If you're like me, you not only enjoy great craft beer, but are also very interested in the business aspects as well. The intricacies of the beer business are often more profound than many realize, such as hop shortages, political lobbying, expansion, the 3-tier system, experimentation... I could go on for a lot longer. I recently received an email from a friend in the business that tipped me off to something really interesting happening between Indiana Beer and World Class Beverage, both of which distribute beer in the South Bend area.
As of March 5th, Indiana Beer is taking over the entirety of the World Class Beverage catalog in Northern Indiana. This means the likes of Bell's, 3 Floyds, Dark Horse, Schlafly, Boulevard, and more will suddenly be under the purview of the fine folks of Indiana Beer. Along with the beer moving, Indiana Beer is also receiving another very knowledge and well-liked sales rep from World Class as part of the deal.
Fortunately for both parties, I'm told this wasn't a forceful takeover of business, but a mutually beneficial arrangement between the two parties.
So what does this mean for beer locally? Nothing really, you'll still be able to find all of your favorites from both of the distributors at your local stores. Behind the scenes though will be a stronger company with more pull when it comes to liquor law legislation and removal of any competition between two distributors, and the beers along with it. The most exciting thing I see coming out of this deal is a wider variety of beer at brewfests setup by Indiana Beer, such as the one coming up at Blue Chip and greater collaboration when it comes to other events in our area.
Cheers!
-Andy
andy@thebeerisgood.com
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