Investing

Microbrewers and Craft Beer Makers Raising Millions and Millions of Dollars

If you have read 24/7 Wall St. for a while, you know that we love to cover popular topics and the financial numbers behind them. This is from demographic trends, economic trends, tax issues or key issues behind the growth or demise of many key consumer products. Beer has a very widespread appeal and it has been impossible to not take note that craft beers have been taking away more and more beer sales from the big giant beer companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) and Molson Coors Bewing Company (NYSE: TAP). This is a trend which is likely to continue. What 24.7 Wall St. has not been able to ignore is just how much money the movement around craft beer has been raising of late.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) is no longer really defined as a craft brewer in the classic “David versus Goliath” any longer now that its annual sales are almost $600 million per year with a market capitalization rate of about $2 billion. Still, the beer drinking public treats them differently because they have been a disruptive force to the big brewers.

Of the filings we have tracked, there are likely just as many or more which have not gone through the filing process. This almost certainly does not include any of the bootstrapped outfits financed by 1 person, or father and son teams, or the “2-friend brewers” out there. Some of these are craft breweries in the making or already under operations, and some are gastropubs.

There are literally millions and millions of dollars being raised and which are trying to be raised around the craft beer movement. A Form D filing search with the SEC of only the terms “Beer, Brewery, and Brewing” yielded the following results in just the last six-month period:

Alpha Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of St. Louis, MO filed to raise $150,000 on October 17, 2012.

Armadillo Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Frisco, TX filed to raise up to $750,000 on September 20, 2012.

Atom Brewing Company, Inc. (FB-SITE) of Erie, Colorado filed an amended Form D originally from January 7 to raise up to $125,000 on February 19, 2013.

Beer Army Investors, LP of Trenton, NC filed as a limited partnership to raise up to $480,000 on January 14, 2013.

Beer By Design Brewery (SITE) of Brighton, CO filed to raise up to $420,000 on October 26, 2012.

Beltway Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Sterling, VA (circa-Washington D.C.) filed to raise up to $1,400,000 on December 21, 2012.

Black Abbey Brewing Co LLC (SITE) of Nashville, TN filed to raise up to $850,000 on September 21, 2012.

Bogus Brewing, Inc. (SITE) of Boise, ID filed to raise up to $1,000,000 on January 30, 2013.

Core Brewing & Distilling Company, LLC (SITE) of Springdale, AR filed to raise $200,000 on February 14, 2013.

Double Barley Brewing, Inc. (or Dubbel Barrel Brewing) (SITE) of Smithfield, NC filed to raise up to $600,000 on February 21, 2013.

Fargo Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Fargo, ND filed to raise $200,000 back on December 11, 2012.

Greenport Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Greenport, NY filed to raise up to $1,500,000 on December 11, 2012.

Harris Brewing, LLC of Portland, OR filed to raise up to $1,000,000 on December 21, 2012.

Hellbender Brewing Co. (SITE) of Washington D.C. filed to raise $350,000 on September 19, 2012.

Heretic Brewing Co. (SITE) of Pittsburg, CA filed to raise up to $1,000,000 on September 6, 2012.

Independence Brewing Company, Inc. (SITE) of Austin, TX filed to raise up to $800,000 on December 21, 2012.

Indiana City Brewing LLC (SITE) of Indianapolis, IN filed to raise up to $200,000 November 29, 2012.

Land-Grant Brewing Co. (SITE) of Columbus, OH filed to raise $1,000,000 on December 3, 2012.

Lonerider Brewing Co. (SITE) of Raleigh, NC filed to raise up to $1,102,550 on October 15, 2012.

Magnolia Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of San Francisco, CA filed to raise up to $2,200,000 on October 10, 2012.

Ozark Beer Ventures, LLC of Fayetteville, AR filed to raise up to $250,000 on December 10, 2012.

Ploughshare Brewing Co., LLC (SITE) of Lincoln, NE filed to raise up to $500,000 on September 25, 2012.

Sanitas Brewing Co LLC (SITE) of Boulder, CO filed to raise up to $400,000 on February 25, 2013.

Santa Clara Valley Brewing, Inc. (SITE) of San Jose, CA filed to raise $65,000 back on November 14, 2012.

2 Way Brewing Company (SITE) of Newburgh, New York filed to raise up to $850,000 on February 6, 2013.

Union Craft Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Baltimore, MD filed to raise $800,000 on February 1, 2013.

Wisconsin Brewing Company, LLC (SITE) of Verona, WI filed to raise $8,000,000 on October 9, 2012.

READ ALSO: 9 Beers Americans No Longer Drink

We did not note all of the details in the financing efforts here. SOme of these brewing and craft beer efforts already completed their capital raising efforts. Some have raised a portion of the capital they were seeking, and some have raised no capital at all. Some have raised capital in straight equity terms, while others offered convertible notes, warrants, debt and other securities.

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