USA: AB InBev buys Virginia-based Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Anheuser-Busch InBev has announced an agreement to acquire Roseland, Virginia-based Devils Backbone Brewing Company.

Anheuser-Busch issued a statement regarding the new partnership on April 12.

Steve Crandall, co-founder and CEO of Devils Backbone Brewing Company, says in the statement that Devils Backbone will "retain a high level of autonomy," and that the "existing management team plans to stay on board for many years."

Gov. Terry McAuliffe says in the statement that through Anheuser-Busch's network of distributors, Devils Backbone will soon be available nationwide.

Candrall founded Devils Backbone in 2008 after a trip to Europe inspired him to open the brewery. In 2014, Devils Backbone became Virginia's highest volume craft beer producer when it opened its Outpost facility in Rockbridge County.

Anheuser-Busch's partnership with Devils Backbone is expected to close in the second quarter.

The brewing giant, which is in the midst of a $100 billion-plus acquisition of No. 2 global brewer SABMiller, has also dipped heavily into the buying of U.S. craft breweries in recent years. Since acquiring Chicago's Goose Island in 2011, AB InBev has now purchased eight U.S. craft breweries including Blue Point Brewing, Elysian Brewing, and Breckenridge (Colo.) Brewery.

12 April, 2016