An Australian brewery took such a liking to a local business it's decided to chug it down.
Mr. Beer, which manufactures do-it-yourself beer-brewing kits and distributes them to thousands of stores around the country, is under new ownership.
Coopers Brewery of Adelaide, Australia - the world's largest home-brewed beer producer - bought the company.
The Mr. Beer brand is sticking around, and the Tucson-based operation has become the company's North American distributor.
Coopers executives liked what they saw in Mr. Beer.
"We felt we could add value with our brewing knowledge and understanding of world markets. Therefore it was one of those rare occasions where the sum of the parts were greater than the whole," Scott Harris, a Coopers marketing manager, said by email.
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"We also found that the culture at both companies was similar, as was our ideology of home brewing and how it should be presented to the consumer."
Mr. Beer Managing Director Mike Bernstein, who owned the business along with a silent partner, would not say how much money he sold for. He's remaining in his current role and said there will be no layoffs in the wake of the merger. He plans on adding as many as six new employees in the coming months. The company currently has 16 full-time employees.
Mr. Beer was founded by Michael Smith in 1993, and Bernstein, 51, and his partner bought the company in 1999.
Bernstein, who is part-owner of SimplyBits and Nextrio, said he's been looking around for potential suitors to buy the company. He liked what he saw in Coopers.
"They resonated well with the culture and people here," Bernstein said. "They've been doing business for 150 years and have a lot of the same value system as ours."
Mr. Beer has contracts with a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, and said there's a possibility of growing the business and starting a plant based in Tucson to handle West Coast distribution.
The deal went down in December, but the companies kept it close to the vest until now as they worked out the details of the work flow and product adjustments.
Customers shouldn't notice much of a change, Bernstein said.
"Different executives that are involved, from the CEO on down, have been to Tucson to meet the staff," Bernstein said. "They don't want to break something that's working. We're glad to have the right partner."
The most significant adjustment will be the inclusion in beer-making kits of a high-grade malt extract imported from Australia.
Bernstein said the Coopers malt falls in line with the direction he'd been steering the company.
"Since the inception of the company, we've been looking to steadily improve the product quality," Bernstein said. "Every step taken has been toward that, shifting to an all-malt beer" and steering away from lower-quality, sugar-based ingredients.
"It's just a fuller, richer beer experience," Bernstein said. "A better feel. Better characteristics that craft brew drinkers are going to like."
DID YOU KNOW?
Former Mr. Beer owner Mike Bernstein sold his software development company, Integra Technology International, to IKON in 1996.
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at pvillarreal@azstarnet.com or 573-4130.