brewing capacity increases, importers continue to look for domestic facilities to make beer in the US. Asahi Europe & International (AEI) has announced that they will purchase Octopi Brewing, a contract brewer based in Waunakee, WI to make Asahi Super Dry for the US market.
Asahi Super Dry sold in the US is currently being brewed in Vancouver, Canada by Molson. This will be the first time that Asahi Super Dry will be brewed in the US. Asahi will also make the Czech beer Kozel, which Asahi owns at Octopi.
The deal follows Japanese competitor Sapporo’s purchase in 2022 of Stone Brewing in San Diego, in part to produce Sapporo beers in the US.
Octopi is primarily a contract brewer which provides a full menu of services including recipes, supplier selection, design consulting Merchandising and more.
Financial details were not announced.