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A second craft brewery founded and grown in Georgia is now in the hands of a Canadian company with core interests in cannabis.
Tilray Brands Inc., which in 2020 acquired Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing for $300 million, picked up Athens-based Terrapin Beer Co. and three other craft breweries from Molson Coors Beer Co. in an August deal.
Founded in 2002, Terrapin is distributed via 47,000 outlets across key Southeast U.S. states as well as Wisconsin. In addition to its brewery in Athens, the brand operates the Terrapin Taproom at Truist Park and has collaborated on special brews with the Atlanta Braves.
According to executives, Tilray’s plans to become a North American leader in craft beer dovetailed well with Molson Coors’ growth strategy, as the deal unlocked resources to allow the latter to focus on the “above premium portfolio in beer and beyond beer.”
Tilray’s craft beer volume, meanwhile, will grow to 15 million cases annually with the acquisition, and, with two key Georgia brands under its belt, the company secures a position as the top craft brewer in the state.
Tilray’s broader portfolio includes medical cannabis, adult-use cannabis products and consumables like CBD-infused canned mocktails and hemp-based fibers, granolas and seeds. Canada legalized and regulated recreational cannabis use with the Cannabis Act of 2018; the U.S. has yet to see similar nationwide legislation, with a patchwork of laws instead emerging by state.
Tilray said in its fiscal 2024 third-quarter report that it currently doesn’t derive any revenue from cannabis in the U.S. but that it stands poised to take advantage of its infrastructure for cultivation and distribution if regulations change.
Tilray has made it a stated goal to diversify into beer while growing its cannabis business internationally. Revenue from medical cannabis in Europe and recreational cannabis elsewhere in the world grew 44 percent in the third quarter over the prior-year period. Tilray was No. 1 in cannabis market share in Canada and Germany.
Tilray also acquired Hop Valley Brewing Co. of Eugene, Ore., Revolver Brewing of Granbury, Texas, and Atwater Brewery of Detroit in the deal with Terrapin, the terms of which were not disclosed.
In December 2020, Tilray combined with Aphria Inc., the firm which had bought SweetWater a few months before.