The 12th-largest U.S. craft brewery, Boulevard joins Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown, N.Y., as the second American company owned by the international beer conglomerate. Duvel Moortgat, which acquired Brewery Ommegang in 2003, itself was founded in 1871. Its Duvel Belgian golden ale was considered one of the world's classic beers by the late Michael Jackson, the English beer expert whose writings and TV appearances beginning in the Seventies helped drive interest in beer.
Boulevard founder John McDonald noted on the company web site that a Belgian beer he drank in Paris led to his eventual founding of the brewery. At the age of 60, McDonald had begun to think about the future of the company.
Duvel Moortgat will "bring to us an unparalleled depth of experience, strong resources, and an unwavering devotion to quality. Duvel Moortgat is committed to our people, to the expansion of our Kansas City brewery, and to growing Boulevard brands throughout the US and abroad," he said in the note. "After spending a lot of time getting to know the company and its people, I am confident this is the right decision. We share the same values, respect each other's achievements, and have the same obsession for exceptional beers."
In this July 1, 2013 photo, bottles of Boulevard Wheat Beer head toward packaging at the Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Mo. Boulevard Brewing opened in 1989 in Kansas City?s Westside neighborhood, refashioning a brewery out of building that had been a railroad?s laundry.(Photo: Photo: Orlin Wagner, AP)
Founded in 1989, Boulevard is the 12th largest U.S! . craft brewery, according to the Brewers Association, larger than Dogfish Head Craft Brewery of Milton, Del., and behind Brooklyn (N.Y.) Brewery.
The deal, announced Thursday afternoon, is expected to close before the end of the year. While terms were not disclosed, industry sources have estimated its value as at least $100 million, online beer news site Brewbound reported.
McDonald will be involved in a new U.S. holding company started by Duvel that will include Brewery Ommegang and possible future acquisitions, Duvel Moortgat CEO Michel Moortgat told Brewhound. "One of the evolutions in the U.S. is the focus on quality and that, in addition its size, is very strongly present," he said. "That is why the U.S. market has always been an interesting one for us."
Boulevard sold 173,793 barrels of beer in 2012, while Brewery Ommegang sold about 32,200 barrels, Brewhound says. The holding company will also handle Duvel Moortgat's import brands in the U.S.
"Our companies share the same values," Moortgat said in a press release announcing the acquisition. "We have great mutual respect for each other's achievements and maintain a deeply-held belief in exceptional quality as the platform for long-term success. Even as recently as this week I was happy to learn that both Boulevard and Brewery Ommegang won 3 medals at the prestigious Great American Beer Fest. Together, with our combined strengths and our mutual obsession for outstanding beers, I'm convinced that one plus one equals three."
Boulevard's Kansas City facility will be expanded and no jobs will be lost, Moortgat told Brewhound.
"I wanted to find a way to take the business to the next level while retaining its essence, its people, its personality—all the characteristics that make our beer and our brewery so important to Kansas City and the Midwest," McDonald said. "Duvel Moortgat's commitment to quality and independence, and their proven record helping breweries fulfill their potential, made this a perfect fit and an! easy dec! ision."
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