Sarah Young London
SABMILLER is buying Britain’s Meantime Brewing Company, snapping up one of the pioneers of craft brewing to give the owner of big brands such as Peroni and Grolsh exposure to a fast-growing part of the drinks market.
A surge in demand for craft beers in recent years has stolen market share from the world’s two biggest brewers, SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev, as consumers seek a more authentic taste and support niche, local suppliers.
Sales volumes of Meantime’s beers including London Pale Ale and London Lager soared 58 percent in 2014, compared with a 1 percent rise in Britain’s beer market as a whole.
Meantime was founded with the backing of a group of friends in a former tram shed in Greenwich in London in 1999. Set to become part of a brewing giant, supporters of craft beer say the brand risks losing part of its authentic appeal.
Meantime’s chief executive Nick Miller tried on Friday to fend off worries that the firm was selling out. “SABMiller shares our passion for putting great beer first, and making, selling and marketing it responsibly to beer aficionados worldwide.”
Meantime’s founder Alastair Hook and Miller will continue to be part of Meantime following completion of the deal, expected in early June.
SAB said it planned to grow the sales of Meantime’s beers across Britain and would also look to export it to other markets in Europe.
SABMiller’s US joint venture with Molson Coors, MillerCoors, already sells Blue Moon in that country, another beer that plays in the craft beer category, though its real craft credentials are often questioned.
AB InBev bought Goose Island, another US craft beer brand, in 2011.
Craft brewery Lovibonds founder Jeff Rosenmeier questioned whether Meantime’s beer could still truly be called craft. “I probably won’t be drinking Meantime anymore.”
The financial terms of the deal were not being disclosed, SAB said. – Reuters