Destihl Brewery partners with World Class Beer, anticipates new canning line

In a new agreement, Destihl Brewery and World Class Beer of Indiana, a division of the Monarch Beverage Co., will join forces to distribute the brewer’s brands throughout 70 counties in the southern two-thirds of Indiana. Destihl, based in Bloomington, Ill., is not new to the Indiana market, having been attending beer fests in the state for the last few years, though the agreement with World Class will be the first opportunity for the brewer to sell and market its brands in Indiana.

“The agreement with World Class represents an exciting opportunity for Destihl to finally get our beers into a market that we love and that has been seeking our beers for quite some time,” said Destihl Founder, Brewmaster and Chief Executive Officer Matt Potts. “It also allows us to work alongside a distribution partner which has the requisite size, craft beer knowledge and reputation in the market that will allow us to get Destihl beers into the best craft beer retailers in the state. It is truly a great opportunity for us to grow substantially together.”

In the near term, Destihl will focus on the Indiana on-premise, draft beer market, although the brewery is expecting arrival of its automated canning line on Dec. 30, with cans being released to market by the end of the first quarter of 2014. In anticipation of adding packaged beer to its lineup, the brewery also just completed its first expansion project to triple its production capacity from 3,500 barrels (bbls) when it just opened on May 31 of this year to now more than 10,000 (bbls) of capacity.

James Printz, sales division manager for World Class, said “We are excited to partner with Matt and his team at Destihl, which brews uncommon beers uncommonly well, and we aim to make Destihl commonplace in Indiana. This is a great fit for the brewery and us. Our craft team is very excited to introduce the Destihl brands to our accounts, and we are thrilled to be able to sell those brands in our state.”

Destihl’s keg rollout in Indiana will begin in early November through World Class Beer and in the near future through other distributors in the northern third of Indiana as well. The brewery currently distributes its beers in Wisconsin and throughout the State of Illinois.

World Class Beer of Indiana is a division of the Monarch Beverage Co. and is the founding member of the World Class Beer Network of independent, craft-oriented beer wholesalers. The World Class Beer Network is an association of independent beer distributors located throughout the United States that has dedicated themselves to the promotion of craft and specialty beers.