The first major brewery deal of 2016 is a “surprising” uppercut against the beer industry heavyweights’ knockout punches of 2015, writers are saying in the wake of Victory Brewing Co.’s move to join the ring with Upstate New York craft brew middleweight Southern Tier Brewing Co.

“With macro breweries scooping up smaller brewers left and right, this model could throw a major wrench in Big Beer’s plans,” the Philly staff at The Drink Nation opined in a response to the news.

“… After last year’s multitude of craft beer buyouts, we’re happy to see a partnership like this forming. It certainly won’t be the end of AB-InBev acquisitions, but it could definitely start a shift in the landscape of mid-level breweries looking to expand.”

Others commented on the fine line between growth and independence that’s being walked by Victory Brewing, which Syracuse.com’s Don Cazentre called one “of the larger and most successful craft brewers in the United States” in his report.

“The influx of money into the small brewery system has changed the competitive climate in (Co-Founder Bill) Covaleski’s eyes. As the industry evolves, his greatest fear is that some of the United States’ best small brewers may end up competitive enemies rather than collaborative friends,” Reid Ramsay wrote for the Beer Street Journal.

“Forming a partnership with Southern Tier allows two small/craft breweries to share ideas, collaborate on common goals and to stay competitive against the new entities with new money and a new edge.”

Covaleski hopes the alliance will also free up Victory Brewing to continue its legacy of bold innovation, he told Alison Burdo for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

And it puts Victory Brewing on par with Dogfish Head, a craft brewer just across the state line that brought investors in for a minority stake in the company last year, Doug Rainey noted in an article for Delaware Business Now!

“The combined brewers would rival Dogfish Head in overall size, based on overall production,” he wrote, adding that the Delaware-based regional craft beer leader was ranked 13th in the nation when Victory Brewing and Southern Tier were ranked 29th and 35th, respectively.

Read more details about the Victory and Southern Tier deal in VISTA Today’s initial coverage here.