Sydney’s 4 Pines Brewing is the latest acquisition
ZX Ventures, the disruption arm of AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has purchased 100% of 4 Pines Brewing Company, a microbrewery and brewpub in the Sydney suburb of Manly. A video on the 4 Pines website currently describes it as “Australia’s leading independently owned beer company”.
Owner and co-founder Jaron Mitchell stated that negotiations with AB InBev had been going on for over a year and cited the access to ingredient resources that 4 Pines will gain as a major factor. AB InBev’s Agora programme controls access to company-owned hop farms and proprietary yeast strains, shared exclusively among subsidiary brewers. Mitchell says this will allow 4 Pines to create beers that would be beyond their means as an independent.
AB InBev is already Australia’s largest brewer, making 48% of the country’s beer via Carlton & United Breweries which it acquired in 2016 following the takeover of SABMiller. The terms of the 4 Pines deal were not disclosed.