Two Texas craft breweries have decided to join forces in order to become one of the largest craft brewers in the region. AquaBrew, the maker of Swine Dive IPA, and ShotGun Seltzer, Texas’ first craft seltzer, are announcing that they have reached an agreement to merge, creating an opportunity for both brewers to capitalize on each other’s strengths.
Carlos Russo founded AquaBrew in 2016. It started out as a brew pub in San Marcos, TX and in 2021 expanded into a full production facility which includes a 20,000 sq.ft. production floor, taproom, and beer garden. The expanded facility will allow AquaBrew to scale to over 50K barrels annually. “We have a large, state-of-the-art facility but we needed help with expanding our distributor network and scaling sales across Texas and beyond,” said Founder, Carlos Russo. “This merger allows us to tap into ShotGun’s 80+ years of combined experience, distributor and retailer relationships.”
ShotGun Seltzer got its start in 2019 from 25-year beverage industry veterans, Brad and Lori Foster. It began as a draft-only seltzer offering in Austin, TX and has grown to over 4,000 retail and on-premise accounts throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. “For us, AquaBrew was a perfect fit. It was a way for us to control our own destiny by gaining ownership in a brewing facility with the capacity we needed to properly grow the brand,” stated ShotGun Co-Founder, Lori Foster. ShotGun Seltzer is the largest independently owned and operated seltzer company in the state and the 9th largest seltzer company in Texas.
The combined company will remain independently owned and operate out of the current AquaBrew San Marcos facility. ShotGun Seltzer will become a brand under the AquaBrew company. Brad and Lori Foster will stay on and become the Co-CEOs of the combined entity. Brad Foster shared, “It was important for us to partner with another Texas brewery who values using local resources and ingredients as much as we do.” Both companies highly value their Texas heritage and are looking forward to sharing their love of brewing and of the Lone Star state with consumers.
Stop by the taproom located at 110 E. MLK Dr., Suite 130, San Marcos, TX. 78666.
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