RIP Craft Beer: Sam Adams’ Company Buys Dogfish Head Brewery

by Jenny G. Zhang

Two big beer players merge in $300 million deal

If craft beer wasn’t already over, this latest news might be the nail in the coffin: the Boston Beer Company — the producers of Samuel Adams beer and the second largest craft brewer in the U.S. — is merging with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, the 13th largest independent brewery as ranked by the Brewers Association. The deal, valued at $300 million, follows other major consolidations in the beer industry, such as Constellation Brands’ $1 billion acquisition of a San Diego’s Ballast Point in 2015. 

Boston Beer CEO Dan Burwick (who is NOT the guy in all the Sam Adams commercials) will lead the merged company. “We expect that we’ll see more consolidation in the craft industry over time, and we’ll be in the best position to take advantage of those changes,” he said in a press release.

And in other news…

• Also on the beer beat: Beer pong favorite Natty Light is taking a unique approach to summer intern hiring with a nationwide search to attract candidates who are “just as creative writing an English 102 essay as they are converting a bathtub into a cooler.” Hey, for a generous $40 an hour, no task is beneath me, including drinking Natty Light on the job. [MLive]
• Amy Sedaris’s wonderfully batty hospitality show has been renewed for a third season on TruTV. More cheese balls and goofy dancing, please! [@AHWAmySedaris]
• Gene-edited crops are making their way into our food supply, but governments still haven’t figured out the whole regulation bit. [NPR]
• Michael Pollan wants you to slow your roll on psychedelic mushrooms. [NYT]
• Armyworms are rapidly spreading across China’s grain production and could majorly impact staple crops like rice, soybeans, and corn. [CNN]