Quality Bev in Taunton, Mass announced last week that it had acquired the remaining 40% of Consolidated Bevs in Auburn that it didn’t already own from partner David Fields, who will stay on as consultant until yr end. Quality made its first investment in Consolidated back in 2007. Quality is about 5 mil cases and Consolidated 3.2 mil cases. Now both will be Quality Bev in 2 separate divisions. Between the 2 operations, Quality will sell almost 30% of AB’s 26 mil cases in Mass. AB down over 2 mil cases, 7% since 2008 in Mass and down again so far in 2013.

Recall, Quality is owned by the Wetterau family, which also owns Golden State Foods, the giant food distribution/food processing/liquid products co, currently about $6.5-7 bil in sales. Golden State Foods is the 2d largest McDonald’s distrib, after Martin Brower, a division of Reyes Holdings, which is of course also the largest beer distrib.

The acquisition is “driven by Quality Beverage’s corporate strategy,” said ceo Conrad Wetterau, “focused on gaining efficiencies, consolidating geography and bringing into our fold a company that shares our values.” At Golden State Foods, 100 employees own 28% of the co, Conrad told INSIGHTS. And similarly, key employees own a piece at Quality as well, which Conrad said is a “great motivating factor…. We like to share.”

The 20th annual Beer Insights Seminar will be held Monday, November 11th at the Waldorf=Astoria in NYC. Join us for one of the industry's premier events. You don't want to miss this year's seminar, featuring a top-notch program and plenty of oppys to network with industry peers. Just added to the program: new Pabst president and chief operating officer Kevin McAdams will bring a fresh perspective and some keen insights on the value of subpremiums, the power of local brand equity and more. Other speakers include AB sales veep David Almeida, Heineken USA president Dolf van den Brink, and Harpoon ceo Rich Doyle. Also on tap are two panels: one moderated by consultant Bump Williams with MillerCoors chief customer officer Kevin Doyle, Crown exec veep sales Bruce Jacobson and Boston Beer sales veep John Geist; the 2d will provide unique insights into industry data from several leading data experts, GuestMetrics ceo Bill Pecoriello, IRI principal alc bev insights Dan Wandel and Nielsen sr veep Andrea Riberi. As always, BMI's Benj Steinman will present an overview of industry trends. The seminar is $1150 per person. Sign up for what's sure to be a jampacked and insightful day. Seating is limited. Click here for more info. Click here to register.

ABI owners and execs getting lotsa ink lately. Another long biz feature appeared this morn in Bloomberg Businessweek extolling the financial brilliance of Brazilian billionaire Jorge Lemann (this follows Fortune just naming ABI ceo Brito as ceo of its fantasy exec league). Lemann and his two partners "now control three icons of US consumer culture: Heinz ketchup, Burger King, and … Budweiser beer. The combined market value of the companies they run is $187 billion-larger than that of Citigroup." Lemann became richest man in Brazil last yr "worth some $20 billion" and is a "business class hero in Brazil," sez Biz Week. "He carried out a revolution in the way people think about business," sez Arminio Fraga, who used to work for him, later served as central bank chief and now runs one of Brazil's largest asset mgt firms. One of Lemann's two key partners, Carlos Alberto Sicupira sez: "Costs are like fingernails. You have to cut them constantly."

The Brazilian billionaires are applying similar principles to acquisitions subsequent to ABI. Burger King is already worth 2x what Lemann investment firm 3G paid for it in 2010. And after Heinz purchase in Jun, a familiar playbook already unveiled. New Brazilian ceo "fired 600 members of the Heinz's office staff in the US and Canada," 9% of workforce, wrote Biz Week. "Then he started knocking down the walls between offices to create an open air plan and promote communication." Interestingly, Jorge is a teetotaler, sez Biz Week. He didn't like whoppers much either, trying his first after he bought Burger King and finding it too large, according to Brazilian book about him called Sonho Grande. One final familiar point is that "once they've streamlined away a company's efficiencies… the only way to keep growing is through acquisitions," according to Brazilian web entrepreneur. And so Heinz expected to be a "platform for acquisitions," according to former Board member. And a onetime partner of Jorge's sez "he'd bet money that Lemann will try to take over Pepsico."

You can always find crazy price specials. We just happen to look for 'em over the big holidays. And we found some in grocery/liquor store flyers/ads/on-line lists for Labor Day. Lowest premium price we found was a net-$2.40 per 6 pk for Miller Lite at Albertsons in Los Angeles. Here's how it works. You buy a 20-pack for $14.99, but that gets you sausage worth $6.99, which brings 20-pk to $8 and voila, $2.40/sixer for the beer. Similar deals for Bud Lt and Coors Lt (with chips, water) brings those prices down to net $3.15, $3.60. You can also go to Binny's or Dominick's in Chicagoland and grab a 30-pack of PBR for just under 12 bucks or $2.40 per six. Even a coupla relatively crazy prices on craft brands. Tho $6-$7 sixers increasingly rare, they can be found in several stores below, tho you'd often have to buy 12- or 24-packs. But for 1-day only for 5 bucks you can grab a sixer of Redhook in San Diego Vons or a sixer of Widmer in San Fran Safeway. Didn't find a lot of mail-in rebates, but Tops in Buffalo NY has MIRs of $4 and $2 on domestic premiums and top imports, bringing prices to $15.99/30-pack (also $3.20/sixer) and 11.99 per 12-pk respectively. Then there's the $50 rebate on a home theater/DVD system you can get up in Portland, OR at Fred Meyers if you pick up a pair of Bud family 18-pks. (In table, ME=Modelo Especial, 21A=21st Amendment, Lag=Lagunitas.)

Bud Light Ritas featured in many ads this week; Redd's made a couple too. Blue Moon still hangin' in at craft pricing in most mkts and also in many ads. Craft, not premium domestic, mostly featured at Fla ABC Fine Wine and Liquor chain. Modelo Especial priced pretty close to Corona, Heineken in many mkts. Indeed 12-pk of Modelo bottles priced the same as those brands, as well as Shiner Bock, at Houston's HEB.

Consultant Tim Coughlin and his colleagues at DMG Financial are looking to build database on bev industry in US -- alc and non-alc, all tiers -- with extensive Cost of Capital Survey designed to be completed in 15-30 mins. DMG “seeks private company respondents who have the authority to approve acquisitions, large capital expenditures, loans and other investments, and respondents who have knowledge of the company’s financial decision-making process,” i.e. the owner, prexy, gen mgr and/or cfo. They’re not looking for detailed data on the biz; survey is anonymous unless you choose to provide contact info. With the data, DMG hopes to build and report on an info resource that will provide value to US bev industry and those who invest in it. To go directly to survey, click here.

In wake of WSJ intern misreporting story on craft brewer bills in Mich earlier this month (see Express #100 and #101), paper ran two letters on Friday, one from Mich Beer and Wine Wholesalers Assn prexy Mike Lashbrook and one co-signed by Dave Engers of Founders Brewing and his distrib Kim Gary of Alliance Bev. Mike ripped article’s “glaring one-sidedness,” pointed out that distribs supported legislation writer claimed they fought and charged that the article “puts at risk the good faith” brewers and distribs worked to build. Dave and Kim said article painted picture that was “as outdated as it is untrue.” Brewers and distribs have worked together to build thriving craft biz in Mich, they wrote. Alliance “helped get Founders out into the marketplace” and continue to “work hand-in-hand building our brands.”

Anderson Dist Co in Crookston has deal to sell its 300,000-case operation to neighboring AB distrib, D-S Bevs in Fargo, ND and Moorhead, Minn. D-S Bevs will be about 1.9 mil cases, almost half in Minn, following completion of deal. Deal announced to employees, expected to close in Sep. Last yr a very good yr for AB in those 2 states: AB up 3% in Minn and 10% in ND in 2012. This yr not as strong. Still very few deals so far this yr, but lots in works.

When Yuengling ceo Dick Yuengling talks, he’s always blunt and often quotable. Pennsy media took note of several comments he made yesterday on his biz and hot topics in state. Forbes mag valuation of Dick’s worth at $1.3 bil came up. “Yuengling said he did not like the article and denied his reported net worth. He said such value would only be true if he sold the company – and maybe not even then,” reported PA Independent. Dick: “We’re not for sale. Nobody is going to offer me a billion dollars, and if they did I wouldn’t take it.”

Dick supports privatization of wine/spirits: “I don’t support the government being in business. I think they should be private enterprise.” But one of sticking points in privatization efforts has been how to handle beer sales going forward. Some proposals expand beer sales in ways that threaten security of home d (distributors) that sell most of the off-premise beer in state. Dick wants to protect those home ds. Those bizzes “made our company in the state of Pennsylvania and I don’t want to see them hurt.” Yuengling has no problem with current limited licenses that some grocery stores have gotten under PA law by adding separate café areas, and is neutral on full-blown grocery store/big box sales, which of course those retailers seek. Dick also said he’d like to see Pennsy become a “right-to-work” state to attract more jobs. (Yuengling’s Pottsville workers decertified Teamsters back in 2005.) That position not likely to sit well with unions representing state store workers, the fiercest defenders of current state-store system. Finally, Yuengling dipped into world of big sports sponsorship with NASCAR foray via Yuengling Light. “It’s not cheap,” Dick told AP. “It’s very expensive, and the talk about it has been phenomenal. We’re going to see whether this is a good thing or not.”

Who sez popularity of spirits can’t help beer? AB’s increasingly popular, margarita-mimicking malt bevs have been very, very good for its volume. How good? Yr-to-date thru Aug 11, AB volume down 7.8 mil cases, 1.7% in IRI’s multi-channel data. Without Straw-Ber-Rita, AB down 12.5 mil cases, 2.7%. Take out Lime-A-Rita both years and AB off 14.5 mil cases, 3.2%. Sure, Bud Light Lime may have picked up some of that volume, but it was already a declining brand two years before Ritas hit the mkt. Indeed, AB sez only 18% of Ritas’ volume sourced from other ABI brands. Buy those ladies a drink.

For 13 weeks from run-up to Memorial Day thru Aug 11, scan data shows volume even, reports IRI from its multi- outlet + convenience store database. Up 0.6% for 4 weeks thru Aug 11, following 0.2% gain previous 4 wks. Yr-to-date volume still off nearly 1%, tho $$ sales up 1.9%. (Scanner trends still a little stronger than depletions.) Not much change in segment trends over the summer: premiums and subpremiums gave up a bit over 2 share of volume, 3 share of $$ to high end. Avg prices up 2.9% for 13 wks, but most of that is trade up; no single segment got that strong of a price increase: only superpremium prices up 2% or more vs last summer.

AB volume off 1%, MC off 2% for 13 wks; AB $$ +1.7%, MC $$ +0.9%. Each lost about a half-share of volume and $$. Crown killed it: volume +8.5% picking up 0.5 share. Boston blew it outta the water: up 36% and gained 0.3 share of volume almost half-share of $$. Positive spin is that top 5 suppliers (ranked by $$) sold 700K fewer cases for 13 wks vs same period last yr, but each built dollar sales and collectively, they sold almost $200 mil more worth of beer in IRI channels. Pabst off slightly this period; Yuengling returned to growth, up slightly. Diageo and NAB each off 10-11%. Bigger craft brewer trends varied from Lagunitas more than doubling to Dogfish Head and SweetWater up 50-60%, Stone and Bell’s +30%-40%, Craft Brew Alliance, Deschutes, Gambrinus and New Glarus +10-20%. Sierra Nevada and New Belgium up high single-digits.

Among top brands, Bud Light off almost 2% for 13 wks, vs 0.8% gain for Coors Light, -6.3% for Miller Lite. But Coors Light and Miller Lite pricing was more aggressive, up avg 27 cents/case and 29 cents/case vs Bud Light’s 12 cents. Meanwhile, Bud significantly outperformed Lite: down 3.4% for 13 wks, about half of Lite’s dropoff pace. For 4 wks, Bud -2.3% vs Lite’s -5%. Corona Extra cranked it up: +5.7% for 13 wks; Heineken off 2%. Busch Light only big subpremium up this summer, +2.2%, while most others down mid-to-high single digits. Pabst Blue Ribbon up 8%. Hot imports stayed hot: Modelo Especial +19%, Dos Equis +22% and Stella +13.5%. Mich Ultra stayed strong, +7%.