San Diego-based independent wholesaler Scout Distribution will begin distributing the Port Brewing and Tiny Bubbles brands beginning March 1, the San Marcos, California craft brewery announced today.
The move follows Port Brewing LLC (Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey and Tiny Bubbles) terminating its distribution contract with Stone Distributing as its wholesaler in Southern California. Port Brewing and Stone Distributing, which had partnered together since Port was founded in 2006, will officially wrap up their deal on Friday, February 26.
“We’re excited to explore new opportunities for our brands,” Tomme Arthur, co-founder of Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey and Tiny Bubbles, said in a press release. “We believe this partnership with Scout will create new synergies for both companies resulting in tremendous growth for many years to come.”
“I’m thrilled to partner up with Scout and their stellar team of industry vets, many of whom have sold the Port Brewing portfolio before,” Norm Stackhouse, brand manager of Port Brewing, Tiny Bubbles and The Lost Abbey, added in the release. “We need focus in our current crowded market and believe that Jeff and his team can help us grow our share of mind with craft beer drinkers in SoCal.”
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Tomme and the team at Port Brewing,” Scout CEO Jeff Hansson said in the release. “Port has consistently been brewing best-in-class beer for many years now, and we feel that our two companies working together will result in great success.”
The move is a fresh start for the Port Brewing brand following and an opportunity to receive more focus within a smaller distribution house that covers San Diego and Orange County. In terminating Stone, Arthur cited declining sales over the last five years and key personnel turnover at the wholesaler as “the biggest reasons” for the move.
Adding Port Brewing is a coup for Scout, which lost Societe Brewing to Stone Distributing in January. Port provides Scout a well-regarded craft brand with a portfolio of West Coast IPAs. As part of the transition, the Port Brewing brand will go through a brand refresh later in 2021.
Tiny Bubbles, a line of lower-calorie probiotic sour beers that launched last year, will also be assigned to Scout. Offerings from The Lost Abbey will be self-distributed.
Scout will be charged with expanding points of distribution for Port Brewing’s Mongo double IPA and its portfolio of West Coast-style beers.
“Port is such an iconic brand in San Diego, and they bring Scout such a diverse line up,” Hansson told Brewbound, pointing to the Port’s IPAs, lagers, red ales and brown ales. “Well-known staples such as Mongo and Wipe Out will be great additions to our portfolio but we are equally as excited about some new innovation items we have been discussing with Port.”
Scout’s portfolio of brands includes craft beer brands Harland, Fort Point Beer Company, Abnormal Beer Co., Chapman Crafted, Toppling Goliath, and Topa Topa, as well as hard kombucha makers JuneShine, Luna Bay, and hard seltzer brands Ashland and Nude, among others. Hansson said Tiny Bubbles will fit nicely into its portfolio of functional alcohol brands.
“Tiny Bubbles plays right in between hard kombucha and hard seltzer,” he said. “Our team is excited to help build Port and Tiny Bubbles into market leaders.”