Fort Point Beer Company Signs Distribution Agreement with Matagrano
San Francisco-based Fort Point Beer Company has ended its 6-year-old self-distribution operation and sold the rights to distribute its brands to Matagrano Inc. in the Bay Area.
Matagrano will sell Fort Point products in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the brewery announced in a press release.
Fort Point had relied on self-distribution in its home market since its founding in 2014 and had reached 370,000 cases in sales annually through the practice.
“Self-distribution enabled us to successfully launch Fort Point in our hometown of San Francisco, and we are very proud of what we were able to achieve ourselves,” Fort Point co-founder and CEO Justin Catalana said in the release. “These next steps with Matagrano are a natural and obvious evolution in our growth.”
In 2018, Fort Point expanded to other California cities through distributor partners. Discussions with Matagrano began shortly after, Catalana said in the release.
“This is a partnership that has been discussed with the Matagrano family for almost two years — in taking a step back and looking into the new year, the timing felt right,” he said. “There is still so much opportunity for Fort Point in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we look forward to realizing that potential with Matagrano.”
In November 2020, Fort Point announced the launch of statewide direct-to-consumer shipments, which the company will continue.
Matagrano’s portfolio includes products from Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken, as well as craft offerings from Sierra Nevada and Drake’s Brewing.
Bell’s Brewery Partners with Classic Beverage in Southern California
Offerings from Bell’s Brewery will be sold by Classic Beverage in Southern California, following the acquisition of Bell’s brand rights by the City of Industry-headquartered wholesaler, which purchased Craft Beer Guild from Sheehan Family Companies.
“We are excited to partner with Classic Beverages in their ambitious plans for Southern California,” Bell’s vice president of sales and marketing Matt Moberly said in a press release earlier this week.
Classic’s territory includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties. The beer distributor sells brands from Molson Coors, Pabst, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas, Boston Beer, Rogue, Deschutes and Sierra Nevada, in addition to local offerings such as Fort Point, Brouwerij West, Figueroa Mountain and Mad River.
Bell’s entered Southern California in 2014 with then Sheehan-owned Craft Beer Guild. Sheehan wholesalers in the Midwest and East Coast will continue to offer the Bell’s portfolio.
In October, founder Larry Bell told Brewbound the company had informed all wholesaler partners that it would not accept Anheuser-Busch InBev, Molson Coors or the Reyes Beer Division as successor wholesalers.
Trillium Brewing Company Begins Direct Shipping to Vermont and New Hampshire
Canton, Massachusetts-headquartered Trillium Brewing Company is now offering residents of neighboring Vermont and New Hampshire a way to purchase its beer without crossing state lines: brewery-direct shipments through UPS.
“Green Mountains or White Mountains? We couldn’t pick, so we’re heading to both,” the company wrote in an email.
Shipments to Vermont and New Hampshire began earlier this week; Trillium started shipping orders via UPS within Massachusetts in November, director of marketing Mike Dyer told Brewbound. The company is planning to add more northeastern states soon.
“We’re currently working through the process with Pennsylvania and expect to launch service there within the coming weeks and are considering other states within a two-day shipping range as well,” Dyer said. “We’ll certainly notify our fan base via social and email as service expands.”
According to a chart UPS published last year, states where residents can receive shipments from appropriately licensed out-of-state breweries include Alaska, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
“It’s hard to say definitively what the landscape for purchasing beer, either on-site or from home, will look like once people return to pre-COVID habits but programs like UPS Shipping that have improved the experience and hospitality for our customers will likely continue,” Dyer said.
Chicago-Based Dovetail Brewery Expands Direct Shipping
Chicago-based Dovetail Brewery will offer shipping of its offerings to consumers in Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Alaska and Washington, D.C., the company announced on social media last week.
Giddyup, the Lager Express heads out soon pic.twitter.com/rwUV8joMbM
— Dovetail Brewery (@dovetailbrewery) January 8, 2021