Hofmeister signs deal with Keystone
Hofmeister has signed an exclusive sales and distribution partnership with Keystone Brewing Group in a bid to expand its reach across the UK. The post Hofmeister signs deal with Keystone appeared first on The Drinks Business.
Hofmeister has signed an exclusive sales and distribution partnership with Keystone Brewing Group in a bid to expand its reach across the UK.
The deal, which expands Keystone’s portfolio, is set to help Hofmeister to “significantly scale its GB operations”. A move the beer company has been making over the past few years via crowdfunding drives, advertising, a broader base of UK accounts, award wins and by having increased presence at beer festivals.
First brewed in the UK in the 1970s, friends Spencer Chambers and Richard Longhurst relaunched the brand after acquiring it from Heineken in 2016, moving brewing to Bavaria, the birthplace of lager.
By 2017, the first kegging of Hofmeister Helles (5% ABV) took place.
The Hofmeister range includes both the eponymous brand owner’s 5% ABV Helles lager and its 5.1% ABV wheat beer, its Weisse. The brewery has also recently expanded into the low-and-no market with its Bearly Any, 0.5% ABV Helles.
According to the company, “this new partnership will enable Hofmeister to leverage Keystone’s extensive on-and off-trade distribution network throughout Great Britain , with the aim of tripling its production output over the next three years”.
Speaking about the deal, Keystone Brewing Group CEO Steve Cox admitted: “There has been a gap in our portfolio for a world lager - and with its exceptional quality - Hofmeister is the perfect addition.”
Cox explained: “World lager is one of the fastest-growing alcohol categories in the UK on trade, and we know that consumers love Hofmeister’s brand heritage want to see more of it. As such, the deal supports our broader strategy of building a £100m portfolio of exceptional beer brands and beverages by 2028.”
Hofmeister co-founders and joint CEOs, Spencer Chambers and Richard Longhurst described Keystone as “a true disrupter in the market” and described the move as “a natural fit for Hofmeister”.
The duo added: “We look forward to elevating our beers to new heights and expanding their reach to even more consumers across England, Scotland and Wales.”
The private equity firm Breal Group rebranded as Keystone Brewing Group following a number of acquisitions in the craft beer space in the past year. It has a growing portfolio of brands already includes Black Sheep Brewery, Purity, Brick, Brew by Numbers and more recently Big Drop, North Brewing Co., Maison Sassy, Magic Rock, Fourpure and Wolf Pack.
Despite its portfolio being in growth, the firm's business’s tactics have been scrutinised by the trade with some noting its moves as “daylight robbery” and others warning that Keystone undervalued some of the beer. businesses.
Earlier in the year, sources close to the scene warned: “Breal is doing everything it can to hide the fact that everyone is jumping ship and all of these breweries are losing their identities because this is about money, not beer or people or even respecting the integrity of the brewery or its brands. These are all just assets that will be dumped further down the road”.
Back in August, In Good Company admitted it would be forced to close Fourpure Brewing Co’s production site and taproom in Bermondsey and would brew its beer at Magic Rock Brewery in Huddersfield from mid-September. However, since then, Fourpure’s head brewer has also departed and gone on to work for Queer Brewing Co.
The deal, which expands Keystone’s portfolio, is set to help Hofmeister to “significantly scale its GB operations”. A move the beer company has been making over the past few years via crowdfunding drives, advertising, a broader base of UK accounts, award wins and by having increased presence at beer festivals.
First brewed in the UK in the 1970s, friends Spencer Chambers and Richard Longhurst relaunched the brand after acquiring it from Heineken in 2016, moving brewing to Bavaria, the birthplace of lager.
By 2017, the first kegging of Hofmeister Helles (5% ABV) took place.
The Hofmeister range includes both the eponymous brand owner’s 5% ABV Helles lager and its 5.1% ABV wheat beer, its Weisse. The brewery has also recently expanded into the low-and-no market with its Bearly Any, 0.5% ABV Helles.
According to the company, “this new partnership will enable Hofmeister to leverage Keystone’s extensive on-and off-trade distribution network throughout Great Britain , with the aim of tripling its production output over the next three years”.
Speaking about the deal, Keystone Brewing Group CEO Steve Cox admitted: “There has been a gap in our portfolio for a world lager - and with its exceptional quality - Hofmeister is the perfect addition.”
Cox explained: “World lager is one of the fastest-growing alcohol categories in the UK on trade, and we know that consumers love Hofmeister’s brand heritage want to see more of it. As such, the deal supports our broader strategy of building a £100m portfolio of exceptional beer brands and beverages by 2028.”
Hofmeister co-founders and joint CEOs, Spencer Chambers and Richard Longhurst described Keystone as “a true disrupter in the market” and described the move as “a natural fit for Hofmeister”.
The duo added: “We look forward to elevating our beers to new heights and expanding their reach to even more consumers across England, Scotland and Wales.”
The private equity firm Breal Group rebranded as Keystone Brewing Group following a number of acquisitions in the craft beer space in the past year. It has a growing portfolio of brands already includes Black Sheep Brewery, Purity, Brick, Brew by Numbers and more recently Big Drop, North Brewing Co., Maison Sassy, Magic Rock, Fourpure and Wolf Pack.
Despite its portfolio being in growth, the firm's business’s tactics have been scrutinised by the trade with some noting its moves as “daylight robbery” and others warning that Keystone undervalued some of the beer. businesses.
Earlier in the year, sources close to the scene warned: “Breal is doing everything it can to hide the fact that everyone is jumping ship and all of these breweries are losing their identities because this is about money, not beer or people or even respecting the integrity of the brewery or its brands. These are all just assets that will be dumped further down the road”.
Back in August, In Good Company admitted it would be forced to close Fourpure Brewing Co’s production site and taproom in Bermondsey and would brew its beer at Magic Rock Brewery in Huddersfield from mid-September. However, since then, Fourpure’s head brewer has also departed and gone on to work for Queer Brewing Co. 
