With exactly one zillion breweries operating across America, distribution news is always a steady constant in the CBB mailbox. Every week, we get announcements on new alliances, upcoming state expansions and even reductions from breweries growing and shrinking their distribution footprints. Here is some of that wholesaler news. Enjoy! If you have distribution news, send it to [email protected].
Yuengling officially begins pouring in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma
Like the headline says, the Yuengling Co. recently announced that the brand’s flagship beers are now officially available across Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Millions of beer fans in these newest expansion states now have their pick from a selection of Yuengling’s iconic portfolio.
“Today marks an important day for our brewery as we continue to make our beers available to more consumers,” said Wendy Yuengling, chief administrative officer and sixth generation family member, D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc. “On behalf of our entire Yuengling family, we are humbled to bring Yuengling beer to our fans in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.”
The diversified Yuengling portfolio — spanning the brewery’s Yuengling Traditional Lager, Light Lager, Golden Pilsner and Flight by Yuengling, this next generation of light beer offers consumers a taste of Yuengling’s distinct flavor and craftsmanship. Fans can stay up to date on where to find these brands at their nearest retailer, bar or restaurant by checking the “Find Our Beer” link at https://www.yuengling.com/find-our-beer/.
“As a sixth generation family-owned business, we have been making great quality beer for over 194 years, and today we couldn’t be happier to welcome beer drinkers in these new states into our Yuengling community,” said Wendy Yuengling. “We thrive on delighting our many fans who trust us to brew the best beer possible, and we look forward to continuing to do so.”
“The Yuengling family and all our business partners are proud to bring the rich tradition and authentic quality of America’s Oldest Brewery’s beers to these new states,” said Pat Pikunas, general manager, the Yuengling Co. “The opportunity to engage and serve a new set of fans from some of the most iconic beer-drinking states is an opportunity we take very seriously. We are confident about meeting high expectations and delivering the very best, great tasting Yuengling beers that have built our quality reputation over 194 years.”
Japas Cervejaria partners with Culture Beverage to distribute into Colorado
Here’s a cool new brand from South America. Japas Cervejaria is a woman-run Japanese-Brazilian brewery that’s based in São Paulo, and now Colorado craft beer drinkers have the opportunity to try its beer. Starting this month, Japas beer will be available in the Front Range from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins. Additionally, the beer will soon be available near the I-70 corridor and the Roaring Fork Valley.
“We pride ourselves in partnering up with the best craft brewers from across the world, so we were extra excited when we began talking with the team at Japas,” said Culture Beverage Co. Owner Xandy Bustamante. “Their authentic approach to making Japanese and Brazilian inspired beers is something that no other producer is doing.”
Fun fact: Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, stemming from Japanese emigration to Brazil in 1908 when the Japanese ship Kasato-Maru arrived in the port of Santos, south of São Paulo. Harnessing this history, Japas beer serves as a canvas that showcases the cofounders’ Brazilian and Japanese mixed heritage which you can see translated across their ethos, branding and beer recipes.
“Japas makes a variety of beer styles, but we add our own twist such as using ingredients like dekopon, kumquat, matcha and even wasabi,” said Japas Cofounder Fernanda Ueno, who also serves as a brewer for Japas. “We add in just enough of these ingredients to provide a balance and harmony among the flavors.”
The blend of cultures is also reflected on label artwork created by Yumi Shimada, Japas cofounder and creative director. Shimada utilizes collage work to represent a mix of influences, cultures and references.
“All of our labels are made with collage with the most iconic and important to date, the Kasato Maru label [above], which we named to honor the first ship that brought Japanese immigrants to Brazil,” said Japas Cofounder and Creative Director Yumi Shimada. “The label was made with a manual collage and I made the composition with dekopon fruit, an immigrant fruit in Brazil, and the ship together on top of the sea. An interesting curiosity is that I tore the blue paper to create the impression of the foam that the waves create when they break in the sea.”
Japas works with Beerternational, a woman-owned company and platform, that enables the brewery to brew and sell their beer in the United States. Besides Colorado, Japas beer is in nine other markets in the United States, including California, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This month Colorado beer craft beer drinkers can find Japas beer at participating retailers across the Front Range, from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs.
Core beers (with the exception of Nama Biiru, the other core beers will be available soon):
Matsurika: Japas’ best selling beer is named after the Jasmine petals used in teas in Japan. This Japas creation adds Jasmine petals to a Pilsen recipe bringing forth a soft and delicate beer. ABV: 5%
Oishii: Oishii means “yummy” in Japanese. This beer utilizes the unmistakable flavor of ginger, often used in Japanese cuisine, and orange peel to create a perfectly balanced witbier. ABV: 4.7%
Neko IPA: Maneki Neko is one of Japan’s most famous amulets, the “lucky cat.” Think of the lucky cat giving you good fortune as you drink this citrus-forward American IPA. ABV: 5.7%
Nama Biiru: This beer pays homage to Nama Biiru, which in Japanese can be translated to raw, fresh or draft beer. Japas’ version of Nama Biiru is a super dry rice lager that includes Sorachi Ace and Lemondrop hops. ABV: 4.9%
Seasonal beers (available soon):
Black Daruma: Potent but surprisingly easy to drink, this Imperial Stout has notes of dark chocolate and a touch of Persimmon, a fruit that brings luck and longevity in some Asian traditions. ABV: 11%
Kimokawaii: Kawaii is a term used to describe cute, sweet and delicate things. Kimokawaii is thus a mixture of the cute and the bizarre. This Imperial Sour’s combination of blackberry, dragon fruit, and hibiscus showcases the best of both worlds. ABV: 8%
The Mask Series (available now, as well as in four-packs of the brands below):
Okame: Okame is considered the female version of Hyottoko in Japanese folklore, representing the goddess of joy. This Wheat Wine Ale has high alcohol content and a velvety mouthfeel with notes of bread, honey and caramel. ABV: 10%
Hyottoko: Hyottoko is considered the male version of Okame in Japanese folklore, representing the god of fire. This potent and aromatic Triple New England IPA features Citra, Motueka, and El Dorado hops. ABV: 10%
Hannya: Hannya is a Japanese mask that represents human beings’ most difficult feelings such as anger and jealousy. This Imperial Stout represents the duality of the mask — potent and alcoholic but also velvety, with notes of coffee and dark chocolate. ABV: 11%
Kitsune: Meaning fox in Japanese which symbolizes wisdom, Kitsune is a clever Belgian Tripel Ale with spicy notes from coriander seeds and flavors of citrus from the orange peel and balanced by notes of raisin and banana. ABV: 9%
“Colorado is one of the states with the highest number of breweries per capita,” said Japas Cofounder Maíra Kimura, who also serves as a brewer and business strategist for the brewery. “The craft culture is widespread with Coloradans drinking craft beer in their daily lives. We think that Japas will appeal to beer drinkers and even those simply interested in Japanese and Brazilian culture.”
Indian-inspired Rupee Beer enters Trader Joe’s
Rupee Beer, an Indian-inspired beer that aims to bridge the gap between world cuisine and craft brewing, recently announced its entry into the U.S. grocery chain Trader Joe’s. Rupee is already available across select Whole Foods, Costco and Total Wine and More locations on the East Coast. Rupee is growing fast, and its multi-award winning lager at 4.75 percent ABV is specially crafted to pair with Indian, spicy and world flavors.
The backstory: Brothers Van and Sumit Sharma, sons of Punjabi restaurateurs in the business internationally for over 45 years, found themselves continually frustrated they could not find any Indian beer in Maine — the least diverse state in America where their family immigrated to from the United Kingdom and Germany in the early ’90s.
They decided to not only create their own beer, but set out to game-change the food and beverage industry in a bold and diverse way. The Sharma brothers strategically partnered with global craft brewing legend Alan Pugsley, 40+-year master beer brewer, lover of Indian food as a British expat and creator of over 80+ global beer brands, to create Rupee Beer and re-write everything society understands about craft lager as it relates to spicy world cuisine.
Brewed with pristine quality in mind and premium rice, maize, malt and three types of hops, Rupee Beer dismantles the traditional lager experience by lowering levels of carbonation to allow for a more comfortable and enjoyable dining experience.
WeldWerks Brewing’s popular barrel-aged Old Rip Medianoche brand gets distro beyond Colorado
WeldWerks Brewing Co. is making company history by offering Old Rip Medianoche, the newest beer from the brewery’s acclaimed Medianoche barrel-aged stout program, to select markets within the brewery’s distribution footprint.
Old Rip Medianoche released at the WeldWerks taproom last week (Friday, Feb. 24). The barrel-aged stout will soon make its way to participating retailers in Colorado, as well as select markets outside of Colorado, which include Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by early March.
In the past, Medianoche and its variants have typically only been available at WeldWerks’ taproom in Greeley via online presales. These releases have been limited, with beer enthusiasts, traders and collectors near and far having to tag a pal to pick up their beer by proxy — until now.
“One of WeldWerks biggest goals for our barrel-aged stout program has been accessibility and that means making the beer available to all of our markets with no lines, no proxies, just an awesome barrel-aged stout brought to your local beer stop,” said WeldWerks Head Brewer Skip Schwartz. “This has been a long time in the making with many months, barrels and brews going into this endeavor.”
Old Rip Medianoche features some of the most sought-after casks that WeldWerks has ever procured for its barrel program — Old Rip Van Winkle (ORVW). After resting for nearly 18 months in freshly-emptied ORVW 10-year bourbon barrels, WeldWerks’ flagship Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, Medianoche, expresses notes of honey soaked pecans, freshly split Madagascar vanilla beans, crème pâtissière, dark chocolate cinnamon butter, and just a hint of dried sweet cherries.
Old Rip Medianoche will be available in 500-milliliter bottles. Participating retailers throughout Colorado, as well as in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, will receive the beer by early March.
“With such a large Medianoche drop, we knew we had to come out of the gates swinging and put our best foot forward,” said Schwartz. “I couldn’t be more excited to share this blend with the greater beer community.”
RupeeBeer® says
@yuenglingbeer @WeldWerksBrewCo 🔥
RupeeBeer® says
RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Distribution update: Brazil’s Japas Cervejaria heads to Colorado + news from Yuengling, Rupee Beer and more @yuengling…
CraftBrewingBusiness says
Distribution update: Brazil’s Japas Cervejaria heads to Colorado + news from Yuengling, Rupee Beer and more @yuenglingbeer @rupeebeer @WeldWerksBrewCo https://t.co/v6iMSVUJwT https://t.co/vm5LXAUeI7