Anheuser-Busch sells off 8 brands to Tilray

It seems like only yesterday that the beer industry would spend their days and weeks wondering who Anheuser-Busch would buy next. It all started when A-B bought Goose Island back in 2011. Fast forward to today, Bud Light is no longer the #1 selling beer in America, and Anheuser-Busch is selling off breweries they once acquired to a cannabis company.

Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, 10 Barrel Brewery, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, Blue Point Brewery, and Hi Ball Energy have been sold to Tilray Brands Inc. in an all-cash deal that will close by the end of 2023.

Tilray also owns Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewery, Alpine Beer Company, Montauk Brewing Company, and Green Flash Brewing.

By Tilray’s estimates, this acquisition will put them as the 5th largest craft brewing company in the United States, upfront 9th. Combined, the craft brewing portfolio is worth $300 million.

According to Andy Thomas, the president of Bud’s “The High End,” the brewery’s segment of craft breweries they have purchased (Goose Island, Wicked Weed Brewing) stated in a press release that Tilray approached Bud earlier this year about acquiring these brands – which would pre-date Budweiser’s massive multi-billion dollar crash this summer after a failed marketing move with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Ty Gilmore, the president of U.S. Beer at Tilray states this transaction will push their beer production from 4 million case equivalents to 12 million.

Tilray is headquartered in New York City, with operations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, with an annual revenue of $628 million dollars in 2022.

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