The recent purchase of Davidson Brothers’ Brewery in Queensbury by Northern Eagle Beverages Inc. will be finalized by early September of this year.
The latest acquisition by Oneonta-based Northern Eagle increases its presence in the region as both a distributor and producer of locally sourced beers and ales.
Two years ago, they purchased the Cooperstown Brewing Co. in Otsego County, which included rights to the recipes and brands, along with the property and equipment.
This is the first venture into the production side of the industry and, by utilizing Davidson Brothers expertise, they have been successful in resurrecting old favorites from the Cooperstown Brewery such as Old Slugger, Nine Man Ale and Backyard IPA.
George Allen, president of Northern Eagle, is pleased to expand his company’s existing association with John and Rick Davidson.
“Rick will stay on at Davidson Brewing Co., managing the operations,” said Allen. He said the Davidsons “had already been brewing our beers for us in the Cooperstown facility,” a relationship that has been beneficial for both businesses.
“We can brew world-class ales,” said Rick Davidson. “But, beer distribution is complicated.”
Both Allen and the Davidson Brothers said the current transaction in no way changes the ownership and operation status of the Davidson Brothers Brewery and restaurant in downtown Glens Falls or the Davidson Brothers beer brand.
He said they share Northern Eagle’s vision for the future of brewing in the region, noting that, “a few years from now, Queensbury will become a destination for brewers.”
That vision includes continuing to develop a vertically integrated operation for Northern Eagle. They are already a large distributor of Anheuser Busch, as well as several other national and local brands. The chairman of the company, Louis Hager, is descended from Adolphus Busch and his grandparents grew hops for Anheuser Busch on the family’s farm just outside of Cooperstown.
That farm continues to be a source for brewers. It factors into the company’s plan to make the Davidson Brewery available to any and all brewers in New York state.
“So, Northern Eagle are distributors, producers of ingredients, and now they are also producers of beer and a collaborative resource for other small brewers,” said Davidson.
He said the distribution avenue for brewers is getting full and hard for small breweries to navigate without the expertise of a company like Northern Eagle. The plan is to create a collaborative environment where brewers can produce their recipes in Northern’s facilities, taking advantage of both Davidson’s brewing expertise and the equipment, canning lines and bottling lines.
Currently, it is cost prohibitive for small brewers to have their products bottled or canned. For the majority, their best option is to sell their product in kegs.
Davidson said Northern Eagle’s minimum order size is 660 cases. “That’s a relatively small order size and a small brewer, with very little risk, could work with Northern Eagle at a reasonable price.”
By enabling more local and regional brewers to make their products in a state-of-the-art facility–while also helping them with sourcing ingredients, refining recipes and setting up distribution chains for them–Davidson believes that the town of Queensbury will become synonymous with the production of world-class beers and ales.