Montauk will expand into two new states and fill out its existing footprint in New York and New Jersey over the next couple months, the New York-based craft brewery’s first expansion moves since being acquired by global cannabis firm Tilray.
Montauk’s existing network includes Boening Brothers on Long Island, SKI Beer in New York City and Kohler Distributing in northern New Jersey. Over the next two months, the brewery will fill out the remainder of New Jersey with Shore Point Distributing and Kramer Beverage, as well as upstate and western New York with Oak Beverage, A.L. George, Saratoga Eagle, Lake Beverage and Dutchess Beverage.
Montauk will also expand into two new states over March/April: Connecticut through partnerships with Northeast Beverage and F&F Distributors; and Rhode Island via a partnership with C&C Distributors. The company is also eyeing “even more areas for distribution over the next few months,” according to a press release.
“Over the past 10 years, our fans have been asking for Montauk on tap in their favorite bars outside of Long Island and NYC, and we are so excited to finally deliver,” Montauk co-founder Vaughan Cutillo said in a press release.
Montauk’s flagship Wave Chaser IPA (6.4% ABV), which accounts for about 50% of Montauk’s business, will “lead the charge” with the expansion, along with the brewery’s seasonals Montauk Summer Ale (5.6% ABV) and Watermelon Session Ale (4.9% ABV).Tilray acquired 100% ownership of Montauk in November for an initial purchase price of $35.11 million, according to a 10-Q filing. The purchase was made with $28.688 million in cash and $6.422 million in stock. Tilray was still in the process of assessing the final fair value of Montauk’s net assets as of Tilray’s Q2 2023 earnings report in January, but preliminary estimates value the brewery’s total assets to be worth $53.403 million, with $8.048 million in liabilities, for a net asset value of $45.355 million.
Montauk joined a portfolio of craft breweries that includes Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing and San Diego, California-based Green Flash and Alpine Brewing. At the time of the acquisition, Tilray chairman and CEO Irwin Simon expressed the company’s intent to “leverage SweetWater’s existing nationwide infrastructure and Montauk Brewing’s northeast influence” to “significantly expand” Tilray’s overall distribution network and grow all its bev-alc brands.
Tilray’s distribution expansion of Montauk follows a rapid expansion of the SweetWater Brewing brand, which added its 39th and 40th states a year ago with the additions of Washington and Oregon.
“Our meetings with distributors in these new footprints have been exciting and productive,” Tara Hanley, Northeast area sales manager for Sweetwater and Montauk said in the release. “They see the momentum and impressive scan data in Metro NY, so the time is perfect for Montauk to expand. The fans are ready, the brand is ready, and we are ready to work closely with all of our new partners.”
Montauk’s production volume declined -4%, to 46,935 barrels, in 2021, the majority of which was contract brewed, Montauk general manager Terry Hopper told Brewbound in November. The combined annual output for all four of Tilray’s craft brands would be more than 309,000 barrels of beer, according to the BA’s 2021 estimates.