A few months ago, I went to a wedding in Portland, Oregon.
Portland is famous for its craft beers, so after the rehearsal dinner, a bunch of us headed out to a bar called Bailey’s Taproom to sample the goods.
My buddy Henry ordered a Nitro Orange Cream Ale. Pete went with a Straight Outta Portland IPA. And I got a Riverbend Black River Stout.
But when it was Big Mike’s turn to order, we got quite a shock:
“Miller Lite, please.”
We couldn’t believe it. We were in the land of extraordinary craft beers — and Mike ordered a beer you can get anywhere. (“Great taste, less filling?” he said sheepishly, quoting the beer’s tagline from the ‘70s.)
The thing is, Mike’s preference for “traditional” beer is increasingly out of touch:
Craft beers have quickly captured 22% of the total beer market —
And now this shift is helping investors like you earn enormous profits…
The Rise of Craft Beer
“Craft beer” is any type of beer that’s made at a small, independent brewery.
It comes in thousands of different varieties, from stouts and ales to IPAs.
Ten years ago, annual U.S. sales of craft beer were about $6 billion — but by 2016, sales had reached $23 billion.
There are a few main reasons craft beer has become so popular:
Authenticity — Craft beers are “locally-made” and “hand-crafted,” which taps into the mega trend of consumers preferring “authentic” products.
Big Taste — Consumers are increasingly turning to full-flavored beers (case in point: the huge tastes of an Orange Cream Ale or Black River Stout).
More Choice — In 1989, there were eight craft breweries. Today, there are more than 6,000.
And as craft beer grew from being a “niche” market to a mainstream phenomenon, the world’s biggest beer companies realized they needed to get in on the action…
Placing Their Bets on Craft Beer…
To quickly claim their stakes in this fast-growing market, beer giants like Anheuser-Busch and Heineken started buying up popular breweries — for example:
Anheuser-Busch bought Camden Town Brewing for $119 million, and picked up 10 Barrel Brewing for $50 million…
Constellation Brands (which owns big beer brands like Corona and Pacifico) acquired Ballast Point Brewing for $1 billion…
And private equity firm TSG bought out BrewDog (which had previously raised money from individual investors like you) for $213 million — making its investors a quick return of 2,765%.
And More Deals Are Coming
And as it turns out, deals like these are expected to keep happening.
For example:
According to a recent report from CB Insights, big beer companies will continue “placing their bets on craft beer” in 2018…
Anheuser-Busch recently said it would spend $2 billion acquiring additional craft brands…
And in October 2017, the CEO of MillerCoors revealed his intention to continue buying out smaller breweries.
But all these facts leads us to an important question:
How can you profit from all this activity?
Your Chance to Get Involved
To profit, you need to invest in craft beer companies that are still at their earliest stages.
Here are a few brewers raising capital that recently caught our attention:
Fireman’s Brew — This brewery has sold close to 4 million bottles of its award-winning beer. It was created by a group of firefighters who believe in delivering premium craft beers, while giving folks a chance to salute the brave men and women keeping communities safe.
San Francisco East Bay Brewing — This brewery is targeting the booming craft beer market in Asia, where people consume one-third of the world’s beer. It already has distribution contracts in Japan, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam.
Texas Beer Co. — Started in 2016 with a small brewpub in Taylor, Texas, this brewery brought in more than $230,000 in sales in its first year.
Keep in mind: these are risky early-stage ventures — so be sure to do your research before considering an investment.
But if you’re excited about the profit potential from this fast-growing sector, these craft brewers are a good place to start your search.
Cheers — and Happy Investing
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with any of the platforms or companies we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
