The craft-on-craft march continues as two of Massachusetts better-known breweries as merging as Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham announced it will acquire Wormtown Brewery in Worcester.
Jack’s Abby will change its corporate name to the Hendler Family Brewing Co. which will now include both brands. The company will have a combined total of about 110,000 barrels annually, making it one of the top 30 breweries in the country.
Wormtown will likely close its Worcester brewing facility, moving all production to the Jack’s Abby brewery. The company said it would keep the Wormtown two taprooms in Worcester and Foxboro open.
Craft beer production was down 1% in 2023 according to the Brewers Association with taprooms down 2% and brewpubs down 4%.
“The category is now static in terms of number of drinkers,” Bart Watson, chief economist with the Brewers Association said this week during his presentation at the Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas. “And the number of people saying they are drinking more craft beer is now equal to number of people saying they are drinking less.”
The slower growth and rising cost of doing business is pushing a growing number of breweries to look for a compatible fellow brewery to buy in order to increase.
See the full story here.