Bloomington, IL — In a new agreement announced today, DESTIHL┬« Brewery and World Class Beer of Indiana, a division of the Monarch Beverage Company, will join forces to distribute the brewer’s acclaimed craft beer brands throughout 70 counties in the southern two-thirds of Indiana. DESTIHL, based in Bloomington, Illinois, is not new to the Indiana market, having been attending beer fests in the State for the last few years, though the agreement with World Class will be the first opportunity for the award-winning brewer to sell and market its brands in Indiana.
“The agreement with World Class represents an exciting opportunity for DESTIHL to finally get our beers into a market that we love and that has been seeking our beers for quite some time,” says DESTIHL founder, Brewmaster and CEO, Matt Potts. “It also allows us to work alongside a distribution partner which has the requisite size, craft beer knowledge and reputation in the market that will allow us to get DESTIHL beers into the best craft beer retailers in the State. It is truly a great opportunity for us to grows substantially together.”
In the near term, DESTIHL will focus on the Indiana on-premise, draft beer market, although the brewery is expecting arrival of its automated canning line to arrive on December 30th, with cans being released to market by the end of the first quarter of 2014. In anticipation of adding packaged beer to its lineup, the brewery also just completed its first expansion project to triple its production capacity from 3,500 barrels when it just opened on May 31st of this year to now over 10,000 barrels of capacity.
In DESTIHL’s typical fashion, it will release several beer brands, including the brewery’s Belgian-style lineup such as Abbey’s Single, Tripel, Quadrupel, Ambassador Am-Belgo Double Pale Ale, Nit Wit and its renowned, multi-award winning single-barrel aged & spontaneously fermented Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Ale Series, and it will also distribute other fan favorites such as Strawberry Blonde Ale (its seasonal bronze medal winner in the fruit beer category at the 2012 Great American Beer Fest┬«), DeadHead Double Red Ale, Hoperation Overload Double IPA, Black Angel Stout, Downstate Pale Ale, Vertex IPA, Lawnmower Ale, Tenebrous Black RyePA, Altercation, Samhain Pumpkin Porter and eventually Antiquity Rye Wine and Dosvidanya Russian Imperial Stout, to name a few.
James Printz, Sales Division Manager for World Class, said “We are excited to partner with Matt and his team at DESTIHL, which brews uncommon beers uncommonly well, and we aim to make DESTIHL commonplace in Indiana. This is a great fit for the brewery and us. Our craft team is very excited to introduce the DESTIHL brands to our accounts, and we are thrilled to be able to sell those brands in our state.”
DESTIHL’s keg rollout in Indiana will begin in early November through World Class Beer and in the near future through other distributors in the northern third of Indiana as well. The brewery currently distributed its beers in Wisconsin and throughout the state of Illinois.
About DESTIHL
DESTIHL opened its first gastrobrewpub (DESTIHL Restaurant & Brew Works) in Normal, Illinois, in November 2007 and added its second gastrobrewpub in downtown Champaign in April 2011, where the company focuses on both artisan food and beers. DESTIHL’s 20,000sf production brewery project in Bloomington, IL commenced in September 2012 with brewing starting on May 31, 2013 and includes a 25-barrel brewhouse, several large fermenters having a capacity of 10,000 barrels annually and 100,000 cubic feet of barrel-aging space.
About World Class Beer of Indiana
The mission of World Class Beer is to promote the craft and specialty beer market and educate people on the benefits of the specialty and craft category making them beer passionate. World Class Beer of Indiana is a division of the Monarch Beverage Company and is the founding member of the World Class Beer Network of independent, craft oriented beer wholesalers. World Class Beer of Indiana is proud to be a part of the family-owned Monarch Beverage Co., and its staff of beer dedicated professionals focuses entirely on craft and specialty beer.
The World Class Beer Network is an association of independent beer distributors located throughout the United States that has dedicated themselves to the promotion of craft and specialty beers. Each member of the World Class Beer network has dedicated, beer passionate individuals who focus on bringing the best beers in the world to you and your favorite bars, restaurants and retail outlets. They also promote and encourage responsible use of their products.