The Boston Beer Company, Inc. is one of the largest craft brewers in the United
States. Company sold over sixty beers under the Samuel Adams® and the Sam
Adams® brand names, twelve flavored malt beverages under the Twisted Tea®
brand name, ten hard cider beverages under the Angry Orchard® brand name,
and over forty beers under four of the brand names of its subsidiary, A&S
Brewing Collaborative LLC, under its trade name Alchemy & Science.
Boston Beer produces malt beverages and hard cider at Company-owned breweries
and under contract arrangements at other brewery locations. The Samuel Adams
Company-owned breweries are located in Boston, Massachusetts (the “Boston
Brewery”), Cincinnati, Ohio (the “Cincinnati Brewery”) and
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania (the “Pennsylvania Brewery”). The Alchemy
& Science Company-owned small breweries are located in Los Angeles, California
(the “Angel City Brewery”), Miami, Florida (the “Concrete
Beach Brewery”) and Brooklyn, New York (the “Coney Island Brewery”).
The Company owns an apple orchard and cidery located in Walden, New York (the
“Orchard”).
The Company’s principal executive offices are located at One Design Center
Place, Suite 850, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, and its telephone number is (617)
368-5000.
Before Prohibition, the United States beer industry consisted of hundreds of
small breweries that brewed full-flavored beers. After the end of Prohibition,
most domestic brewers shifted production to less flavorful, lighter beers, which
use lower-cost ingredients, and can be mass-produced to take advantage of economies
of scale in production. This shift towards mass-produced beers coincided with
consolidation in the beer industry. Today, two major brewers, Anheuser-Busch
InBev (“AB InBev”) and MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”),
comprise over 85% of all United States domestic beer production, excluding imports.
The Company’s beers are primarily positioned in the Better Beer category
of the beer industry, which includes craft (small, independent and traditional)
brewers, domestic specialty beers and most imports. Better Beers are determined
by higher price, quality, image and taste, as compared with regular domestic
beers. Samuel Adams is one of the largest brands in the Better Beer category
of the United States brewing industry. The Company’s Alchemy & Science
brands, which include the Traveler Beer Company®, the Angel City Brewery®,
the Concrete Beach Brewery™ and the Coney Island® Brewery also compete
in the Better Beer category.
The domestic beer industry, excluding Better Beers, has experienced a decline
in shipment volume over the last ten years. The Company believes that this decline
is due to declining alcohol consumption per person in the population, drinkers
trading up to drink high quality, more flavorful beers and increased competition
from wine and spirits companies.
The Company’s business goal is to become the leading supplier in the
Better Beer and hard cider categories by creating and offering high quality
full-flavored beers and hard ciders. With the support of a large, well-trained
sales organization and world-class brewers, the Company strives to achieve this
goal by offering great beers and hard ciders, and increasing brand availability
and awareness through advertising, point-of-sale, promotional programs and drinker
education.
Beers and Hard Ciders Marketed
The Company’s strategy is to create and offer a world-class variety of
traditional and innovative beers and hard ciders, with a focus on promoting
the Samuel Adams brand, but supported by a portfolio of complementary brands.
The Angry Orchard brand family was launched in the second half of 2011 in several
markets and achieved national distribution in 2012. Since 2013, Angry Orchard
has been the largest selling hard cider in the United States. The Twisted Tea
brand family has grown each year since the product was first introduced in 2001
and has established a loyal drinker following. The Company’s subsidiary,
Alchemy & Science currently has four brands, including Angel City Brewery,
The Traveler Beer Co., Coney Island Brewery and the Concrete Beach Brewery.
In 2015, the Company began national distribution of certain styles of the Traveler
Beer brand and the Coney Island beer brand, including Coney Island Hard Root
Beer.
The Company sells its beers and hard ciders in various packages. Kegs are sold
primarily for on-premise retailers, which include bars, restaurants and other
venues, and bottles and cans are sold primarily for off-premise retailers, which
include grocery stores, club stores, convenience stores and liquor stores.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager® is the Company’s flagship beer that was
first introduced in 1984. The Samuel Adams Seasonal beers are brewed specifically
for limited periods of time and include Samuel Adams Cold Snap, Samuel Adams
Summer Ale, Samuel Adams Octoberfest, and Samuel Adams Winter Lager.
Certain Samuel Adams beers may be produced at select times during the year solely
for inclusion in the Company’s seasonal variety packs. During 2015, Samuel
Adams Crystal Pale Ale was brewed and included in the Spring Seasonal Collection
variety pack, Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin and Samuel Adams Hoppy Red were brewed
and included in the Fall variety pack and Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig® Ale,
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Samuel Adams Holiday Porter and Samuel Adams Sparkling
Ale were brewed and included in the Winter Classics variety pack. Additionally,
beginning in 2011 the Company began limited releases of seasonal beers in various
packages. These limited seasonal release beers currently include Samuel Adams
Escape Route, Samuel Adams Porch Rocker, Samuel Adams Pumpkin Batch and Samuel
Adams White Christmas.
The Samuel Adams Brewmaster’s Collection is an important part of the Company’s
portfolio and heritage, but receives limited promotional support. The Small
Batch Collection, Barrel Room Collection and Limited Edition Beers and certain
specialty variety packs are produced in limited quantities and are sold at higher
prices than the Company’s other products. The Company also releases a
variety of specialty draft beers brewed in limited quantities for festivals
and Beer Week celebrations.
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