Anheuser-Busch InBev to Acquire Golden Road Brewing.

5410 W San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Phone:(213) 542-6039

Los Angeles based Golden Road Brewing has grown fast, and has apparently been a target for some time.
The craft beer industry is growing at the fastest rate ever and big corporations are paying attention. According to the Brewers Association trade group, the craft beer category accounts for $19.6 billion in retail sales last year and 11% of total beer sales.

Budweiser parent Anheuser-Busch InBev has acquired five breweries since 2011, those include Chicago’s Goose Island, Blue Point Brewing, Oregon’s 10 Barrel Brewing and Washington’s Elysian Brewing.

Earlier this month Lagunitas Brewery sold 50% stake To Heineken.
And Millercoors acquired a majority stake in St. Archer Brewing.

Golden Road launched in 2011, and sells about 45,000 barrels of beer. Making it the largest craft brewery in Los Angeles. Golden Road will no longer qualify as a craft beer.

Details are not available, but we imagine this is a great payout for Meg and Tony who founded Golden Road.

It is hard to say what this will really mean to the local brewpub, but we know that hardcore beer drinkers may start to look elsewhere to support smaller craft brews.

Andy Goeler, CEO of craft at AB InBev is featured with Meg from Golden Road.

Golden Road has grown 100% since opening. Retail stores include Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Ralphs and Vons

Meg touches on Golden Road opening in Anaheim and Grand Central Market.

Stone Brewing remains one of the largest craft breweries in the country, ranked as number nine, with revenues over $137 million and 1,100 employees, and plans top open in Germany with a $25 million facility. Earlier this month Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing stepped down.

This is the video posted on the acquisition.

Here’s the press release:

St. Louis — Anheuser-Busch today announced it will acquire Los Angeles-based Golden Road Brewing. The deal will enable Golden Road to bring more of its fresh, canned beer to the brewery’s local market and to introduce its unique hop-forward beers to more consumers. The partnership will build on Golden Road’s commitment, since 2011, to bring fresh beer to the market in the most sustainable way possible.�

“The energy and passion of the beer community is what drew me into this industry and with Golden Road we wanted to help develop the craft beer market in L.A.,” said Meg Gill, ‎president and co-founder at Golden Road Brewing. “Our team worked hard to build Golden Road from the ground up and we are proud of the growth we’ve achieved in such a short time. California is an exciting and competitive market for beer and I see endless opportunities in partnering with Anheuser-Busch and their incredible distribution network to bring our beers to more people.”�

As the largest craft brewery in Los Angeles County, Golden Road expects to sell approximately 45,000 barrels of beer in 2015 and can be found in more than 4,000 retail locations. With a brewery focused on draft and can production, a pub in Los Angeles and a new tasting room downtown. Additionally a new tasting room, opening in 2015, second production brewery and pub in Anaheim will be operational by the forth quarter of 2016. Its core brands – Point the Way IPA, Wolf Among Weeds IPA, Golden Road Hefeweizen and 329 Days of Sun Lager – represent 95 percent of volume. Along with the core beers, Golden Road brewers are constantly experimenting with the freshest ingredients through a collection of rotating, seasonal and limited-edition brews, most notably the Custom IPA Series, a line-up of diverse, hop-forward IPAs.�

“Golden Road’s commitment to making great beer, their pioneering spirit and the passionate beer culture built within the company is what appealed to us,” said Andy Goeler, CEO, Craft, Anheuser-Busch. “Their focus on giving back to the community and impact on the Los Angeles craft market in four short years makes Golden Road a strong addition to our craft portfolio.”

Golden Road Brewing will join Goose Island Beer Company, Blue Point Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing and Elysian Brewing as part of Anheuser-Busch’s High End Business Unit’s portfolio. Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with Golden Road Brewing is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Golden Road Brewing

In 2011 by beer enthusiasts Meg Gill and Tony Yanow founded Los Angeles, California based Golden Road Brewing to bring fresh beer to the local market in the most sustainable way possible. Golden Road is committed to engaging and supporting the growing community of socially-minded beer enthusiasts. The brewery currently distributes its beer in California, Nevada and Arizona. For more information, check out www.goldenroad.la or be social at fb.com/goldenroadbrew and @GoldenRoadBrew on Twitter and Instagram.

About Anheuser-Busch

For more than 160 years, Anheuser-Busch and its world-class brewmasters have carried on a legacy of brewing America’s most-popular beers. Starting with the finest ingredients sourced from Anheuser-Busch’s family of growers, every batch is crafted using the same exacting standards and time-honored traditions passed down through generations of proud Anheuser-Busch brewmasters and employees. Best known for its fine American-style lagers, Budweiser and Bud Light, the company’s beers lead numerous beer segments and combined hold 46.4 percent share of the U.S. beer market. Budweiser and Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita were named Brands of the Year for the Beer and the Spirits, Malt Beverages and Wine categories, respectively, by Ace Metrix® in 2014. Anheuser-Busch is the U.S. arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev and operates 16 local breweries, 17 distributorships and 23 agricultural and packaging facilities across the United States, representing a capital investment of more than $15.9 billion. Its flagship brewery remains in St. Louis, Mo., and is among the global company’s largest and most technologically capable breweries. Visitor and special beermaster tours are available at its St. Louis and five other Anheuser-Busch breweries. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.