Michigan’s Farm + Ferment today announced the acquisition of Ann Arbor’s craft beer brand Arbor Brewing Co., through a sale by ABC Brew Holding and ABC Brew Production. As part of the deal, Farm + Ferment acquired the membership interests of Arbor Brewing Co. founders Matt and René Greff, and the other investors in both Arbor Brewing Co. and Corner Brewery.
Along with business assets, ABC Brew Holding will have exclusive brand rights throughout North America, Greff Brewing Services will retain exclusive rights to Arbor Brewing Co. throughout India, and the two entities will share brand rights throughout the rest of the world.
“Acquiring a brewery fit perfectly with our long-term strategy,” says Mike Collins, managing principal of Farm + Ferment. “We’ve been very successful with our wine and hop businesses, and are continuing to expand the Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina brand. We were in the initial planning stages of a new brewery when we started discussions with the Greffs. We all knew right away that this was an ideal situation for everyone.”
Collins adds that all current employees will remain, and ABC Brew Production has plans to expand the Ypsilanti location and eventually open additional brewpubs statewide.
“In an era of craft breweries being gobbled up by multi-nationals, we couldn’t be more pleased to be joining a consortium of local, independent Michigan operators representing the best of our industries,” says René Greff. “This strategic partnership will allow both the Arbor Brewing Company Brewpub and Microbrewery to continue to grow and thrive in an evolving craft beer marketplace, and it will free Matt and I up to do what we love best —promote and grow the brand here and abroad.”
The Greffs founded the original Arbor Brewing Co. in Ann Arbor in July 1995, which was Michigan’s first solar powered brewpub (photovoltaic solar panels on the roof and geothermal heating and cooling systems in the building). The pair expanded the business in 2006 to include The Microbrewery Brew Pub and Beer Garden in Ypsilanti, known as Corner Brewery.
Farm + Ferment’s family of hospitality businesses include: Michigan Hop Alliance, Northport Farms, Baia Estate Vineyard, Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina (Ann Arbor, Detroit Medical Center, Ford Field, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield), Bacco Ristorante in Southfield, and Cloverleaf Fine Wine in Royal Oak.