The Triad area Business Journal reports Winston-Salem based Foothills Brewing has acquired the beer division of Carolina Beer & Beverage of Mooresville.

The acquisition includes the company’s equipment, trademarks and brands (the very popular Carolina Blonde and a variety of Cottonwood Ales).

Foothills Brewing will quadruple its brewing capacity and add 10 sales and production employees over the next year.

“We consider this strategic decision as very positive for the future of both our companies,” said Jamie Bartholomaus, president and brewmaster of Foothills Brewing, in a statement. “Carolina Beer wanted production of its beloved brands to be in North Carolina, and we are glad to accommodate.”

Beer Barons, an importer of premium beers to Canada, has acquired King Brewery, a craft brewery based in Nobleton, Ontario, according to DBR.

The brewery has been in operation since 2002, and is known of its pilsner. King Brewery founder Phil DiFonzo will remain in his role as brewmaster.

DiFonzo said in order for the brewery to realize its full potential in Canada, it wanted to bring even more expertise to the table, and the management at Beer Barons will provide it with the necessary support to exponentially grow the business.

King Brewery’s lineup includes King Pilsner, King Dark lager, King Vienna and seasonally produces King Pilsbock.

The board of directors of the Brewers Association has voted to change the BA’s designation of “small” in its definition of a “craft brewer,” boosting the limit from two million barrels annually to six million.

According to a press release:

In the BA’s craft brewer definition, the term “small” now refers to any independent brewery that produces up to 6 million barrels of traditional beer. The previous definition capped production at 2 million barrels. The changed definition is currently in effect and can be reviewed on the BA website, BrewersAssociation.org. The change to the bylaws went into effect December 20, 2010.

In the Brewers Association’s bylaws, two classes of membership (Professional Packaging Brewers and Associate membership) have been redefined with a qualifying barrelage of 6 million barrels versus 2 million barrels.

The association cited several reasons for the change, including the recognition that “small” is a descriptive term relative to the overall size of the industry.

“Thirty-four years have passed since the original small brewers tax differential defined small brewers as producing less than 2 million barrels,” said Nick Matt, chair of the Brewers Association board of directors and chairman and CEO of F.X. Matt Brewing Company. “A lot has changed since 1976. The largest brewer in the U.S. has grown from 45 million barrels to 300 million barrels of global beer production.”

Matt added, “The craft brewer definition and bylaws now more accurately reflect and align with our government affairs efforts.” On the legislative front in 2010, the Brewers Association supported H.R. 4278/S. 3339, which sought to update the cap on an excise tax differential for small brewers to 6 million barrels per year in production for their first 2 million barrels.

The industry’s largest craft brewer, The Boston Beer Company, is poised to become the first craft brewer to surpass 2 million barrels of traditional beer within the next few years. Loss of The Boston Beer Company’s production in craft brewing industry statistics would inaccurately reflect on the craft brewing industry’s market share.

In addition to Boston Beer, the current growth trajectory of other sizable BA member breweries places them on a course approaching the 2 million barrel threshold in the coming years.

Boston Beer accounted for 20.2% of “craft beer” sales in 2009.

“With this change to the craft brewer definition and BA bylaws, statistics will continue to accurately reflect the 30-year growth of market share for craft brewed beer,” Matt said for the press release. “Brewers Association statistics on craft brewers will continue to keep pace with the growth of the industry.

“Rather than removing members due to their success, the craft brewing industry should be celebrating our growth.”

An investment group led by J. Smoke Wallin has finalized the purchase of Napa Smith Brewery & Winery, making it part of a family of companies which includes Pelican Brands. Napa Smith Beer is currently in 17 states, and will be available nationally by the summer of 2011. Earlier this year, Napa Smith appointed Pelican Brands as its exclusive sales representatives in the United States.

For the press release announcing the deal had closed:

J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Pelican Brands and Napa Smith Holdings, said, “The craft beer business is the fastest growing category of beverage alcohol in America. Napa Smith has all the right attributes to become one of the few truly global brands of craft beer – amazing beer from one of the most respected names in the craft brewing industry, distinctive packaging, Napa terroir. These attributes combined with our Pelican Brands global distribution capability, experienced management team and our access to capital give us all the necessary elements to achieve great success.” Wallin continued, “This acquisition is a great strategic fit combined with Pelican Brands as we build a global sales and brand platform, of both owned and agency brands. We look forward to building Napa Smith into an iconic craft beer brand with President Steve Morgan and Master Brewer Don Barkley.”

Steve Morgan, President & COO of Napa Smith Holdings stated, “This is a very positive development for our business. In 2010 Napa Smith – through Pelican’s sales and distribution platform – has expanded into 17 states. With the capital, resources and relationships that Pelican brings to the mix, our beer will be available nationally by mid 2011. Napa has become known world-wide for great wines, and deservedly so. We are proud to hand-craft our beer here in Napa Valley with the same level of quality and attention to detail that built Napa’s global reputation.”

Don Barkley, Master Brewer said, “I’m doing what I love to do – brewing great beer. Smoke and the whole Pelican team are my kind of people. They appreciate the importance of brewing beer right. At the same time, they bring scale and resources that will help Napa Smith reach many more thirsty consumers, which is something I’m passionate about!”

The Tsingtao Brewery — China’s largest — has agreed to buy the Shandong Yinmai Beer Co., the third brewery it has taken over in two years.

Wang Fan, vice chairman of Tsingtao Brewery, said the deal would consolidate Tsingtao Beer’s dominance in the market in Shandong amid fierce competition. Yinmai will continue to make Yinmai beer. This is different from Tsingtao’s takeover of two other local breweries of Yantai Beer and Baotu Spring Beer, whose trademark beers disappeared.

Tsingtao Brewery, which was founded in 1903 in Qingdao City, is best known for the internationally distributed Tsingtao beer.

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.”