Duvel Moortgat Brewery of Belgium announced today a deal to buy the Boulevard Brewing Company, the 12th largest craft brewer in the country.
Boulevard, which will produce about 180,000 barrels this year, was founded in 1989 by John McDonald who has been looking for the right exit plan for a few years now. Boulevard will be part ofa holding company that will also control all of Duvel Moortgat’s import brands.
The acquisition will certainly be an opportunity for the Duvel group to leverage their international distribution relationships by taking Boulevard into European markets. Duvel also owns the Cooperstown’s Brewery Ommegang. Domestic distribution of Ommegang and Duvel have a fairly good lineup with Boulevard, but it may indicate some distributor changes in the future.
