Inside the biz... "Joining forces"

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

South Bend Brewfest in October

This has been in the works now for a few months, and I'm finally permitted to release this info to the masses!

Indiana Beer, one of the local beer distributors, is putting on a brewfest at the Century Center called "South Bend Brewfest." Details are still being worked on, however below is some information for you to save the date with.

Date: October 22nd, 12-4pm. This is the same day as the ND-USC game, which is a night game, starting at 8pm.

Location: Century Center, on the island unless weather is poor, then it will be held in the atrium.

Breweries: The typical breweries that Indiana Beer distributes should be there, including New Holland, Sierra Nevada, Goose Island, Figure 8, Shoreline, Southern Tier, along with a bunch of independent breweries and one of my favorite up-and-coming breweries; Barehands. In addition to those, they anticipate having a few from other distributors, including Bell's, Founders and Dark Horse.

Tickets and pricing is not available at this time, however keep checking back for more information!

Rare Sam Adams Beer Tapping at Fiddler's

Straight from the Indiana Beer Facebook page...

"For one night only, we will be tapping three very special kegs from Samuel Adams: Imperial White, Old Aged Porter, and Cherry Chocolate Bock. This is the first time any bar in Northern Indiana has put any of these beers on tap, and the first time the Porter and Bock have ever left Massachusetts. There is only a quarter barrel of each and once they are gone, they are gone. So show up early and enjoy these rare and spectacular beers!"

Fiddler's Hearth (Main St., South Bend)
April 21st
4-7pm