USA: AB InBev to add another brand to its craft portfolio

Anheuser-Busch InBev is adding another brand to its craft and import focused “High End” portfolio, but this time it won’t come via acquisition, Brewbound reported on April 17.

In a letter to wholesalers, the company said it would launch Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Miami this summer.

Few details were available at press time, but the company described Veza Sur as a “Latin-American inspired craft beer brand,” and said it would also open a brewpub in the Wynwood Art District of Miami.

According to High End president Felipe Szpigel, who penned the note along with Veza Sur GM Max-Antonio Burger and Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of wholesaler development, Bob Tallet, the brand will only be available in Miami.

Along with Burger, 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder Chris Cox and Bogota Beer Company founder Berny Silberwasser, were credited with helping to develop the brand. Anheuser-Busch owns both 10 Barrel Brewing and Bogota Beer Company.

The Wynwood Art District of Miami has become a hub for craft beer in recent years. Three companies — J Wakefield Brewing, Concrete Beach Brewery and Wynwood Brewing – are already located within just a few blocks of one another. Concrete Beach Brewery is owned by Boston Beer Company and Wynwood Brewing is 24.5 percent owned by Craft Brew Alliance, which itself is minority owned by AB InBev.