First Beverage Group Advises Brooklyn Brewery in Minority Interest Sale to Kirin

By cbadmin on October 13, 2016

Los Angeles, CA – First Beverage Group announced that it acted as the financial adviser to Brooklyn Brewery in its sale of a minority equity interest to Kirin Brewery. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The investment will allow Brooklyn to remain independently owned and operated by president Robin Ottaway and CEO Eric Ottaway.

Brooklyn Brewery (est. in the late 1980’s) has become the nation’s twelfth largest craft brewer. Its current expansion plans include: a larger production brewery in or near NYC, a new headquarters in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a barrel aging facility, sour beer program, new offices, and a 600-person capacity rooftop beer garden. It will continue to operate its current brewery in Williamsburg.

Kirin is Japan’s second-largest brewer by domestic market share. This investment is intended to allow Brooklyn to continue its global expansion and to position itself as a leading global craft brewer while supporting its US expansions. Brooklyn has been exporting beer to Japan since 1988, and total exports currently comprise about half of its business.

Brooklyn will set up a joint venture with Kirin for the purpose of expanding the craft beer market in Japan, and will develop a similar model together with Kirin in Brazil. Brooklyn’s other dealings also include a new craft brewery in Korea, Jeju Brewing Company, expected to open in Spring 2017.

“We were pleased to play a role in the unique partnership between Kirin and Brooklyn Brewery,” said Townsend Ziebold, managing partner of First Beverage. “It is a privilege to be a part of the first investment by a Japanese brewer in a US craft brewer, and we are happy that this international joint venture and investment will allow Brooklyn to fund its capital projects and growth.”

About Brooklyn Brewery
Co-founded in 1988 by AP foreign correspondent, Steve Hindy, and banker, Tom Potter, Brooklyn Brewery is today run by brothers Robin and Eric Ottaway. Under the direction of brewmaster, Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn produces its flagship Brooklyn Lager in addition to a wide-ranging portfolio of beers, including East IPA, Defender IPA, Sorachi Ace, American Ale, and Greenmarket Wheat, as well as seasonals like Summer Ale, Bel Air Sour, and Black Chocolate Stout. Additional information on Brooklyn’s beers, blog, events and more can be found at http://brooklynbrewery.com/.

About Kirin
The Japan Brewery Company, the forerunner of Kirin, was founded over a hundred years ago in 1885. Justthree years later, in 1888, the brewing of Kirin beer began. 1990 saw the launch of Kirin Ichiban Shibori, a unique brew made exclusively from the first press of the wort. Kirin Ichiban is brewed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch under strict supervision of a Kirin brewmaster, and by partners all over the world. As the world’s only first press beer, Kirin Ichiban is the true embodiment of beer at its purest. For more information, visit http://kirinusa.beer/.

About First Beverage Group
First Beverage Group is a full-service financial services firm dedicated exclusively to the beverage industry. First Beverage provides a comprehensive range of products, including investment banking and investment funds for growth capital to leading beverage entrepreneurs and operators. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, the First Beverage team is made up of senior executives with over 200 years of beverage industry experience. For more information, please visit the company’s website, www.firstbeveragegroup.com.