They are apparently not done yet. After a break of two years since buying its last craft brewery, many in the industry thought Anheuser-Busch might have set aside its buying spree of craft breweries. Not so, as the global company announced today that it has acquired Platform Beer Co. of Cleveland.
Platform fits the AB target well. The 5-year old company has shown steady and quick growth and has multiple locations. It has a retail location and 60-barrel production facility in Cleveland along with taprooms in Columbus and Cincinnati. The company also has a sour beer brewing facility and on-site tasting room due to open soon in Cleveland, and a 10 BBL brewery and tasting room in Pittsburgh also due to open soon.
The upper Midwest location also fills in AB’s network of faux craft breweries well. This will be the 12th craft brewery they have acquired since it debuted the “if you can’t beat them, but them” strategy eight years ago when it acquired Goose Island Brewing. The global brewer now owns Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Golden Road Brewing, Breckenridge Brewery, Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Veza Sur Brewing Co., Elysian Brewing Company, Wicked Weed Brewing, Four Peaks Brewing Co., Goose Island Beer Company, Karbach Brewing Co. and Virtue Cider.