Coronado Brewing Acquires Monkey Paw
Moving to strengthen its position in the turbulent craft beer industry, Coronado Brewing Co. is buying Monkey Paw Brewing Co..
"They do a lot of different, unique beers that we don't usually do," Coronado chief operating officer Brandon Richards said of Monkey Paw, a brewpub in San Diego's East Village. "And I think their brand reaches younger, millennial drinkers."
No price was revealed for the sale, announced Tuesday. Scot Blair will continue to supervise brewing operations at Monkey Paw, which he founded and owns. The deal is expected to close Sept. 1.
Last year, Monkey Paw made 650 barrels of beer, while Coronado made 39,000 barrels. Both are dwarfed by Stone, the county's largest independent brewery, which in 2016 sold 345,000 barrels of beer. (Each barrel is 31 gallons.) But Coronado's robust marketing and distribution networks, plus its brewing facilities, are expected to speed the growth of its smaller acquisition.
"I anticipate Monkey Paw will be able to make up to 3,000 or 4,000 barrels in a year," Richard said. "We'll be able to quadruple their business."
That was a key motivation for the sale, Blair said. "We're in a strange climate," he said. "I wanted to expand, to get more Monkey Paw beer out there."