Oskar Blues Sold: Deal Announced For Monster Beverage Purchase Of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective
(CBS4) - Soft drink company Monster Beverage announced a deal this week to purchase the company that operates Oskar Blues, the northern Colorado beer company that changed the craft brewing industry. Oskar Blues is widely credited for being the first craft brewer to make waves by selling their beer in cans instead of bottles.
Sales of cans of Dale's Pale Ale, named after founder Dale Katechis, quickly became a popular option for beer lovers across the country in the early 2000s and it helped the company expand well beyond its small brewpub building in Lyons.
Oskar Blues now has brewing facilities in Colorado and out of state. They also operate restaurants on Colorado's Front Range where their beer is sold, including Lyons, Longmont, Boulder and Denver, however the Wall Street Journal reported the deal does not include the eateries.
California-based Monster's acquisition of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective will be for $330 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In addition to Oskar Blues, the deal for CANarchy's breweries includes Cigar City, Squatters, Wasatch and Deep Ellum.
The Denver Business Journal reports that CANarchy was recently ranked as the 15th-largest overall brewery in the country.