Craft breweries just got a true craft beer funding mechanism.
Stone Brewing CEO and co-founder Greg Koch has announced the formation of True Craft, a $100 million company aimed at investing in craft breweries. The new company, which Koch described as a year and a half in the making, will make minority non-controlling investments in breweries will letting them remain independent and in charge of operations.
“Some people start companies to sell out. Some start companies because they are compelled to follow their passion. True Craft is for the latter,” Koch said in statement announcing True Craft. “Craft beer needs an alternative model to the one that requires founders to sell their company in its entirety. In a world in which there are constant forces toward homogenization and fitting in, I specifically want to foster a world of uniqueness, depth and character.”
Escondido, Calif.-based Stone Brewing is a founding member in True Craft, an endeavor that Koch announced Sunday at the EG 2016 Conference in Carmel-by-the-sea, Calif. So far, the new venture has received an initial $100 million from an investor group committed to the new company's vision "with a lot more in discussion," Koch said at the event. "We also have a small group of the best craft breweries interested in joining."
He and fellow Stone Co-Founder and President Steve Wagner welcomed other breweries' participation in helping fellow brewers maintain control of their businesses. “This is about setting up a consortium so we can not just survive, but continue to thrive in a world in which craft is being co-opted by Big Beer,” Wagner said in a statement. “This allows companies like Stone to follow an ethos that involves independence and passion for the artisanal. By investing in True Craft now, we can be confident that our vision is locked in beyond our professional lifetimes and we feel privileged to help others in our industry do the same.”
Koch and Wagner said that more details about True Craft's structure would be announced at a later date. The two founded Stone in 1996; it's now the 10th largest craft brewery and the 15th largest brewery overall in the U.S.
Koch has been a vocal critic of large breweries seeking to acquire smaller craft breweries as a way to squelch competition. "Big beer is what got us to almost no choice in this country and being, quite frankly, the laughing stock of the world when it came to beer, and today we have more than 4,000 breweries in the United States," he said back in March.
At Anheuser-Busch, Felipe Szpigel, president of the brewer's The High End business unit that focuses on craft and unique import beers, said "In The High End we have a mission to excite the world with exceptional beer experiences anytime, anywhere. Initiatives focused on the development of the beer industry are exciting and I look forward to continuing the dialogue when all the details on this venture are available.”
During his presentation at the EG Conference, Koch talked about his life as a misfit and how that translated to Stone's way of doing business -- and the decision to launch True Craft. “True Craft’s goal is simple: Give craft brewers another option than selling a majority interest to private equity or selling out to big beer," he said. "They can get the financing and flexibility that they need to flourish while keeping their soul and control. ... True Craft is built to help misfit companies stick around in a world that is designed to assimilate them like the Borg."
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider
