Ballast Point and MicroStar Logistics Announce Multi-Year Extension of Partnership

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Today, MicroStar Logistics and Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits are pleased to announce a multi-year extension of their on-going partnership. MicroStar’s industry-leading keg management program delivers the efficiency and flexibility a leading brewer like Ballast Point needs in today’s competitive marketplace.

“The Ballast Point / MicroStar partnership represents what’s great about our industry. It’s all about collaboration,” says Ballast Point President & General Manager Jim Buechler. “By participating in MicroStar’s pooled-keg model, we all benefit from increased flexibility to help us grow our businesses. In addition, by reducing the miles empty kegs travel, MicroStar helps reduce our industry’s carbon footprint making us all more sustainable.”

Since joining the MicroStar program in 2008, Ballast Point has grown by leaps and bounds. This trend is poised to continue as the brewery prepares to bring their total capacity up to over 300,000 bbls over the next few years. For every stage of growth, MicroStar’s ability to deliver the kegs needed without the worries that come with keg ownership will be a valuable tool as Ballast Point manages their growth in the coming years. MicroStar takes responsibility for repair and maintenance and eliminates the risk of loss or potential slow turns. By choosing MicroStar instead of owning their own kegs, Ballast Point has also reduced their carbon footprint by over 70,000 kg of CO2e in 2013 alone, based on an analysis by Dr. John Heckman of PE International. That is equivalent to saving the amount of CO2e emitted by burning 75,000 pounds of coal.

“Ballast Point is the kind of brewery that led me to recently join the MicroStar team,” says MicroStar’s new President and CEO, Michael Hranicka. “Their deep commitment to quality and innovation line up with the solutions MicroStar strives to deliver every day. And the fact that their team loves what they do and brews amazing beer, recently winning two awards at the World Beer Cup, is proof that they continue to grow while staying true to their core values.”

About Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

What started in 1996 as a small group of home brewers who simply wanted to make great beer evolved into the team of adventurers known today as Ballast Point. From bringing a hoppy twist to a porter, or adding four types of malt to its amber ale, to creating a breakthrough gold-medal winning IPA, the San Diego-based company is known for adding its own touch and asking if there’s a better way. Today an internationally recognized leader in the craft brewing and spirits industry, the company makes over 40 styles of beer and bottles seven spirits.

About MicroStar

Founded in 1996, MicroStar Logistics, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., is the market-leading provider of keg management and logistics services to the U.S. craft beer industry. The company manages the largest independent network of kegs, approaching 2 million nationwide, and the corresponding logistical needs for approximately 200 craft brewery customers. The company provides a cost-effective outsourced solution that enables craft brewers to grow while reducing their carbon footprints. For additional information, visit www.microstarkegs.com.