Labatt toasts its Mill Street brewery buy
TORONTO — Labatt Breweries of Canada has purchased Toronto’s Mill Street Brewery, much to the chagrin of fans who prefer their craft brews to be local and independently owned.
Labatt, itself a former independent Canadian brewery that is now owned by the global industry giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, announced the acquisition of Mill Street Friday. Labatt did not disclose the purchase price, but said it plans to “immediately invest” $10 million in its Toronto operations.
While some congratulated Mill Street on the move, many distressed fans took to Twitter to express their displeasure.
“Congrats to the owner of @MillStreetBrew you deserve to cash in… but I’ll never be able to drink you again because Labatt’s will (expletive) it up,” tweeted the user @FootballSaves.
“Really?! Really?! Why would you sell out?!” said a distraught @Diego153. Nicholas Pashley, author of Cheers: An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada, said serious beer connoisseurs aren’t surprised by the news. For all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, the average beer drinker probably won’t notice a difference, he said.
“They’ve hit the jackpot, and I can’t begrudge them,” Pashley wrote in an email.
“It’s part of a trend in the business, the huge guys swallowing up the medium-sized guys as the beer giants see their brands losing ground.”
Reached by phone, Mill Street co-founder Steve Abrams said he’s taking the passionate response as a compliment.
“I think there’s a lot of love out there for Mill Street,” he said. “What else elicits that kind of a response? We’re talking about beer here.”