Heineken knows what it’s doing, you might say. Though it rubbed some craft beer loyalists the wrong way, Northern California craft beer juggernaut Lagunitas sold Heineken a 50% stake in itself in September. (That was just one of 24 craft brewery transactions in 2015, according to BrewBound, a craft beer news source.) Earlier in the year Lagunitas dropped a lawsuit over label imitation against rival craft brewer Sierra Nevada, after it found out the craft brewing fans weren’t big fans of lawsuits. But the Heineken deal — and all it offered — was too rich to keep worrying over the craft brew faithful’s reaction. Heineken saw what it likes in Lagunitas — what IRi reports is the fastest growing craft brewer, with IPA sales up 45.5%. (H/T to Darren Rovell, tweet below.)
A Tony Magee, founder of Lagunitas tweeted in December, “almost too much happening in our world. Some said we should ‘dial it back a bit’. Not gonna.” To those who want things to remain as they are, Magee reminds: “the road’s long and the future won’t be like the past!”
Fastest growing large craft beer brand in 2015 was Lagunitas IPA, pulled in $66M in sales, up 45.5% per @iriworldwide (H/T @BrewboundFurn)
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 7, 2016
