Craft brewery deals are picking up, and any buyer will want to know where your revenue actually comes from. Fractional CFO Doug Cunningham explains how to answer.
Listen to the full conversation on Spotify.
Doug Cunningham spent nearly ten years as CFO of Denver Beer Company, helping grow it from one location to seven. He worked through expansion, acquisitions, distribution, and the demands of a multi-location operation, and he was there when the company went through a merger. Today he runs Crafted Ledgers, where he provides operator-level financial leadership to breweries, hospitality groups, and growing businesses. He sat down with us on Behind the Tab to talk about what it takes to sell, merge, or buy a brewery well.
The conversation started with a trend our host had been tracking in her industry news alerts: fewer closure notices lately, and a lot more mergers and acquisitions. Here is what Doug says owners and buyers should know before a deal.
Why Are Craft Brewery Owners Selling, Merging, or Closing Now?
Because the business is harder than it used to be. Doug says that in the mid-2010s you could make great beer, try a lot of things, and make good money. Costs have since climbed, with tariffs and supply chain problems on his list, and consumer habits have changed.
The numbers back up the pressure. The Brewers Association's 2026 midyear report, as summarized by New School Beer, found craft volume down 4% in the first six months of the year, with the number of operating breweries falling 1.8% to 9,344. For more on how one operator is expanding despite that, see our look at why Silver Branch Brewing keeps expanding.
Deal activity is also up. Beverage advisory firm Park Street counted 11 notable beer industry mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2026, out of 35 beverage alcohol transactions it tracked, and said activity continues to favor craft consolidation. The fall has brought more. In September, Bottle Logic Brewing announced plans to join The Bruery and Offshoot Beer Co. as part of The Bruery Group, a deal expected to close later this year. In October, Hardywood acquired Starr Hill Brewery in Virginia in an all-equity deal, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and TailGate took over Yazoo's Madison, Tennessee production facility and taproom, though not the Yazoo beer brands.
Doug sees two other drivers. Some owners did well, are ready to move on, and see a sale as a good exit. Others are using partnerships and mergers to survive: share a great facility and great systems with another brand, bring costs down, and maybe reach a new market.
"It's no longer the business that I started... that's not necessarily a bad thing... And there's nothing wrong with that." — Doug Cunningham, on an owner deciding to close after a decade
Are Most Brewery Acquisitions Friendly or Distressed?
In Doug's experience, many acquisition targets are under financial pressure. He says the businesses being closed or acquired, if the owner is not simply done, are often carrying debt from equipment or ingredients they cannot service. That is his observation from the deals he has seen, not an industry-wide statistic.
He does not see many deals driven by admiration alone. Buyers are usually asking whether buying or merging is a better way to grow than the alternatives. Host Patricia Mejia's view is that mid-career businesses are either growing or dying, and Doug agrees that an acquisition can be a growth move when the economics work.
The economics depend on what is being bought: the brand, the locations, or the equipment. Each is a different deal.
What Do Buyers Look at in a Brewery's Books?
Revenue broken out by stream. Doug says a buyer wants to know how much comes from the taproom, how much from distribution, how much from events or private space, and how each location performs on its own.
That breakdown shows the buyer what the business does well. A buyer might love the retail locations and pass on the distribution, or take the whole thing.
"If you're a business owner looking to acquire or sell, you need a story." — Doug Cunningham
The story is specific: this is what my taproom does, this is how many people come through, this is the split between beer and food, these are our brands, and this is what each costs us. Doug says many owners have never looked at their own business this way, so they cannot yet tell a buyer what is worth buying.
Cost matters too. A seller who knows what it costs to produce a beer can have an informed conversation when a buyer says they can make it somewhere else for less.
How Can a Brewery's Revenue Be Overstated?
By counting money that is not revenue. Doug gave an example from a business one of the teams he worked with was looking to acquire. They were told the location did about $250,000 in top-line revenue. The figure was not broken out by what was sold, and it was tracked by what went into the bank. It included tips collected for staff and sales tax that had to be remitted.
"It's not 250, it's 175." — Doug Cunningham
The numbers here are illustrative, from a conversation, and not a specific named deal. The lesson is the question Doug says to ask: what is truly revenue, and what is everything else sitting in the books? A buyer who finds the gap on their own will trust the rest of the story less.
How Early Should an Owner Start Preparing for a Deal?
Early, and not only for a deal. Doug says the owners succeeding now treat the brewery as a business, with a clear view of revenue, cost, and profitability. That is true of breweries that opened after COVID and of older ones that have adjusted.
When he works with owners, he looks at costs, beer, locations, and events separately so they can make better decisions about what to keep doing. Preparing for a sale or merger is a side effect. He says it also helps owners get back to what excited them about opening in the first place, rather than spending their time inside the day-to-day.
Doug is clear that you do not need him specifically. A CPA, a consultant, or the reporting tools in your software can all help. The important shift is the mindset: look at your numbers before someone else does. GoTab's brewery POS reports daily sales, product mix, and top sellers in real time, and the Manager Dashboard rolls sales and labor up across locations and syncs with QuickBooks and Xero. That is a way to see what you actually sell, though your accountant should still decide how revenue, tips, and taxes are recorded in your books.
What Should a Buyer Ask Before Acquiring a Brewery?
Start with the problem you are trying to solve. Doug opens every conversation with a buyer the same way.
"What is the problem we're trying to solve and how does this location solve it?" — Doug Cunningham
The answer might be production capacity, a new market, or brand recognition. If the real problem is revenue, he cautions that acquiring a business does not necessarily fix it and may add problems. A distressed location can be a good deal "for a reason."
Next, ask what the acquisition does to your own brand. If the target has the local reputation and following, converting it to your brand could lose those customers.
Finally, stress-test the numbers. Doug builds out three years and asks what happens if the new location performs 20% or 30% worse than expected: is it still a good deal? Founders have a strong vision, he says, and they need someone helping them stay realistic if things do not go to plan. Patricia pointed out that buyers should assume it will cost money to make a deal work. Doug agreed, and said the point is that the investment, in money, time, and people, should pay back in a year or two.
What Goes Wrong After a Brewery Merger or Acquisition?
Three things, in Doug's experience: people, focus, and systems.
Focus. Companies lose sight of what made them successful because everyone is pushing to make the two businesses work together. Doug's fix is to assign dedicated people to the integration and keep others focused on running the existing business.
"It is very hard to split people's time, effort and things along those lines." — Doug Cunningham
People. Staffing is the harder part. You may not be able to keep everyone. Whose culture and benefits do you use? If both companies have a general manager overseeing a few locations, do you need both? Doug says to start understanding staff and pay rates before the deal closes.
Systems. Doug says that at his previous company, they built workarounds where their systems fell short, and it worked fine at small scale.
"You add in a third, a fourth, a seventh location and those workarounds actually become a hindrance." — Doug Cunningham
Check whether the technology you have supports the larger organization. Doug compares it to a software implementation: the person managing it often has three other jobs, so it drags on and only gets partially done. If integration stretches to a year or two, he says, you are losing money and not getting the efficiency the deal was meant to create. He suggests setting a realistic timeline up front, and deciding in advance what counts as running late.
How Are Brewery Acquisitions Funded Now?
With more scrutiny of the buyer's existing business. Doug says it used to be easy to get bank funding for an acquisition or expansion, and the lending environment has changed. What he is hearing from the owners he works with is that lenders want your current location to support the new one, so they lend less on speculation.
That brings the story back around. Understand your business, understand what you are buying, and show how they will work together on a realistic timeline. Doug says that makes lenders and investors more comfortable. This is his observation from conversations with owners; talk to your own lender and advisors about your situation.
Where Can You Find Doug Cunningham?
Doug is the founder of Crafted Ledgers, where he works alongside owners on their financials and on decisions about profitability, cash flow, growth, and business transition. He says he is happy to talk through a decision with owners. To talk with Doug about your numbers or an upcoming deal, visit craftedledgers.com and follow him on LinkedIn.
This article is general information based on a podcast conversation and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Talk to a qualified advisor about your situation.
FAQ
Are brewery mergers and acquisitions increasing?
By one count, yes. Park Street tallied 11 notable beer industry mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2026, and more deals followed in the fall, including Hardywood's acquisition of Starr Hill and TailGate's purchase of Yazoo's Madison production facility.
Why are craft breweries merging or being acquired?
According to Doug Cunningham, costs, tariffs, supply chain issues, and changing consumer habits have made brewing harder than it was in the mid-2010s. Some owners want to move on, and others use mergers and partnerships to share facilities and cut costs.
What do buyers look at when evaluating a brewery?
Revenue by stream (taproom, distribution, events, and each location), plus the cost of producing each product. Doug says an owner needs a clear story that shows what the business does well.
How can brewery revenue be overstated?
If revenue is tracked by money deposited in the bank, it can include tips collected for staff and sales tax that must be remitted. In an example Doug described, a reported $250,000 turned out to be $175,000 once those were removed.
What is the most common mistake in a brewery acquisition?
Not planning scenarios far enough ahead. Doug recommends modeling three years and testing what happens if the acquired location performs 20% to 30% worse than expected.
What goes wrong after a brewery merger?
Companies lose focus on their existing business, integration of staff and systems takes longer than planned, and workarounds that functioned at small scale become a hindrance at more locations.
How long should a brewery merger integration take?
It depends on the industry, Doug says, so set a realistic timeline in advance, and decide what counts as running behind. If integration drags on for a year or two, you are likely losing money and efficiency.
