Was it a merger over a decade in the making? A case of admiration run to its financial endgame? Maybe it's just a coincidence or purely about numbers. Regardless, it's a fitting tale of intrigue for "Fruit Beer Month" none-the-less as we dig in to discover how an oft forgotten cousin of the plum -- the apricot -- has shaped the modern beer market...

As reported by both companies, it's now official: Independent Brewers United, parent company of Vermont-based brewery Magic Hat, is acquiring west coaster Pyramid Breweries, thus merging not only two of America's largest craft brewers, but also the two breweries best known for beers with apricot flavored products.

Certainly, the merger creates a powerhouse combination of East and West Coast craft breweries, but scratch the surface of these new suds-buds and it begins to paint an interesting picture...

In 1994, a growing craft brewery from Washington state named Pyramid unleashed a new product that helped establish their brand and was a catalyst as they grew to become one of the larger independent breweries on the West Coast. Apricot Ale, an unfiltered wheat beer with a distinct apricot flavor, took home a gold medal at the Great American Beer festival and Pyramid was recognized as innovators in the fruit beer category.

According to Magic Hat's official company history, around this time co-founders Bob Johnson and Alan Newman were "road tripping through the Pacific Northwest, crash-studying the industry" before settling into an abandoned factory in Burlington, Vermont.

The next year, 1995, Magic Hat introduced a seasonal summer ale, Magic Hat #9 -- a "flavored not quite Pale ale." Why not quite? Because, as stated, it was flavored... with the essence of apricot. After fulfilling its seasonal run, demand for #9 was so high Magic Hat not only brought it back, but eventually established it as the fledgling breweries flagship beer.

To this day, despite both breweries' diverse and delicious product lines (they both make great hefeweizens too, by the way), my first thought of either company is always Apricot Ale (now more accurately billed as Apricot Weizen) or #9.

So is this all a coincidence or is it that classic American tale of son idolizes father only to grow up and complete tender offer for all of his outstanding NASDAQ shares?

Well, Alan Newman, founder and president of Magic Hat puts it this way: "I've always had the utmost respect for Pyramid. They were an early leader in the industry that we often looked to for insight, ideas, and leadership. Did Bob [Johnson, Magic Hat brewmaster] get 'the' idea for using apricot essence from Pyramid? Frankly, not sure. He had tried it, but had also tried a raft of other beers, fruit and otherwise."

He also points out, "While both #9 & Apricot Ale both technically use apricot, they are dramatically different beers." Point taken: Apricot Weizen is a bold mouthful of apricot and wheat, #9 basks in an essence of apricot for superior drinkability. [Look for reviews of both beers coming later in the month.]

So what to make of all this? In the end, it's a testament to the growth of the American craft brew market. In 1995, microbrews were just that: Small regional breweries. Whether or not one ale was influenced by another, the consumer was the winner: Getting an Apricot Ale on the East Coast wasn't easy, so #9 helped fill that void. Not until recently, when the demand for craft beer has exploded turning these two breweries into mini-powerhouses and overlapping their distribution territory, has the underlying battle of the apricot even come to surface.

Now, with the upcoming merger, these two Davids look to be positioning themselves like another brewer that Mr. Newman cites as an influence, Sam Adams, in a continued effort to give beer drinkers an alternative to Goliaths like Budweiser. (It's fitting that all of this is going down in the shadow of the InBev acquisition of Anheuser-Busch.)

But it's also a testament to the power of fruit -- the little apricot that could. If not for the publicity and word-of-mouth generated by these two apricot-infused beverages would we even be having this conversation today? Whether or not the buyout is a coincidence, it's hard to imagine it's a coincidence that apricot helped launch the success of two distinctly different breweries on two different sides of the country. My blunt take: the Magic Hat team probably tasted something that worked, and found a way to reinvent it. And bless them for it: We got two great beers out of the deal.

And that's all we can really hope for: Great brewmasters challenging our taste buds with great groundbreaking brews. If this merger allows Magic Hat and Pyramid to bring tasty alternatives and occasional experimental breakthroughs to a larger audience across more of the country, then I say fantastic! Once again, the consumer is the winner.

And when it comes to beer, we like to consume.

[Photo Credit: wikipedia.org / magichat.net / pyramidbrew.com]