Anheuser-Busch Acquires Golden Road Brewing

Yet another craft beer acquisition was announced today as the big boys at Anheuser-Busch sealed the deal with Golden Road Brewing. The Los Angeles-based regional craft brewery founded in 2011 has grown to be the largest in L.A. County and is projected to produce 45,000 barrels this year. Financial details of this partnership were not disclosed, but it is reported that they will join the ranks of Goose Island, 10 Barrel, and Elysian to fill out AB-InBev’s portfolio. This year has seen a lot of organizational shuffle in the craft industry with “mergers,” “partnerships,” and whatever else you want to call it from the likes of Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, and Saint Archer.

[Editorial note: As a former employee of Golden Road Brewing, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that L.A’s largest brewery will no longer be an independently-owned entity.  As with our standard policy for all breweries here at TFP, we will no longer be publishing press releases and product reviews for Golden Road.]

Read on for the official statement from AB-InBev:

“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.”