Scottish brewery Innis & Gunn yesterday announced United States Beverage LLC as its new U.S. importer. The brewery’s line of oak-aged beers had previously been imported through its own Innis & Gunn USA affiliate.
“Following a thorough review of our own business within the US and the fast changing US beer market, we have taken the decision to partner with United States Beverage to accelerate the growth of our beers and further strengthen our position in the US,” Dougal Sharp, founder of Innis & Gunn said in a statement.
US Beverage will assume all sales, marketing and distribution of Innis & Gunn brands effective April 1, according to a release. The company already imports and manages several iconic European craft breweries in the U.S. including Ireland’s Murphy’s Brewery, Spain’s Grupo Damm and Japan’s Tiger Beer.
Innis & Gunn had been distributing its portfolio via the Innis & Gunn USA subsidiary, based on Long Island. Dan Deluca, who had served as the managing director for that outfit, will continue to work with USB in its effort to expand U.S. sales.
A full press release is included below.
Edinburgh, Scotland – Innis & Gunn, the award winning independent Scottish brewer, is now announcing a new partnership with United States Beverage to import the brewer’s innovative portfolio of oak aged craft beers to the USA. The move will bolster the brand’s ambitious plans for long-term growth, expansion into new states and greater brand awareness within the US market. The Innis & Gunn brands had previously been imported and managed by the brewer’s affiliate, Innis & Gunn USA.
Dougal Sharp, Founder & Master Brewer of Innis & Gunn commented: “Following a thorough review of our own business within the US and the fast changing US beer market, we have taken the decision to partner with United States Beverage to accelerate the growth of our beers and further strengthen our position in the US. The team at US Beverage have an exceptional track record in building brands and we are thrilled to be working with them. Working together will help us better meet the demand for Innis & Gunn products from bars, restaurants and liquor stores and allow for increased promotional programming and consumer marketing on a greater scale. Our long-standing USA Managing Director, Dan Deluca, who has successfully established significant distribution for our brands, will continue in his role with Innis & Gunn and support the growth of our brands through the new partnership with United States Beverage.”
Justin Fisch, VP/General Manager of United States Beverage added, “We are honored to partner with the Innis & Gunn team as our companies share like aspirations. Innis & Gunn has built an innovative and exceptional craft beer brand that provides differentiation and excitement to the highly competitive U.S. beer market. We are fully committed to ensuring its future success in the US market”.
The transition from Innis & Gunn USA operations to USB will take place 1st April 2016. At that time all responsibilities for US sales, marketing and distribution will be handled by United States Beverage.
About Innis & Gunn:
Established in 2003, Innis & Gunn has won a multitude of awards for its unique range of oak-aged beers and its unoaked Scottish premium lager beer. With a turnover of £11.8 million in 2014 and 30% average annual growth over the last 2 years, the brewer has shown it has as good a nose for business as it does for beer. Available in over 20 countries, Innis & Gunn is the second-biggest supplier of specialty beer to the UK off-trade, the top imported Ale brand in Sweden and the best-selling British Bottled Beer brand in Canada.
About United States Beverage:
United States Beverage (USB) is a premium imported and craft beer sales and marketing company located in Stamford, Connecticut. USB provides a national distribution network for a portfolio of premium brands including: Moosehead Lager and Radler from Canada; Murphy’s Stout and Red Ale from Ireland, Tiger Beer from Singapore, the Damm portfolio of brands from Spain: Estrella Damm Lager, INEDIT, and DAURA; Czechvar and Czechvar Dark from the Czech Republic; Tona Cerveza from Nicaragua; Kalik from the Bahamas; and Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.’s Black Dog Ale portfolio of craft styles.