New Belgium is making its way up the east coast. The Colorado-headquartered craft brewery today announced plans to enter New York, its 44th state, in May.
New Belgium, which is on the verge of opening a secondary production facility in Asheville, North Carolina, has signed agreements with 14 wholesalers – eight Anheuser-Busch distributors, four Miller/MillerCoors houses and two independents — for coverage throughout the state:
- Try-It Distributing Inc., Co.
- A. Cappione Inc.
- DeCrescente Distributing Company
- Eagle Beverage
- Sanzo Beverage Co.
- Arthur R. Gren Co., Inc.
- John G. Ryan, Inc.
- Manhattan Beer Distributors LLC
- McCadam Distributing
- Tri Valley Beverage
- Lake Beverage Corporation
- Rocco J. Testani, Inc.
- T. J. Sheehan Distributing, Inc.
- Craft Beer Guild Distributing of New York, LLC
The foray into New York follows a previously announced expansion into New Jersey, which was slated for this month.
“New York is a big one for us,” Rich Rush, the company’s Northeast and Canada division sales director said in a statement. “It’s a high density, fast-paced market and there are a lot of craft-savvy customers throughout the state. We now have the capacity to make sure we can keep the pipeline full, so the timing is ideal on all counts.”
Initial draft offerings will include Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, Citradelic IPA, Heavy Melon Watermelon Lime Ale (seasonal) and Rampant Imperial IPA, according to the statement.
New Belgium will also ship 12-oz bottles of its Fat Tire, Ranger, Citradelic, Heavy Melon, Rampant and Glutiny (gluten-reduced) brands. Fat Tire and Citradelic cans will also be immediately available, the company said.
Slow Ride Session IPA, 1554 Black Lager and Lips of Faith beers will begin shipping in August.