AB InBev said it was done buying out craft breweries in September, yet here we are. Today news broke that the large beer conglomerate has acquired Australian craft brewery Pirate Life for $7.6 million. This is AB InBev’s second acquisition of an Australian craft brewery since September, when it purchased Sydney’s 4 Pines. (Since it’s not an American craft brewery, it looks like AB InBev has kept its promise, kind of.)
Named Australia’s best craft brewery at Beer Cartel’s 2017 Australian Craft Beer Survey, Pirate Life was founded in 2015. Pirate Life has a solid portfolio of different styles including a stout, a variety of IPAs, pale ales, a golden ale, and a mosaic. Prior to the acquisition, the brewery had teamed up with Ballast Point to create its strong pale ale.
Pirate Life has run out of space at its Hindmarsh brewery location, and will be building a new brewery. The Hindmarsh location will remain as a place where Pirate Life can experiment with new beers such as sours, seasonals, and barrel-aged varieties.
Pirate Life views the acquisition positively, as the investment from AB InBev will allow it to expand its brand’s reach and build a new facility. “The reality is we have run out of capacity at Hindmarsh,” says co-founder and chief brewer Jared “Red” Proudfoot. “With this partnership we’re in a fortunate position to upgrade to a new, bigger brewery while dedicating Hindmarsh to innovate and craft a whole range of new styles to make sure we keep pushing the boundaries and evolving.”
Co-founder Jack Cameron is excited to see the Australian brewery gain a global reach. “Looking back at what we set out to do when we started in 2015, we aimed ‘to be an exciting and challenging new company brewing internationally recognized beer that excites and challenges the lifestyles and palates of beer drinkers globally,” according to Cameron. “Continuing with this philosophy, our new partnership helps us take our dream to a level we could never imagine and push ourselves and our beers further.”
