New Belgium Brewery Strikes Deal with Local Distributors

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Fort Collins, Colorado based brewery New Belgium recently signed distribution deals with 17 Virginia, Maryland and D.C. distributors, and will roll out a line of 22 oz. beers starting August 22, 2011.

Specializing in American Belgian-style ales, like its popular Fat Tire Amber Ale, New Belgium started back in the early 90’s, and is currently the third largest craft brewery in the country, only trailing Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer Co. in size. This new distribution deal will expand its empire into 28 states.

Of New Belgium’s many brews, Northern Virginia will be getting Fat Tire Amber Ale, Ranger IPA, and the seasonal Hoptober Ale all in 22 oz bombers. And, confirmed by New Belgium Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Neil Reeve, we’ll also be getting a limited release of the New Belgium Trippel and a collection of small batch premium beers from the brewery’s Lips of Faith series—because we’re special.

According to Reeve, the current schedule will see New Belgium drafts on November 1, with 12 oz. six packs following on January 1, 2012.

Of the 17 distributors, six are from Virginia, including the independently run Specialty of Virginia, who services the Richmond area. Northern Virginia will be serviced by the Chantilly based and MillerCoors owned Premium Distributors of VA, while D.C. will be serviced by Premium Distributors of D.C., which is also owned by MillerCoors.

Residents of Montgomery County are out of luck—again—however, as no deal was made for distribution in the area because of the county’s wonky alcohol distribution laws and independence from the traditional three-tier distribution system. New Belgium also claims some “logistical challenges” are keeping it out of the area for the time being.

We asked Reeve to flesh out the reasons for Montgomery County’s exclusion, and got a head on lesson in the logistical mess of cold-shipping beer across the country.

“The challenge, really for us, is obviously the beer is coming from Colorado, and we’re one of the few breweries in the country that still require all packages to be shipped refrigerated…  The beer is pretty much kept cold until it goes to retail,” said Reeve. “Once it hits retail, it does have a warm storage period that we’d be okay with, literally three to four weeks, but it can’t be in direct sunlight, it can’t above 73 degrees. When we involve the county in that, [the beer] really does go into a very large storage area at the county, and it’s not refrigerated. So our quality assurance standards are compromised because of that.”

He continued, “Therefore, one of our only options would be to enter into an arrangement with the county and a local distributor who would store [the beer] on behalf of the county, and then deliver to the county warehouse from the refrigerated warehouse on an as needed basis.”

Details, details. While still working on a solution, Reeve does hold out hope for working out a solution with the county, he just doesn’t know when. “Montgomery County does, indeed, present us with a challenge, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.”

Here’s a full list of the distributors:

Virginia
Blue Ridge Beverage Company

Premium Distributors of VA

Specialty of Virginia

Hoffman Beverage

M Price Distributing

Wendell Distributing

D.C.

Premium Distributors of D.C.

Maryland
Bond Distributing

Katcef Brothers

Premium Distributors of Maryland

Bob Hall

Kelly Distributing

Eastern Shore Distributing

Guy Distributing

Sentman Distributors

Western MD Distributing

Lohr Distributors

- Kris King

Tags: beer, distribution headaches, fat tire amber ale, Gut Check, Hoptober Ale, Kris King, Lips of Faith, Movin' on up, New beers, new belgium, Northern Virginia, ranger IPA, three tiered distribution