USA, Minnesota: Stevens Point Brewery has purchased some beer and soda brands formerly brewed by Minnesota craft brewer, James Page Brewing Co., Stevens Point announced on March 14. James Page Brewing Co., founded in 1986, brewed its brands a microbrewery in Minneapolis until 2002. Since then, the James Page brands, including three Great American Beer Festival medal winners, have been contract brewed in Minnesota, according to Journal Sentinel.

The sale of the brands to Stevens Point Brewery amounts to a liquidation of James Page's assets. James Page's brands include Iron Range Amber Lager, Burly Brown Ale, Boundary Waters Golden Lager and Voyageur Extra Pale Ale. The purchase also includes four seasonal specialty beers and Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer.

The purchase will help expand Stevens Point Brewery's sales in Minnesota, where the James Page brands have a loyal customer base, said Joe Martino, operating partner at the Stevens Point-based company. Martino said Stevens Point Brewery also plans to introduce the James Page brands into new markets throughout Wisconsin. The new brands have the potential to increase Stevens Points Brewery's annual volume sales by around 10%, Martino said. The sale of the brands to Stevens Point comes as the national craft brewing business is on an upswing.

As a segment of the overall beer business, specialty brewers reported a 4.8% volume sales increase in 2004, according to Beer Marketer's Insights, a trade publication. That was the segment's best year since 1996, the publication said.

Stevens Point, which is owned by Martino and Milwaukee real estate investor James Wiechmann, reported a 15% volume sales increase for 2004. Its brands include Point Special and Augsburger Golden.

However, craft and specialty beers remain a small part of the nation's beer industry, dominated by Anheuser-Busch Inc., Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co., which together control 79% of the U.S. market. The craft segment's total sales represented about 3.2% of the U.S. market last year.

James Page Brewing was one of America's original craft breweries, established in Minneapolis in 1986 at a time when microbreweries were starting to garner a larger share of the U.S. market. James Page also was one of the first craft brewers to package its beer in cans.

Founded in 1857, Stevens Point Brewery is one of the oldest breweries in the United States. Along with its own brands, it also does contract brewing for other companies.

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