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The parent companies of two Denver-based breweries, Wynkoop Holdings and Breckenridge Holding Co., announced they will enter into a 50-50 joint venture early next year.

Spokespersons emphasized that Wynkoop, which owns the Wynkoop Brewing Co. and six other restaurants, and Breckenridge, which operates Breckenridge Brewery and five brewpubs, will not merge their identities, their brands or their staffs. The new joint venture will have one board of managers overseeing it.

The agreement will allow the two companies to leverage each other’s facilities and expertise as both look to expand certain aspects of their businesses.

Wynkoop will use Breckenridge’s brewing facility to grow its year-old beer-canning efforts, and Breckenridge will employ Wynkoop officials’ expertise in the restaurant business as it seeks to increase the number of ale-house restaurants it operates.

“We get to each develop our own identities and continue to grow and improve them,” Wynkoop spokesman Marty Jones said. “Together we have more power to do good things for the craft-brewing industry in the state.” He said leaders of the two companies began talking about a joint venture as long as four years ago.

Wynkoop Holdings also operates five other Denver restaurants — Wazee Supper Club, Goosetown Tavern, Cherry Cricket, Pearl Street Grill and Gaetano’s — and Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. brewpub in Colorado Springs.

Breckenridge Brewing opened in Breckenridge in 1990 and expanded shortly thereafter to Denver. Breckenridge Holding Co. now operates the brewery, a Breckenridge brewpub, a brewpub nears Coors Field, a brewpub on Kalamath Street and an ale house restaurant in Grand Junction, all bearing the Breckenridge name. It will open a second ale-house restaurant in Denver’s Lower Highlands neighborhood in the spring.

“It’s not a merger. We will not be co-branding beers. We do want to maintain our individual brand identities,” said Terry Usry, Breckenridge public relations manager. “We’ll feed off the synergies we have. In many ways, the two concepts are very much alike.”

Breckenridge president Ed Cerkovnik made the same point. “This is a marriage of opportunity and not necessity,” he says. “Both companies want to grow and expand. The combined company provides us with a platform to more effectively and rapidly do that.”

Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery captured six medals in the 2010 European Beer Star competition, including gold medals for Obsidian Stout and Twilight Ale. Beers were judged last month in Germany and the awards handed out today in Nürnberg.

Straslunder Brauerei from Straslund was the 2010 European Beer Star brewery of 2010, winning three gold medals.

Deschutes won silver with Bachelor ESB, Black Butte Porter and Jubel 2010, bronze with Mirror Pond Pale Ale.

The competition, held by the Association Private Brauereien, attracted a record 955 entries. “There have never been so many participating breweries and so many breweries that made it into the winner lists,” said Dr. Werner Glossner, managing director of the Association Private Brauereien Bayern. “This shows how prestigious the award has become worldwide.”

A press released stated, “This trend is effectively demonstrated by breweries from the highly innovative ‘beer country’ Italy, which was more successful than ever with two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal.”

First-time winners include breweries from like Japan, Peru, Sweden, Romania, Singapore and Myanmar.

Organizers thought the result unique enough to point out that in the typically German category “German-Style Märzen” (and about half the entries were from Germany), the Spoetzl Brewery from Shiner, Texas, received the gold medal and the Coedo Brewery from Japan the silver medal.

American breweries captured 26 medals. Gold medal winners beyond Deschutes and Shiner (which also won silver with Shiner 101) included Caldera Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Left Hand Black Jack Porter, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Firestone Walker’s Mission Street Honey Blond, and Moylan’s Hopsickle IPA.

Not surprisingly, Americans swept the Ultra Strong Category, but surprisingly they did not take home all three in India Pale Ale (Three Towns Independent Brewers from Sweden took bronze).

The complete results.

Chris Myers from Madison, Wis., has become the second American to win the title of Stella Artois World Draught Master in 14 years the competition has been held.

Australian Siobhan Kathleen Mullins was the first runner-up at the finals held in London. Third place went to Keith Cuveele from Belgium and fourth to Canadian Marc Pronovost.

“Among the 24 other competitors, it was an absolute honor to represent my country in the World Draught Masters finals,” Myers said for a press release. “It’s been an amazing, whirlwind experience – from qualifying in Madison, on to New York, Boston and finally London. Now, that experience will continue as I travel the world representing Stella Artois!”

The annual Stella Artois World Draught Master competition focuses on the importance of the perfect pouring ritual.

Myers will travel to more than 10 different countries around the world as the ambassador for Stella Artois.

The Hopland Brewery Ale House, the first home of Mendocino Brewing, has closed.

Opened in 1983, the Hopland Brewery was California’s first post-Prohibition brewpub and only the second in the United States.

Mendocino Brewing is moving the ale house to Ukiah, where it has long operated its production brewery, after its Hopland landlord did not extend its lease.

In the press release the company states, “We thank the friendly and loyal Hopland community who wholeheartedly welcomed us all these many years. We are deeply indebted to the host of loyal customers for their constant support and love. They have been as passionate about our beers as we have been in brewing and serving them for these past 27 years. They have helped make our beers the Legends that they have become.”

The new ale house should be open within a few months.

Announcing a deal that’s been rumored for a while, North American Breweries has acquired Independent Brewers United — the producers of the Magic hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan brands. The acquisition is the fourth by NAB since its formation. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

A quick bit of backround: KPS Capital Partners formed NAB in February 2009 “as a North American platform for investments and growth in the beer and malt beverage industries.” NAB’s first three acquisitions were Labatt USA from a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev; substantially all of the assets of High Falls Brewing Company, (brewer of the Genesee, Honey Brown and Dundee family of beers); and a perpetual license for the Seagram’s Escapes and Seagram’s Smooth brands from Pernod Ricard USA.

NAB CEO Rich Lozyniak said the new brands add craft brewing credibility and variety to the beers currently offered by the company. “We are really excited to add Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s beers to North American Breweries. All three brands have a rich history of craft brewing that helps us gain acceptance in that tight-knit community,” he said for a press release. “By having more beers to offer our customers, wholesalers and retail accounts, we can better compete with the multi-national mega brewers who dominate the U.S. beer industry.”

Lozyniak added, “The industry has taken a turn away from the mega brewers. We have a collection of regional and heritage brands that position us well among today’s beer drinkers. At a time when the overall beer industry is in decline, we’re growing across brands which essentially created a great opportunity to collaborate with some of the best craft brewers in the business.”

The new brands mean the addition of three new breweries to NAB, one each in: Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California; and Burlington, Vermont. Magic Hat is the 10th largest craft brewery in the country, while Pyramid is the fifth largest.

Together Magic Hat, Pyramid and the Portland Brewing Co. (MacTarnahan’s) employ about 600 people. Currently, North American Breweries has approximately 500.