Miami has never been known as a beer town -- but maybe having MillerCoors, the company known for beer brands such as Miller, Coors Light, and Corona, move its Latin American headquarters from Bogota, Colombia, to Miami, could change that perception.
Miller will transfer 50 to 70 corporate employees from Colombia to an office in a 35-story tower located at 1450 Brickell Ave. that opened two years ago. Still, don't expect the purveyors of Miller Lite to do much for Miami's growing craft beer scene.
Sadly, the scent of malty hops will not be washing over Brickell anytime soon. The move involves a corporate office hub, not a brewing facility, the Miami Herald reports.
Still, the move is a great sign of Miami's continued growth as a hub of Latin American business. Miller wants to lease about 25,000 feet and is expect to occupy an entire floor of the building.
The Beacon Council, a taxpayer-funded nonprofit that recruits companies to Miami, did not respond to Short Order's request for details about the move, but the South Florida Business Journal reported last November that the organization was seeking $182,000 in tax breaks to lure Miller to Miami.
The move might be good business for the 305, but don't expect it to mean much to our town's slowly growing craft beer movement. David Rodriguez of Miami's home-brewers association, BrewFIU, says the beer giant has nothing new to offer those seeking more nuanced cerveza.
"For craft beer, I don't think it'll do much," Rodriguez says. "While craft beer drinkers are loyal, they aren't going to venture out and drink pale lager type beers if they aren't already drinking them."
In addition to local microbreweries such as the Abbey Brewing Company in Miami Beach and Titanic Brewery & Restaurant in Coral Gables that pioneered the local beer scene, Schnebly Redland's Winery & Brewery in Homestead will finally put greater Miami on the map as the area's first brewery to market beer beyond its own doors.
Luis Brignoni, another local beer proprietor, last year announced the launch of Wynwood Brewing Company, which he plans to open this summer or fall.
MillerCoors is a joint global beer venture run by Molson Coors Brewing Company of Colorado and SAB Miller, based in London. It is the largest brewer in Latin America with $1.6 billion in sales.
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