Breweries & Bars

Looking to ‘thrive rather than survive,’ Lord Hobo merges with Maine’s Lone Pine Brewing

The deal is part of a growth strategy for Lord Hobo, who expects to acquire more brands in the coming months.

By Gary Dzen, The Boston Globe

November 13, 2024

2 minutes to read

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Massachusetts brewery Lord Hobo and Maine’s Lone Pine Brewing Co. are merging, leaders from the two companies told the Globe Thursday.

The deal is part of a growth strategy for Lord Hobo, according to CEO Simon Thorpe, who expects to acquire more brands in the coming months. According to Thorpe, Lord Hobo had serious negotiations with about a dozen breweries before landing on the merger with Lone Pine.

“Lots of people now are looking for partnerships where they will put two breweries together, get rid of one brewery, and collapse everything into one,” says Thorpe. “And what we’re trying to create here is something that’s slightly different, that is more focused on growth in craft. So it’s more of a strategy of saying, ‘well how do you thrive rather than survive?’”

Headwinds in the beer industry are no secret, as breweries in Massachusetts and elsewhere have faced increasing competition, lower sales, and in some cases have been forced to close. But many small breweries continue to do well; and rather than stand pat as modest regional outfits, Lone Pine and Lord Hobo have decided to band together to see if further growth is possible.

“There’s a lot of what seems like doom and gloom,” says Tom Madden, cofounder of Lone Pine. “It’s tough but not dire. And I think that’s what a lot of people aren’t seeing, is that it’s trickling down to the staff members, too. And we’re seeing a lot of the staff kind of looking around like, ‘Hey, do we have a plan here? What’s everybody doing?’

“So what we’re really trying to do is plot a path, not for just for ourselves and for our brands, but for growth professionally, for our staff members. And then now we have, hopefully, a beacon of light in an industry that’s kind of looking around for solutions.”

Lone Pine, which has a small, original taproom in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, as well as another taproom at Old Orchard Beach, is known for beers like Oh-J Double IPA and the recently launched Lone Pine American craft vodka. Lord Hobo, which parted ways with original founder Daniel Lanigan in 2023, is known for bold brands like Boomsauce Double and the Boston-inspired “617″ series of beers. Lord Hobo’s taprooms are located in Boston’s Seaport and Woburn, respectively. The merger will bring both brewery’s beers to each other’s tap rooms, as well as provide additional sales support, according to Lone Pine cofounder John Paul.

“When we were looking for a partner, we were looking for a few key things,” Paul said. “One being the ability to realize scale, and two being a culture that not only Tom and I can thrive in, but all of our employees thrive in.”

The breweries join Night Shift and Jack’s Abby, who announced a merger in October, and many others locally who are combining operations.