The Bell’s Brewery portfolio is moving to the Reyes Beer Division in the majority of the wholesaler’s Indiana territory.
Reyes, the largest beer distributor in the U.S., announced today that its Monarch Distributing subsidiary has closed on agreements for the Michigan craft brewery’s brand rights in its Indiana footprint, adding about 175,000 cases to Monarch’s operation.
It is unclear as of press time which wholesalers sold Bell’s distribution rights to Reyes. A Reyes spokesperson said she would confirm the information.
Monarch, which Reyes acquired in 2020, operates warehouses in Indianapolis and Evansville and distributes beer to Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks and Tippecanoe counties.
At the time of Reyes’ Monarch acquisition, Bell’s portfolio was carved out of the transaction, as Bell’s founder Larry Bell was unwilling to sign off on Reyes distributing his offerings. By December 2020, Bell’s had reworked its distribution network in southern Indiana, going with 15 independent Anheuser-Busch wholesalers — Zink Distributing Co.; Mid-America Beverage; North Vernon Beverage Co.; Bartholomew County Beverage; Greenfield Beverage; L.C. Nadorff & Son, Inc.; Orange County Beverage Co.; Working Distributors Inc.; Hedinger Beverage Distributing Co. Inc.; Craig Distributing Co. Inc.; Terrance A. Smith Distributing; Best Beers Inc.; Jay County Beverage; Little Beverage Co. Inc.; and Boone Beverage Inc. — while Indiana Beverage distributed Bell’s offerings in the northern half of the state.
However, the dynamic has changed following the sale of Bell’s to New Belgium parent company Lion Little World Beverages, as New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer explained in March when the two companies announced plans to consolidate their footprints in a number of markets.
“We have a long standing, strong and strategic partnership with our friends at New Belgium,” Reyes Beer Division CEO Tom Day said in a press release. “With New Belgium recently joining with Bell’s Brewery, we are excited to expand our offerings and live out our company purpose of connecting customers, consumers and brands every day, everywhere we operate.”
“Our Monarch team is eager to start warehousing, selling, delivering and merchandising this great portfolio,” Reyes Beer Division east president Stephen Reyes added. “With both companies having Midwest roots, we’re grateful for the opportunity to represent Bell’s in Indiana.”