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].
Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing partners with Eagle Rock Distributing in Colorado
Two Roads Brewing Co. recently announced a new partnership with Eagle Rock Distributing Co. to expand distribution of Two Roads premium craft beer throughout Colorado beginning this month. Eagle Rock will play a pivotal role in Two Roads’ growth strategy, leveraging its wide network across the state.
This important distributor relationship will bolster Two Roads recently announced 2.0 Growth Initiative. A result of a nearly two-year strategic planning exercise, the initiative lays out a roadmap for the brewer’s next decade of success, marked by a CPG and data-driven approach to sales and marketing, investments in leadership, a focused innovation strategy, and a portfolio-wide packaging refresh to help the brand stand out on shelves.
“We’ve done the work to help set Two Roads up for success with refreshed, modern packaging, commitments to our core brands and investments in our team. We need strong partners like Eagle Rock to attain our plan’s goals, particularly in grocery/c-store,” said Brian Corrie, VP of sales. “Eagle Rock is a best-in-class distributor of high-quality beer and spirits brands, and they believe fully in our brand’s potential. No doubt they will strengthen our footprint and overall visibility throughout Colorado, one of the most important craft markets in the U.S.”
According to the Brewers Association, Colorado ranks eighth in gallons produced per 21+ adult. Two Roads is the largest brewery in Connecticut and in 2021 ranked 54th on the Association’s list of top producing craft breweries.
“We’ve known Two Roads for a while and have always respected what they do. We’re energized to help them build their business throughout Colorado,” said Mike Economos, president of Eagle Rock Colorado. “We know what Coloradans want in their beer and Two Roads has it all, and then some.”
Two Roads Brewing Co., launched in 2012, is a privately owned craft beverage company offering a wide-ranging portfolio of beers, canned cocktails, hard seltzers, distilled spirits, and other Road Less Traveled beverages. Located in Stratford, Connecticut, Two Roads is ranked 54th among 9,500+ independently owned breweries in the US according to the Brewer’s Association’s 2021 survey. For more information visit www.tworoadsbrewing.com.
NA brand Surreal Brewing partners with Heidelberg Distributing to expand across Ohio
Surreal Brewing Co., the award-winning non-alcoholic craft beer company from northern California, is taking its innovative, health-centered non-alcoholic craft beers to The Buckeye State, Ohio, with the announcement of its partnership with Heidelberg Distributing Co., a family-owned and operated business for 84 years, servicing more than 26,000 retail and industry establishments across all counties in Ohio and Kentucky.
“Ohio has a huge beer community with a growing NA scene. We are honored to be partnering with Heidelberg to bring our core lineup of award-winning NA craft beers and seasonal brews to craft beer enthusiasts across the great state of Ohio”. says Surreal Brewing Co-founder Tammer Zein-El-Abedein. “Sharing many core values, we couldn’t think of a better distribution partner to help introduce and deliver Surreal Brewing to target audiences via grocery stores, bars, restaurants, carryouts, and specialty stores in Ohio.”
Passionate about supplying the best-tasting products that celebrate life, Heidelberg Distribution Company specializes in the distribution of premium beer, fine wine, quality low-proof spirits, and more across Ohio and Kentucky. With this new partnership, Surreal Brewing hopes to expand its consumer base and position itself for continued growth in the NA beer space.
The health-focused brewing company places a strong emphasis on creating a product that is highly enjoyable without compromising the health goals of its consumers. The all-natural non-GMO product is available in a wide variety of brews and flavors, including limited-edition seasonal beverages, catering to a wide range of non-alcoholic beer consumers across the United States. Within Ohio, non-alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits are rapidly increasing in popularity, as health and wellness become increasingly valued by consumers. This product is suited greatly for non-alcoholic beer drinkers and health-minded people alike and thus is sure to be well-loved by consumers in the Ohio area.
Pushing the boundaries of the non-alcoholic craft beer industry, Surreal Brewing strives to think differently and create a product that is unique, bringing a new non-alcoholic beverage experience to consumers in Ohio.
Founded in Northern California by husband and wife team Tammer Zein-El-Abedein and Donna Hockey, Surreal Brewing brings delicious and ultra-healthy non-alcoholic beers to the marketplace with a variety of great-tasting styles. Surreal Brewing brings forth a new era in which health-conscious and sober individuals can still enjoy the unique, crisp flavor of beer anytime while maintaining their health goals and feeling included at social gatherings.
North Carolina’s New Sarum Brewing joins online platform Bevana
New Sarum Brewing Co., the popular North Carolina brewery whose beers have won medals at the world’s two most prestigious competitions, will be joining beverage platform Bevana to grow its distribution and reach new customers across the country. Long a feature of the southern craft beer scene, the company will be placing its focus firmly on growth and on continuing the innovation that has led to it being one of the region’s most awarded producers.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be joining the Bevana Family! This partnership is built on quality, comradery and innovation, the same foundation that we built our company on from the very beginning,” said Andy Maben, founder of New Sarum. “Their vision and team of craft beer gurus are going to do wonders to bring our brand to a new audience of craft beer lovers. We’ve always taken pride in our high standards, while continuing to facilitate customer education and adapting to the ever-changing craft beverage market. This is the next step in our journey, and we’re excited to get going!”
Bevana will help to manage the distribution for New Sarum, giving the brewery the ability to focus its resources and efforts on continuing to foster the creativity and quality that earned it medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, the two most highly-regarded competitions in the industry. Its core lineup, anchored by Hurley Park Blood Orange Wheat Ale and Old Stone House IPA will be joined by new and returning entries in the popular Griffin series, including the standout People’s Elbow, a Hazy IPA brewed with Coconuts and Lactose. New creations will be available both in retail establishments and in their Salisbury, NC taproom on a regular basis, carrying on the tradition of exciting innovation that customers have come to associate with the company.
New Sarum will additionally see expanded distribution through Bevana’s platform, which is designed to help the industry’s most exciting breweries to cut through the complex and often contradictory wholesale landscape to put the focus back on the customers. With their help, New Sarum will be able to not only access new markets and retail outlets, but connect more directly with the craft beer drinkers that continue to seek the highest quality beers available.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to know the folks over at New Sarum for years, and they really are a craft beer drinker’s dream brewery in so many ways,” explained Aaron Gore, Bevana’s senior director of business development. “As the industry has gotten more competitive, however, breweries like New Sarum have been increasingly trapped between a rock and a hard place of trying to just get their beer into the hands of customers. We are excited to be able to help navigate the difficult waters of distribution alongside them, so that instead of everyone worrying about the logistics of how we get these things into peoples’ hands, they can just focus on making the best quality beer possible. That’s what this industry was always supposed to be about.”
New Sarum’s beers will also be offered through Bevana’s online shop, where all of the platform’s beverage partners may be ordered and shipped directly to customers’ homes or businesses. With the ability to deliver beer to customers in forty-two states, it helps beverage makers and drinkers cut through the noise and the barriers that stand in the way of enjoying the best drinks that the world has to offer, regardless of location.
Colorado’s WeldWerks to increases focus and reach to these states in 2023…
Once a brewery selling the majority of its volume through the taproom, WeldWerks Brewing Co. has since become a nationally recognized beer-maker in its nearly eight-year span. The brewery has grown in production, nearly tripling its barrelage annually, created more than 100 beer brands per year since 2018, established Colorado as a significant player in the Hazy IPA beer category with Juicy Bits, and has garnered impressive acclaim with its Medianoche Barrel-Aged Stout program.
As WeldWerks matures, the brewery is continuing to pour its passion and dedication into its craft while leveling up its business plan. This year WeldWerks will increase its focus and reach in the following states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
“Expanding our distribution footprint is a natural evolution for WeldWerks,” said WeldWerks Cofounder and Co-Owner Neil Fisher. “Colorado will always be our home and our primary market, but over the years we have been humbled and overwhelmed by our popularity beyond the Colorado borders. As we continue to grow as a brand, we want to make sure our beers are accessible to all customers.”
In addition to increased distribution outside of Colorado, WeldWerks has honed in on select core beers that will be available year-round and quarterly. While all of these beers will be available in WeldWerks’ target markets, the brewery will still have rotating beers throughout the year.
WeldWerks’ 2023 Beer Release Calendar, which includes Juicy Bits, Extra Extra Juicy Bits, and Weld Pilsner as year-round offerings, are a reflection of beers that have been received well by consumers and represent the brewery’s passion to produce with more frequency. The brewery will also release a quarterly sour ale, such as its immensely popular Bamm Bamm Rubble Rubble, and a quarterly Hazy IPA, like Evil Haze Factory, both available through March.
“As we grow, we’ve adapted our strategies,” said Fisher. “An annual release calendar helps implement more stability and predictability to our production planning as we continue to foster the culture of innovation that we value and have worked hard to establish and maintain.”
Stewart’s Spiked Sodas and Hard Rock cocktails joins with Cape Beverage Distributing for NJ distro
Cape Beverage Distributing recently announced the addition of Stewart’s Spiked Sodas and Hard Rock premium canned cocktails and hard seltzers to its distribution portfolio through its new partnership with Stewart’s Enterprise Holdings. These brands, distributed in over 20 states across the country, have returned to New Jersey’s Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties, and are available now.
Tony Gaines, CEO of SEHI said, “We are very excited to have Cape Beverage on the Stewarts team. Their success in South Jersey is a testament to their team and leadership. We look forward to their incredible success with our Hard Rock Cocktails and Stewarts Spiked Soda lines. No doubt you will find these products all over the shore this summer.”
Stewart’s Enterprise Holdings include products both in Stewart’s portfolio as well as Hard Rock’s premium alcoholic ready to drink beverages.
“We are very excited to add Stewarts Spiked Sodas to the Cape Beverage portfolio,” said Cape Beverage Area and Brand Manager Chris Verderame. “Root beer is one of my favorite drinks on the planet. I could not ask for a better all-American taste than cracking an ice cold Stewart’s Spiked Soda Root Beer. One sip of Stewarts Spiked Soda Orange Cream will take you to a Jersey Shore boardwalk.”
Cape Beverage will distribute Stewart’s core products: its 16-oz Spiked Sodas. Stewart’s Spiked Sodas include Root Beer, Orange Cream, Black Cherry, and Key Lime. They are indulgent and full-flavored, with the four flavors ranging from 4.5 to 5.5 percent ABV.
“Hard Rock Cocktails are another exciting brand to add to the Cape Beverage portfolio,” said Verderame. “Hard Rock Cocktails offer Ready to Drink cocktails, seltzers and grab and go 10 percent cocktails perfect for the beach, pool, golf course or just hanging with your friends. We are thrilled to put the Hard Rock Cocktails touch on South Jersey.”
Cape Beverage will also be distributing Hard Rock’s award-winning, classic ready-to-drink cocktails, including Moscow Mule, Margarita, and Mojito. Each flavor is in a 12-oz tall can and comes in at 8 percent ABV. Distribution also includes Hard Rock’s 10 percent ABV, 19.2-oz Hurricane and Long Island, as well as their Hard Seltzer Variety Pack. Hard Rock’s Hard Seltzers have flavors inspired by the brand’s in-house cocktails, feature no added sugar, and are 6 percent ABV each.These flavors include Hurricane, Mojito, Strawberry Lime, and Blackberry Sangria.
Cape Beverage is excited to continue to expand its beyond beer options for consumers and to bring these beverages to a wider audience across the state.
Jim Snider says
CANtastic.