How Ballast Point, once one of the fastest-growing craft breweries, lost its mojo — and how it might get it back
When Constellation Brands bought Ballast Point for $1 billion in 2015, it was buying one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the country.
Ballast Point has plummeted back to earth after its meteoric rise, though, a sales decline that reflects early missteps after the merger and the slowing growth of craft beer in general, according to industry experts and Constellation executives. The San Diego-based brewer of Sculpin IPA faces numerous challenges in its quest to grow as national craft brand, but perhaps none more significant than this: There are almost 6,500 breweries in the U.S. today - at least 2,000 more than when Constellation bought Ballast Point.
A Ballast Point brewpub that opened recently in Chicago's Fulton Market district is just one part of a multifaceted strategy to heighten awareness of the brand. Only about one-third of craft drinkers nationally are familiar with Ballast Point and even
