In February, 2012, at the 12th Annual Double IPA Festival, the kickoff event for San Francisco Beer Week, a panel of judges conducted blind tastings of 43 beers of breweries from the West Coast to Maine. Ruination by Stone Brewing came in third place. Second place was Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing; a beer hallowed by drinkers far and wide. What topped Pliny? Hoptologist DIPA by Sacramento’s own Knee Deep Brewing Company.
Knee what?
Ever since that contest, Mussetter has a new nickname for Knee Deep: The Pliny Killer.
He gives all the credit to Jeremy Warren, Knee Deep’s brewmaster.
“He’s got the Midas touch,” Mussetter said. “This guy can brew IPAs like no other.”
Mussetter also said that he’s out of Knee Deep stock every week. The brewery is Mussetter’s largest supplier, making it one of the most important factors in the distributor’s growth potential. In 2010, Warren founded the brewery. In 2011, from January 1 to June 24, Knee Deep accumulated $22,000 in sales for Mussetter. In 2012, over the same time period, that number grew to $183,000. This year, that number reached $310,000. Mussetter said that if production continues to grow, which would help him meet the massive demand, he said Knee Deep could reach $750,000 to $1 million in sales.
That’s a pretty swift rise for a brewery just over three years old.
Along with Knee Deep’s rapid growth, Mussetter said his company’s distribution of cider has outpaced craft.
“I think the craft movement has actually helped bring ciders to the forefront,” he said.
Ace Ciders, based in Sebastopol, Calif., headlines Mussetter’s cider offerings. The brand entered Safeway stores in April, and has also spent time on shelves in Raley’s Supermarkets and markets primarily in Sacramento, such as Nugget Markets. This gives Ace an exposure to a different kind of consumer; the shopper that continues to see the 6-packs, even when their only intention was to pick up a half-gallon of milk.
“When people see a brand in the grocery store, they trust it,” Mussetter said.
Mussetter also currently offers two other cider brands: JK Scrumpy’s and Thistly Cross. He said that Scrumpy’s has a higher price point, but continues to grow at a 60-70 percent growth rate from this year compared to last year. Thistly Cross, whether directly or not, could succeed where many cideries fail: winning over male consumers.
When men drink beers like Knee Deep, many women want something else, Mussetter said, so cider has become the natural choice. However, Thistly Cross offers a Whisky Cask cider, which he thinks could appeal to both genders.
“The craft community, all the younger crowd, they want to try something different and they’re open to checking out ciders because there’s different flavors,” he said. “There’s dry, sweet, barrel-aged.”
When Mussetter took on Ace Ciders in 2008, it wasn’t entirely by choice. After the MillerCoors merger in October, 2007, distributor consolidations forced Mussetter out of the equation, despite the fact that it had sold Miller beers since the late 70s. This abrupt news also took other brands off the table: Heineken, Corona, Pyramid, Sam Adams and Sapporo.
It was a change that hurt his father, who had worked so hard over so many years to establish Miller beers in Northern California. It didn’t hurt Mussetter as much. Rather, it taught him a lesson: the corporate hand can be a merciless one.
“We did get pushed out by Miller,” he said. “That kind of set off the domino effect.”
Despite the unexpected change, Mussetter and other craft distributors in the area — known more for its wine than its beer — are beginning to gain steam and represent the craft brands they distribute. And they’re proud to do so.
“I think Mussetter and these independent wholesalers are absolutely necessary,” Swinford said. “They’re leading with these products.”
Mussetter feels that going from domestic to craft was a serendipitous change. He also believes that Sacramento isn’t too far away from being known more for what it offers, less for what it lacks.
“We’re still trying to find our place,” Mussetter said. “But it’s going to get there. It’s going to grow. I think Sacramento can be just as good a market for craft as San Diego and San Francisco here in the next, I’d say, five to 10 years.”