Advertising and marketing expenses are up sharply this year. I...

Advertising and marketing expenses are up sharply this year. I don't know if they're once-off costs for establishment or if they reflect ongoing increases to maintain their market share.

The other thing to consider is what is next? Their cash position is fine, they've got good lending options, and they've got a few acquisitions to digest. I'd like to know what the long-term strategy is. I know that some of you discuss consolidating where they are now: paying down debt and profiting from their venues in the hope of a dividend. Personally I wouldn't want them to get much larger as I see it as a business risk - selling craft beer as a corporate entity takes away some of the attractions. But as an investment vehicle I also think that in any other industry you'd be mad not to leverage profit and debt to go much further, especially in a company this young.

Their CSR is particularly strong too, which I'm very supportive of. From their report they're adding formal programs for sustainability which should be praised. It's a big difference to the reporting/initiatives that MCL do and a big deciding factor for me. I would like to see them go after B Corp certification; they're a big player in the market, so they should be leading the charge. Other big indie breweries are already pursuing it.

So yeah, would like to see some sort of 5-10 year plan. How many more breweries are they looking at getting? How many brands? Their goal metrics in the shorter term have been around litres produced, COGS per litre, and other operating factors, but I'd like to see a bit more of the longer view to know what I'm doing with this one.