Clifton Park, NY — Shmaltz Brewing Company is thrilled to announce the partnership with a new importer for the state of Oklahoma, Craft & Barrel LLC. The latest addition to Shmaltz’s team of importers and distributors across the country, Craft & Barrel LLC enhances the regional retail presence and draft availability of the award-winning craft beer line: He’brew — The Chosen Beer®. Shmaltz’s distribution growth throughout the United States comes on the heels of opening a new 20,000 square feet brewing facility in Clifton Park, NY. Shmaltz’s brews are now available in 35 states, and the brewery has increased its staff to 30 employees to oversee its latest capacity expansion from 20K barrels to 35K barrels per year.
“I’m a longtime fan of Shmaltz Brewing,” says Freddy Lamport, CEO of Craft & Barrel LLC. “Since they’re based in New York, the brewery holds a special place in my heart. Being the grandson of an immigrant Armenian/Turkish family, I’ve always had roots going back to NYC, which explains the reason that 90% of the brands we represent come from the Northeast. Shmaltz is a standout brewery that brews everything the modern beer drinker could want: true craft lagers, barrel aged imperials, iconic holiday releases and hops hops hops! Something for everyone!”
“We couldn’t be happier with our decision to partner with Craft & Barrel LLC,” says Jeremy Cowan, Founder of Shmaltz Brewing Company. “They have wholeheartedly embraced our craft beer portfolios and are as excited as we are about growing our presence in Oklahoma. The entire family at Craft & Barrel LLC has welcomed our brand and you can feel the level of enthusiasm from everyone in the company. We look forward to this exciting chapter of our growth with them.”
For all forthcoming Shmaltz events taking place throughout Oklahoma, stay up-to-date on Shmaltz’s Event Calendar.
A full list of Shmaltz’s distributors can be viewed on shmaltzbrewing.com/HEBREW/distributors.html
About Craft & Barrel LLC
Craft & Barrel grew from the vision of one of the founders of Tulsa Craft Beer Week and valued members of Oklahoma’s craft beer culture. Our shared passion for beer drives our desire to import new brands and contribute to the growing craft beer movement in Oklahoma.
About Shmaltz Brewing Company:
Ranked in 2013 as one of the “Top 100 Brewers in the World” by RateBeer.com, Shmaltz won 9 Gold and 5 Silver Medals in the World Beer Championships in 2012. A recipient of the “Distinguished Business Award” by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Shmaltz was also included in the “Top 50 Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies” by San Francisco Business Times.
Founder and owner Jeremy Cowan established the company in San Francisco in 1996 with the first 100 cases of He’brew Beer® hand bottled and delivered throughout the Bay Area in his Grandmother’s Volvo. He’brew® now sells across 35 states, through 40 wholesalers and nearly 5,000 retailers. In 2007, Shmaltz released a new line of craft brewed lagers under the Coney Island® banner. The Coney Island brand was recently acquired by Alchemy and Science, a craft beer incubator, owned by Boston Beer (Sam Adams).
After 17 years of being an outspoken cheerleader for contract brewing, Shmaltz recently broke with tradition and opened its own New York State production brewery in Clifton Park, NY, 10 minutes north of Albany’s capital district. Shmaltz’s new home boasts a 50-barrel brewhouse with 20,000 barrels of annual capacity. The new brewery packages 12 and 22 ounce bottles and kegs of their diverse core and seasonal favorites, and hosts fans and beer tourists in their new tasting room for tours, barrel-aged previews, and special releases.
In 2010/11, Cowan published his small business memoir, Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success. A free sampling of Chapter One and suggested beer pairings, can be viewed at www.craftbeerbarmitzvah.com. In 2012, Cowan spearheaded the creation of the non-profit New York City Brewers Guild (which manages NYC Beer Week) and served as its Founding President.
Cowan also has presented at the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference, as well as previous Great American Beer Festivals, BevNet’s Brewbound conference, Beer Advocate’s Extreme Beer Festival, the Atlanta and the St. Louis Jewish Book Fairs, and the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums.
Shmaltz Brewing beers have appeared in such distinguished media outlets as The New York Times, CNN Headline News, Beer Advocate Magazine, NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” USA Today, Fox Business News, Men’s Health, San Francisco Chronicle, The Jerusalem Report, New York Jewish Week, and Washington Post.