GOLDEN ROAD TO SUCCESS

bobadillapaul
Nov 5, 2015
2 min read

Los Angeles brewery Golden Road was acquired by big beer Anheuser-Busch InBev this year. The overall deal has yet to close, but on November 3rd nationally recognized beer publication BrewBound, which tracks the industry of U.S. craft beer, visited the Glendale based operation to speak with brewery operators Meg Gil and Paul Burgis for their road show series Brew Talks.

The event was sponsored by Bank of America, Vicinity Brew and Pubkeg and raised over $1,000.00 for Heal the Bay, a local charity that G.R. supports. Moderated by BrewBound editor Chris Furnari, the topic points addressed were why Golden Road sold to AB-InBev and investment strategies explained by Brian Mulvaney, Senior Vice President of Bank of America’s Beverage Finance Group. Also discussed were soon to come industry trends and new challenges facing beverage professionals.

From experience, co. acquisitions and mergers is nothing new. As an entertainment professional, these superpack deals are commonplace. I survived several swings of the ax while at Deluxe, but at Sony Pictures Entertainment my luck ran out. Unlike most, when I read about G.R. alignment with AB, I was excited about the news. I saw an opportunity for G.R.'s product to be improved and consumed with greater delight, flavor and with the hopes of new style offerings.

During the two hour discussion and babysitting my I'll Have Another Stout (an American Stout weighing in at 6.10% ABV), Brian of BOA detailed the importance of having people (resources) and money (cash flow) at the critical point of brewery development and expansion. “Operators must have a plan, and be able to execute that plan with key resources [to be successful],” he said while taking sips from his canned IPA. “Meg and Paul delivered on that plan,” he continued.

As Senior Vice President of Bank of America, Brian appeared to be a lot cooler than first impressions. When he discussed the differences between “change vs. perceived change,” I immediately knew this seasoned professional could shape-shift from man on money train to man on soul train.

Paul and Meg were equally engaging to hear speak. They revealed their expansion plans for their new brewery in Anaheim California, and their dedication to improve the rate of sales outside the tasting room and inside the grocery store aisles. I'm looking forward to their increase of store presents and revamped marketing campaign.

Throughout the course of the evening, I saw a lot of familiar faces from South Bay brewers to popular culture bloggers/writers to beverage warehouse distributors and brewery sale representatives. At the end of the day, beer is just beer. But all beer is not created equal.

Brian, Meg and Paul all echoed an industry that is growing stiff in competition; breweries are outgrowing their facility space, mergers between companies are closing left and right and retailers are running out of shelf space to showcase all brewery offerings to consumers. Oh yes. Let's not forget about the unforgiving craft beer consumer who is a very sophisticated shopper with a lot of brand selections to choose from, and who is committed to buying only the best liquid bread available.