USA, MA: Dorchester Brewing Co. and Aeronaut Brewing Co. team up through a merger

The owners of Dorchester Brewing Co. and Aeronaut Brewing Co. have crafted a new recipe for expansion as their once-fizzy industry goes flat: teaming up through a merger, the Boston Globe reported on December 14.

The Dorchester- and Somerville-based brewers have reached a merger deal that will put Dorchester Brewing cofounder and CEO Matt Malloy in charge of the combined company. Malloy hopes to bring as many as three other regional brewers into the fold eventually, under the new group name, “Tasty Liquid Alliance.”

Employees at both Dorchester Brewing and Aeronaut were informed about the companies’ intent to merge on Thursday. Aeronaut, formed in 2014, will maintain its Somerville taproom but will close its production facility in Everett early next year. It will now brew at Dorchester Brewing’s plant in Boston’s Newmarket area. An Aeronaut taproom at the Everett site will remain open for now, but will likely close in mid-2024.

Aeronaut co-chief executives Dan Rassi and Ronn Friedlander will remain with the combined company, as will most of Aeronaut’s 50 full- and part-time employees. Not all of Aeronaut’s nine production workers in Everett will be offered jobs in Dorchester, but Malloy and Friedlander said it’s still unclear how many of them will make the move. Dorchester Brewing, meanwhile, employs about 40 people.

One big goal of the deal, per Friedlander, is to combine purchasing and marketing power. While both the Aeronaut and Dorchester brands would continue, the merger would improve the brewers’ leverage in negotiations over everything from equipment to ingredients to restaurant taps. The merger is expected to close about a year from now.

The deal comes amid a nationwide plateau in craft beer sales, one that followed a decade-plus of torrid growth before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re all looking to grow our respective brands,” Friedlander said. “There’s a national consolidation that’s happening, and it’s great to be at the forefront of that.”

Dorchester Brewing was launched in 2016 as a contract brewer. Its main business remains brewing beer for other companies — with its in-house beers making up less than 10 percent of its volume — and Aeronaut had some wholesale business as well.

Malloy said he expects to increase the combined companies’ wholesale work with the merger by becoming more efficient and sharing expertise.

“When we bring production from Aeronaut, that allows us to make more capital expenditures,” Malloy said. “That benefits everybody. I’m filling capacity. I’m not cannibalizing capacity.”

Malloy said the merger isn’t just about gaining economies of scale. It’s also about bringing like-minded people together under one roof.

Malloy said he’s on the lookout for other brewers to join the group. They won’t necessarily be brewers, though: He notes he is licensed to produce cider and wine as well.

“We are looking for other people that have a similar passion for product and community,” Malloy said. “This is not like a private equity rollup where we’re squeezing nickels and trying to create uniform product everywhere. That’s not what customers want.”

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