Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery joins Artisanal Brewing Ventures (home to brands Southern Tier and Victory)

Alliances continue to be formed. In 2016, Downingtown, Pa.-based Victory Brewing Co. and Lakewood, N.Y.-based Southern Tier Brewing Co. joined forces, forming a company called Artisanal Brewing Ventures to both preserve brewery independence (at least by the Brewers Association definition) while pooling collective resources. This is how Bill Covaleski, founder and brewmaster of Victory, described it two years ago.

“The craft beer community is at its most critical moment since its inception as larger brewing corporations have bought into our grassroots movement, irrevocably changing the marketplace. Like-minded brewers such as Victory and Southern Tier can preserve our character, culture and products by banding together. Allied we can continue to innovate and best serve the audience who fueled our growth through their loyal thirst.”

Now, Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Sixpoint Brewery will be joining Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV). While the business details are not really public, a press release does shine a light on what will follow. Here are the main points:

• As part of the partnership, Sixpoint plans to open its first taproom and new production brewing facility in Brooklyn. This facility will serve as Sixpoint’s innovation brewery, headquarters and a location where consumers can experience the Sixpoint brand as well as sample and celebrate Sixpoint beers.
• Through this partnership, Sixpoint becomes a sister brewery to ABV’s other brands, Victory Brewing Co. and Southern Tier Brewing Co. Not sure what that entails, being sisters.
• The partnership provides ABV with a strong presence in the fast-growing New York City market and makes the company one of the nation’s top 10 regional craft brewers.
• With Sixpoint a part of its portfolio, ABV has a leadership position in six of the country’s top 50 markets for craft beer.
• In addition to the new Brooklyn brewery, Sixpoint will gain access to ABV’s network of production facilities and brewers.
• Sixpoint will partner with Southern Tier and Victory to leverage their collective consumer data and insights to build an impactful innovation program and marketing approach, while also creating a unique selling structure and go-to-market strategy.
• Eric Bachli, Sixpoint’s brewmaster and chief product officer, will play a vital role on the ABV team. He will partner with ABV’s existing executive team to lead the Sixpoint operation in Brooklyn. Before he joined Sixpoint in 2017, Bachli was head brewer at Trillium Brewing Co. in Massachusetts where he was integral in building Trillium into one of the nation’s leading hyper‐local “Craft 3.0” brands.
• Shane Welch, a pioneer in the craft beer industry, founded Sixpoint and built it into one of the area’s leading and most-respected craft breweries. Shane will now take the opportunity to focus exclusively on a host of other craft beer related businesses, including an innovative app for direct to consumer engagement and e-commerce.
• The partnership provides ABV with a strong presence in the fast-growing New York City market and makes the company one of the nation’s top ten regional craft brewers.

“Adding Sixpoint to the ABV family is consistent with our strategy of working with successful regional brands that have great local market penetration, passionate fans, and opportunity to grow,” said John Coleman, CEO, Artisanal Brewing Ventures. “Our resources, expertise in craft beer and high operating standards can unlock Sixpoint’s growth potential, improve its productivity, and allow their team to focus on what makes Sixpoint special and successful: brewing great beer, creating strong local relevance and building an authentic brand.”