City Brewing

Year of Investment:

2021

Strategy

Flagship

Industry

Consumer

Headquarters

La Crosse, WI

Status

Active

Website

https://www.citybrewery.com/

Business

City Brewing is a strategic partner to leading beverage manufacturers, providing brewing, filtration, blending and packaging services at its three breweries in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The company specializes in hard seltzer and other flavored malt beverages (FMB), as well as ready-to-drink cocktails and other fast-growing segments of the premium alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage market. The largest contract manufacturer in the FMB market, City Brewing has grown significantly as consumer preferences have shifted from traditional beer, wine and spirits to FMB products. This market shift has been driven by macro health and wellness trends supporting lower-calorie alternative beverages and by increased consumer demand for ready-to-drink, portable alcoholic beverages with a wide variety of flavor profiles.

Charlesbank Investment

Charlesbank partnered with management and existing shareholders in 2021 to acquire a significant minority interest in City Brewing. This investment is the result of a multi-year dialogue with the company’s ownership group and builds on Charlesbank’s significant experience in food contract manufacturing through our investments in Peacock Foods and Hearthside Foods. Our investment will enable City Brewing to accelerate capacity expansion to meet the rapidly growing market demand, including the opening of a fourth brewery in California.