From legacy Detroit lagers to mason-jar moonshine-style malt beverages, Michigan’s Benchmark Beverage Company is quietly building a blueprint for what post-craft growth can look like—without selling out or selling short
When Benchmark Beverage Company announced in October that it had acquired the storied Altes Beer brand, it wasn’t just the revival of another retro label. It was the latest move in a playbook Benchmark has been refining over the last three years—one that’s less about chasing trends and more about creating an enduring, scalable platform for independent beverage brands.
“We are committed to growth,” Benchmark CEO Auday Arabo said in the announcement. “Bringing Altes into Benchmark adds a classic Detroit brand to our portfolio of Michigan-made beers. Eric, Carl, and Pat brought back a brand and a beer we really like, and now, we plan to take Altes to the next level so more consumers can enjoy it.”
Founded more than 100 years ago, Altes Beer had become a Detroit staple by the mid-century, even sponsoring the Tigers and Lions. After fading from the market in the 1990s, the brand was revived in 2019 by a trio of local beer enthusiasts—Eric Stief, Carl Erickson, and Pat Kruse—who will remain involved as Altes enters a new phase under Benchmark.
Over the past few years, Benchmark has assembled a diverse portfolio of regional beverage brands—Dark Horse Brewing, Roak Brewing, Brew Detroit, and the flavored malt label Great America—each with its own market identity. All brewing operations are now consolidated at the Dark Horse facility in Marshall, Michigan.
We spoke with Arabo just before the Altes acquisition was made public to learn more about the company’s long-game strategy.
Retail roots
Benchmark Beverage started in 2016 as a spirits brokerage, representing brands from around the world, eventually investing in a few. Benchmark wasn’t in the beer business until the Roak acquisition in late 2024.
In addition to Arabo, Benchmark is now co-owned by former Lipari Foods CEO Thom Lipari and former Roak Brewing co-owner Charles Mascari Jr. Prior to all of this beverage business wheeling and dealing, Arabo’s background was retail and food distribution, formerly the president and CEO of the Midwest Independent Retailers Association.
“I don’t come from beer originally,” Arabo says, explaining how that informs their fresh strategy. “Not growing up in the industry, we’re also trying to figure out: What are the new approaches that we could take from our food background, retail background—and bring that into the industry?”
That outsider mindset helps explain Benchmark’s disciplined, consumer-first approach to brand building. Rather than jumping on trends or building portfolios around hype, Arabo and his team evaluate each opportunity through the lens of long-term consumer connection.
“At the end of the day, the consumer is right,” he said. “This is the part where we take the business approach versus just being the brewer or the distiller. You can love your own product all day, but if the consumer doesn’t love it, you’re not going to get far.”
That philosophy extends to Benchmark’s acquisition strategy. “We’re open to acquisitions, but people have to kind of buy into our culture,” Arabo said. “It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be new. But it’s also going to be challenging. So, people that want to sign up for that—we’re looking into it.”
What they’re not interested in is building a house of brands in name only. Benchmark doesn’t co-pack, and it doesn’t operate like a private label clearinghouse.
“When we purchase a company or merge with a company, it’s all in,” he said. “You want to keep the identity, but the identity is going to change to some degree, right? You’ve got to be honest with yourself on that.”
Building on brand legacy
Benchmark’s growing house of brands spans a wide spectrum of styles and sensibilities—from moonshine-inspired malt beverages to hazy IPAs. But they all operate under a unified back-end system that brings scale, efficiency, and logistical support without sacrificing brand identity. A few examples:
- Roak Brewing, launched in 2015, is best known for its Devil Dog Oatmeal Stout, an 8.5% ABV tribute to veterans and canine companions, with proceeds supporting the VA Medical Center in Detroit. Flavored variants like French Toast Devil Dog and Peanut Butter Cup Devil Dog round out the lineup.
- Acquiring Roak in 2024 meant acquiring Dark Horse Brewing, which Roak owned at the time. Founded in 1997 in Marshall, Dark Horse is the company’s flagship brand and production hub. Hazy Crooked Tree IPA is a modern standout: a 7% ABV New England-style IPA double dry-hopped with Mosaic, Amarillo, and Citra.
- Brew Detroit, started in 2012 as a contract facility, has since developed brands of its own. Cerveza Delray—a crisp, 4.2% ABV Mexican-style lager—has become its signature offering, even winning GABF honors.
- Great America, a flavored malt beverage brand first developed in North Carolina, delivers 10% ABV fruit-forward flavors like Apple Pie and Peach in mason jars decked out in patriotic iconography. It’s nostalgic, bold, and built for parties.
Benchmark also invested in Blake’s Beverage Company, known for Blake’s Hard Ciders, this year. As we wrote at the time:
“The deal keeps both companies operationally independent but tightly aligned on growth strategy. Blake’s brings national sales horsepower and a deep portfolio of fruit-forward brands like Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders, and AVID Cider Co., while Benchmark contributes its expanding lineup of spirits and beer brands—including Brew Detroit and Dark Horse—plus a tech-savvy backend that helps retailers match the right product to the right shelf.”
Now comes Altes, which Roak had been brewing under contract since 2020. Brew Detroit had handled earlier production. So while the acquisition is new, the relationship isn’t.
“Roak has been brewing it in Marshall under contract since 2020, and Brew Detroit started making it for us in Corktown before that,” Stief said. “So nothing has to move, and it’s being kept, essentially, in the same family.”
Amid the brand growth, the team is expanding capacity at its Marshall, Michigan hub—from 24,000 barrels today to 50,000 once the current remodel is complete.
“We’re looking to grow, but we’re not of the mindset ‘build it and they will come,’” Arabo says. “We have to be very strategic in terms of getting to 24,000 and then taking that next step. We’re putting in the ground work over the next year or two to get to 50,000.”
Why craft beer in 2025?
Arabo doesn’t shy away from the market challenges facing beer today. But he also doesn’t see that as a reason to abandon it.
“We all know alcohol is a pendulum—sometimes you’re hot and sometimes you’re not,” he said. “We wanted to have something strong in every category. And specifically on the craft side, there are a lot of great craft beers that are local, statewide, regional—not as much national, because that’s a whole different play.”
The real issue, in his view, isn’t craft beer fatigue. The challenge remains scale and go-to-market strategy. Regional brands still have value. They just need the right operating structure to support them.
“We’re trying to stay true to craft but also think about how we can grow craft in a different format,” Arabo said. “With this approach, we’ve been able to get five amazing brewers from five different aspects, and now they come together and they’re collaborating. All the egos are out the window.”
And despite all the noise in the category—hard teas, cannabis drinks, NA extensions—Benchmark is deliberately sticking to its lane.
“We just try to think ahead,” Arabo said. “That’s how we plan to expand these brands—using our relationships, whether it’s in spirits, beer, or wine. It’s not a one-size-fits-all by any means.”
Each brand is managed on its own terms. Distribution channels, market expansion, taproom focus—it’s all a case-by-case approach. Altes, for example, is expected to grow beyond Michigan, but it won’t be forced.
“Our plan is to take Altes to the next level,” Arabo said. “It’s a beer with real heritage, and that matters when you’re reintroducing something to today’s drinker.”
Setting the new Benchmark
Benchmark’s playbook isn’t about grabbing headlines or scaling at all costs. It’s about consistency, staying consumer-focused, and giving brands the room—and resources—they need to evolve.
The category itself is evolving—and Arabo believes Benchmark is staying ahead of the curve by not rushing to keep up with it. Benchmark is growing deliberately and keeping beer personal, even as the business around it becomes more complex: “Right now people are afraid of craft, but I still think there’s a lot of good within craft that we need to save and protect.”
