Left Hand Brewing Re-Enters Iowa

Left Hand BeerColorado’s Left Hand Brewing Company is once again expanding its distribution footprint and will re-enter Iowa in August.

The company, which temporarily left the state in 2011 due to capacity constraints, has signed a new wholesale agreement with Johnson Brothers of Iowa.

“We’re thrilled to re-introduce Left Hand to the Iowa market and to offer our accounts and beer drinkers the full line of one of the most recognized breweries in the country,” Johnson Brothers president, Lyle Stutzman, said in a press statement.

Left Hand beers had previously been distributed by Dimitri Wine & Spirits, Inc., a company spokesman told Brewbound.

A recent brewery expansion — which included the addition of a new bottling hall and eight 480-barrel fermentation tanks — enabled the expansion into Iowa, Left Hand officials said in the statement.

Johnson Brothers will sell Left Hand’s core offerings and Nitro series beers, including: Milk Stout & Milk Stout Nitro, Sawtooth Ale & Sawtooth Nitro, 400 Pound Monkey IPA, Black Jack Porter, Polestar Pilsner, Stranger Pale Ale as well as the company’s Left Hand’s variety pack, seasonal beers and limited edition products.

Including Iowa, Left Hand, which distributes its beers in 28 states, has added five new markets in 2014. The company expanded its reach Western Pennsylvania in May and also entered Washington D.C., New York and Maryland earlier this year.

After producing 65,879 barrels of beer in 2013, 21-year-old Left Hand said it expects to brew more than 80,000 barrels in 2014.

A variety of Left Hand launch events are planned for the first week of August. A complete list of those events can be found on Left Hand Brewing’s blog.