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Anheuser-Busch buys Goose Island beer company
Tony Arnold | Mar. 28, 2011
Chicago-based Goose Island has agreed to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch in a deal worth $38.8 million. The companies announced the acquisition on Monday.
In a statement, the head of Goose Island, John Hall, said the Chicago company has grown so rapidly in the last five years that demand for Goose Island beers has outgrown the capacity of its brewery. Hall said the company has had to limit production of some of the beers. Hall said the deal with Anheuser-Busch will help Goose Island continue to grow.
"Chicago is going to continue to be our principle market," Hall said. "We will probably expand into some new markets, but we're not going to do any of those things until we supply the markets we're in right now."
Hall said Goose Island's roughly 120 employees will still operate in Chicago. Hall also said the beers will remain the same and that he wouldn't have agreed to the deal if it involved changing the recipes.
In announcing the acquisition, Goose Island said Hall will continue to be responsible for the Chicago brewery, which the company says will remain in operation.
Some of the beers Goose Island brews include Honkers Ale, 312 Urban Wheat Ale and Matlida.
The deal still needs the approval of regulators, which is expected to come later this year.
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Comments
I'm heart broken. The Goose Island IPA was my gateway to craft brews.
from Wikipedia: Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Belgium-based Anheuser–Busch InBev, is a formerly American-owned brewing company.
Couldn't agree with you more Andy.
@Olafur, Yes InBev owns AB, but AB is the arm that made this purchase.
Sell outs!
I was able to stomach Goose's distribution deal with AB, but not an outright purchase. I don't buy INBev brands, and now I will no longer buy any Goose Island beer. It's too bad because I really loved their beers, but it will be made a lot easier for me once AB ruins Goose just like they did Rolling Rock.
The problem is that no one believes that AB won't change GI for the worse....
This is kind of sad. I recently saw a documentary called Beer Wars and it talks about how companies like AB and InBev buy local brewers to acquire the brand (not really the beer) or in some cases, just to close them down and remove competition. Here's more about the movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326194/
Time to switch to one of the many other small local brewers! Metropolitan and Half Acre and both delicious.,,
Anheuser-Busch didn't buy it, In-Bev did. They are the European beverage conglomerate that own Ansheuser-Busch.