After four years of shipping beer to the East Coast for ‘Philly Beer Week,’ Deschutes Brewery — the country’s fifth largest craft brewery — announced today the permanent distribution of its beers to the Philadelphia market through Muller, Inc.
“Philadelphia is a craft savvy market that gives us a perfect launch pad for our first distribution area on the east coast,” Michael LaLonde, the president of Deschutes Brewery, said in a company statement. “We’re excited to be working with Muller on a full-time basis and being able to fill the demand that the past years of participating in Philly Beer Week have created for our beers.”
The company’s core offerings like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, and Chainbreaker White IPA are now available in both bottles and on draft in Philadelphia. Bottles of Fresh Squeezed IPA, Inversion IPA and Deschutes River Ale will also be available.
Jason Randles, the company’s marketing manager, said the addition of new brewing capacity — roughly 105,000 barrels — has allowed for expanded distribution into new markets this year but also confirmed that there are no plans to expand into other East Coast markets.
“We are launching in Iowa next month and also have plans for Ohio and Michigan next year,” he said. “There are no plans to expand throughout Pennsylvania or into other East Coast markets at this time.”
A weeklong series of launch events are scheduled to take place in early November.
Deschutes’ announcement comes on the heels of news that three other top 15 craft breweries — New Belgium, Stone Brewing Co. and Dogfish Head — would also be expanding their own distribution footprints next month.