SAN DIEGO – Several months after first launching distribution of its beers in Texas, Southern California-based AleSmith Brewing Company has signed with Ben E. Keith Company to increase its network within the Lone Star State. Starting in June, AleSmith’s beers will be available in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Galveston and these locales’ surrounding areas. When added to AleSmith’s existing distribution footprint in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth and Southern Texas regions, this represents a near-blanketing of the country’s largest continental state.
“We are excited to partner with AleSmith and are eager to begin distributing their world-class craft beers in Texas,” says John Ray, Ben E. Keith Company’s Specialty National Accounts Manager for Texas.
“Texas has long been at the top of our list for increased distribution,” says AleSmith Director of National Sales James Valles. “We want our beers to be available in places where the interest in and fervor for craft is at its highest, and Texas certainly fits the bill in those respects. It’s a thrill to know that almost anywhere craft-beer fans go within the state, our beer will be fresh, ready and waiting for them.”
Beer enthusiasts in the aforementioned areas can look forward to the arrival of core six-pack offerings such as AleSmith IPA, AleSmith Nut Brown English-style Ale and AleSmith Lil’ Devil Belgian-style Pale Ale. Numerous other year-round, specialty and seasonal beers will also make their way to Texas on a regular basis, beginning with spring-summer release AleSmith Double IPA, the quartet of high-gravity beers comprising the 2016 Vintage Series and variations of the world-renowned coffee-infused imperial stout, AleSmith Speedway Stout.
About AleSmith Brewing Company:
Forged in 1995, AleSmith has been recognized by consumers and critics alike as one of the world’s foremost craft brewing companies behind accolades that include medals won at prestigious national and international beer competitions as well as being named Small Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival. AleSmith is on the verge of celebrating its 21st year in business and recently expanded, moving into a 105,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art brewery featuring a new 80-barrel brewing system that will allow the company to increase its production ten-fold. The expansion also included construction of the largest brewery tasting room on the West Coast (25,000 square feet) with an outdoor beer garden that will soon be joined by a second-story indoor-outdoor mezzanine, private rooms and a museum dedicated to San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn. AleSmith’s line of acclaimed beers, which includes Speedway Stout, IPA, Nut Brown Ale, X Extra Pale Ale and Old Numbskull Barley Wine, is distributed in 20 U.S. states and five countries.
About Ben E. Keith Company:
Ben E. Keith Company, established in 1906, began selling Anheuser-Busch products in 1933. Today, Ben E. Keith Company’s Beverage division is the third-largest independent beer wholesaler in the country. The company also distributes import beers, craft beers, wine products and non-alcoholic beverages. With 14 Sales and Distribution Centers in Texas, including Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Commerce, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Kerrville, Llano, Palestine, San Antonio and Waco, the company operates throughout the state of Texas.