Key takeaways
- Tilray has acquired select assets from BrewDog’s US portfolio: covering a brewery and three pubs
- The acquisition has the potential to shake-up the list of the top US craft brewers, as Tilray grows volumes but all players deal with headwinds for the category
- The deal follows Tilray’s acquisition of the global BrewDog brand on March 2; and acquisition of Australian assets on March 9.
New York-headquarted Tilray had already bought the BrewDog brand in a cut-price deal earlier this month: now it’s followed that with the acquisition of BrewDog’s US brewery and three pubs.
The acquisition includes BrewDog’s brewery, pub and hotel in Columbus Ohio; as well as pubs in New Albany, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Announcing the deal yesterday (March 16), Tilray says BrewDog’s Ohio stronghold fits in with its ‘regional jewel strategy’, where it gathers up strong local craft beer brands and then expanded them across the country.
BrewDog has built a strong following in Ohio and established a highly visible presence in Las Vegas, including a flagship brewpub located on a premier stretch of the Las Vegas Strip. These assets fit squarely within our brewpub model, creating destination led venues that deepen consumer engagement while providing new opportunities to introduce and sell our broader portfolio of Tilray beverage brands
Irwin D. Simon, CEO, Tilray Brands
Tilray says its acquisition of BrewDog will help it broaden its footprint in the US craft beer category with distinctive brands with established consumer loyalty.
The acquisition of the brewpubs will also expand its presence in hospitality: where direct-to-consumer engagement is important for expanding existing brands.
Tilray’s craft beer journey to #4
Originally positioned as a cannabis company but since reinvented as a CPG company, Tilray started in craft beer with relatively small deals: $300m spent on Georgia’s SweetWater Brewing in 2020; $5.1m on California’s Alpine Beer Co. and Green Flash Brewing Co in 2021.
Then in 2023 it splashed out $85m on eight Anheuser-Busch brands: including 10 Barrel Brewing Company and Blue Point Brewing Company. In 2024, it acquired several Molson Coors craft brands, including Revolver Brewing and Atwater Brewing.
Earlier this year, Tilray struck a deal with Carlsberg to produce and distribute Carlsberg, Kronenbourg and 1664 Blanc in the US.
Having only got into the beer business in 2020, Tilray has now overtaken established craft companies such as Brooklyn Brewery and Duvel Moortgat USA to become the US’ fourth largest craft brewery.
And now the top three is in sight.
Tilray currently sits at #4 on the list of top US craft brewers with BrewDog at #30.
Despite the boost the its craft beer volumes, Tilray will remain within the list of craft brewers (a craft brewer, by the Brewers Association definition, must produce under 6 million barrels a year).
Whether Tilray’s acquisition of BrewDog will shoot it into the top three remains to be seen, Matt Gacioch, staff economist at the Brewers Association told us, because craft beer volumes can easily shift across the board.
Tilray’s acquisition of BrewDog follows consolidation trends seen across the craft beer market, he added.
Craft beer consolidation
Notable acquisitions have included AB InBev’s acquisition of Goose Island in 2011, Heineken’s acquisition of Lagunitas, Lion’s acquisitions of New Belgium Brewery (2019) and Bell’s Brewery (2021) to name some of the big name deals.
Smaller breweries have also struck deals, leading to more consolidation in the industry.
And consolidation is now a defining trend in the US, according to the Brewers Association, as the industry matures and headwinds such as supply chain challenges, tariff uncertainty and declining beer consumption continue to pose challenges for brewers. US craft volumes declined 3.9% in 2024: although with overall beer market growth also declined 1.2% and craft beer largely managed to retain its market share.
