Rumour: MillerCoors buys Saint Archer Brewing Co.

Word on the wireless is that Saint Archer Brewery has been purchased by MillerCoors. Saint Archer, in case you’re unawares, is the brewing company started by a gent named Josh Landan, and rolling with a shareholder list that includes a bunch of people who ride moving boards really well like Paul Rodriguez, Mikey Taylor, Josh Kerr, Taylor Knox, Dusty Payne, Eric Koston, Jack Freestone, Todd Richards, Laura Enever, Pat Moore and plenty of others. While the company did two rounds of fundraising which may’ve led to some dilution, Stab hears that most ambassadors owned at least one percent of the company each… which’d mean $700k payouts. Which is a rather good ROI any way you slice it. Josh Landan, the mastermind, is believed to have scooped $10m, while OG partners P-Rod and Mikey Taylor no doubt collect a few mill each also.

Though this is still speculative, The Full Pint reached out to Josh, and his reply was: “At this time, I have no comment on rumours and speculation.” Really, “No” would’ve been easier if that were the answer. Maybe. Positive rumour is good for biz!

Saint Archer have done everything right so far. They’ve aligned directly with action sports, which works amazingly well for some brands (think: Red Bull, Stance Socks, etc). They were the first beer brand to do this, hence best dressed. Boutique and craft beers started landing heavily in 2012 and don’t seem to have a rear view mirror. But SA jumped on the moving bus just as it was starting to work up momentum in 2011. See also: the right time. Slate says that Americanos now drink more craft beer than regular old suds (Budweiser’s sales are declining because of it). And while most action sports fam start a clothing brand, choosing a rapidly growing industry like craft beer was an Einstein stroke. Also worth remembering: If there’s one thing that keeps pro athletes awake at night, it’s lack of longevity in their chosen field. Investments like this can really settle that angst.

And so, bravo if this all turns out to be true. No doubt this gives the Balter gang (Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Josh Kerr and Bede Durbidge) hope for a Lion buyout in the next few years. But, that’s not why you get into something like this… it’s for the love, right? Certainly not 10 million dollars.