Lot.100 producers of Adelaide Hills Distillery, Mismatch Brewing, Hills Cider taken over in 2021 by Mighty Craft
The Lot.100 drinks-producing group in the Adelaide Hills involved in the Mighty Craft takeover in 2021 – Standing (from left): Marc Huber, Sacha La Forgia, Leigh Morgan, Toby Kline, Steve Dorman. Front: Vanessa Altamann and Ewan Brewerton.
Melbourne-based drinks business Mighty Craft bought out South Australian producers Adelaide Hills Distillery, Mismatch Brewing and Hills Cider in a 2021 deal worth $47 million. The agreement included 75% ownership of the popular LOT.100, a destination distillery, cellar door, restaurant and function centre on 84 hectares near Nairne in the Adelaide Hills.
Adelaide Hills Distillery, Mismatch Brewing and Hills Cider were all at LOT.100 that opened in 2018. The well-known brands joined fellow South Australian producers KI Spirits and Sparkke Beverage Company in the Mighty Craft stable.
With the takeover, the Adelaide Hills Group founders of Lot.100 – Sacha La Forgia (Adelaide Hills Distillery), Ewan Brewerton (Mismatch Brewing), Steve Dorman and Toby Kline (Hills Cider) – were retained to drive further growth for their brands. They would own about 19% of Mighty Craft’s shares and be represented on its board.
Adelaide Hills Distillery, including the 78 Degrees brand, had won a swag of international awards for its gins and whiskies since launching its first product in 2015. Mismatch Brewing was South Australia’s largest independent craft beer operator and named champion Australian independent brewery in 2018, followed by the best pale ale gong in 2019. Hills Cider would add strength to Mighty Craft’s cider offering that previously only had one cider product from Sparkke and one from Ballistic Beer Co.
Mighty Craft, formerly Founders First, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2019 and also included craft brands Ballistic Beer Co (Queensland), Sauce Brewing (New South Wales), Slipstream Brewing (Queensland), Brogan’s Way Distillery (Victoria), Torquay Beverage Co (Victoria), Foghorn Brewery (New South Wales), Jetty Road Brewery (Victoria) and Darwin-based Seven Seasons started by former Port Adelaide footballer Daniel Motlop.
The Lot.100 group takeover was expected to grow Mighty Craft’s spirit production capacity to 1.5 million bottles in the next financial year, making it one of the largest Australian craft spirit producers and a leading player in the emerging Australian whisky market.