Two Massachusetts breweries – Dorchester Brewing Company and Aeronaut Brewing Company – will merge next year under a new parent company, Tasty Liquid Alliance, the two companies announced today.
Somerville-based Aeronaut and Boston-based Dorchester Brewing will continue as two separate brands, while Tasty Liquid Alliance will pool “resources and expertise with the mission of elevating and growing the craft beer experiences for the two founding businesses, along with regional emerging brands looking to unify,” according to a press release.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The merger is expected to close in Q3 of 2024.
With the merger, Aeronaut’s production will move from its facility in Everett, Massachusetts, to Dorchester’s Boston facility. Production of more than 20 regional and national brands that are contract produced through Dorchester and/or Aeronaut will also transition to Dorchester.
Aeronaut’s Everett facility will shut down on January 1, with production moved so there is “no stop in service and continuous beer production,” Dorchester CEO Matt Malloy told Brewbound via email. The companies plan to “transition as many Aeronaut production employees as possible to the Dorchester facility,” per the release.
Aeronaut’s adjacent Everett Cannery taproom will remain open into 2024, but will shut down at some point in the year, according to Malloy. Aeronaut’s Somerville taproom will remain open and will continue to do small-batch production of Aeronaut beers.
In 2022, Dorchester produced more than 5,800 barrels of beer, according to the Brewers Association (BA) in the May/June issue of the New Brewer. In 2024, Dorchester expects to nearly triple that amount, to more than 16,000 barrels, Malloy told Brewbound. Aeronaut produced 4,340 barrels of beer in 2022, according to the BA.
“This strategic alignment of resources and expertise will not only streamline operations, but also foster a hotbed of innovation and creativity while driving significant savings and efficiencies and future high-margin new business,” the companies said in the release.
Malloy will become CEO of Tasty Liquid Alliance, with discussions still happening on the future roles of other leadership from the companies, according to Malloy. While the new titles for Aeronaut co-CEOs Dan Rassi and Ronn Friedlander are unknown, the duo will “likely be focused on new business and new technology,” Malloy told Brewbound.
“It’s a natural pairing and we’re beyond thrilled to join forces with Dorchester Brewing Company,” Friedlander said in the release. “Together, through events and donations, we will continue to invest in our diverse teams and community engagement programs that support and enhance the communities we serve. Combined, we will bring more resources and skills to this mission, while also continuing to innovate and serve our loyal customers with an even wider range of exceptional beers and fermented liquids.”
The two breweries’ founders have known each other for more than seven years, and have been talking about a partnership from the past six-to-eight months, Malloy said. While discussion initially centered around a possible contract brewing partnership, it “evolved into the best way to join forces that made sense for both brands,” Malloy said.
“The merger and partnership with Aeronaut represents an exciting new chapter for Dorchester Brewing and the craft beer community as a whole,” Malloy said in the release. “By pooling our resources and expertise, we are poised to make a more substantial impact in the industry and beyond.
“We feel the industry is beginning to consolidate, and we want to be at the forefront of this landscape shift and work hand-in-hand with other growing breweries as we look to the future while keeping diversity, experimentation and open cultures intact,” he continued. “We look to add other like-minded, growing beverage makers into the alliance in short order.”
“Beginning to consolidate” may be an understatement. This year has seen a wave of craft-on-craft deals and strategic partnerships. In the last month alone, deals and partnerships have been announced between Great Divide and Dry Dock Brewing, Five Boroughs Brewing and Smuttynose’s parent company Finestkind Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing and Great Frontier Holdings, and Westbound & Down, Aspen Brewing and Capitol Creek Brewery. In Massachusetts, RiverWalk Brewing and Ipswich Ale Brewery, one of the state’s oldest craft breweries, expanded their partnership, with a majority of Ipswich’s production moving to RiverWalk’s facility in Newburyport.
In the last 52 weeks (ending November 4), Aeronaut’s dollar sales (-14.6%) and volume as measured in case sales (-16.4%) have both declined year-over-year (YoY) in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, according to data shared by 3 Tier Beverages. Declines have accelerated over the last 13 weeks, with dollar sales down -30.8% and volume down -30.9%.
Meanwhile, Dorchester Brewing has increased dollar sales +11.6% YoY in the last 52 weeks, while volume has increased +3%. In the last 13 weeks, Dorchester’s dollar sales have increased +9%, while volume increased +20.3%.