Three months after Breakthru Beverage Group agreed to sell its beer and cider portfolio in Illinois, Odell Brewing Company announced new distribution partners in the state.
The Fort Collins, Colorado-headquartered craft brewery will be sold in the Chicago area by Windy City Distributing, a subsidiary of Chicago Beverage Systems, part of the Reyes Beer Division. Peoria-based Marketplace Selections will sell Odell products in the central and southern parts of the state. Galesburg- and Dixon-based G&M Distributors will sell Odell products in the western and northern regions of Illinois, and Loves Park-based LaMonica Beverages will carry Odell beers in the northernmost part of the state.
Breakthru offered statewide distribution in Illinois when Odell signed with them in 2017.
“We’d like to thank Breakthru for their efforts to establish Odell Brewing in Illinois over the past three years, and we are extremely excited to be working with our new partners,” Odell director of sales JR Wheeler said in a press release. “As we build out our distribution footprint, we have nothing but blue sky in the Illinois market to grow our brands with our new partners.”
Of Odell’s new Illinois distributor partners, two belong to the Anheuser-Busch InBev network, G&M Distributors and LaMonica Beverages.
Illinois isn’t the only state where Breakthru has decided to exit the beer business. Last week, Brewbound confirmed that Breakthru was in the process of shedding its beer portfolio in Wisconsin.
In 2019, Odell’s production volume increased 5%, to 132,396 barrels of beer, according to national not-for-profit trade group the Brewers Association.
Tampa-Based 81Bay Brewing Faces Displacement for Redevelopment
The building that houses 81Bay Brewing in Tampa, Florida, may have a date with a wrecking ball, as a developer has filed plans with the city to redevelop the property, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Plans for the site include a residential building with 320 apartments.
81Bay opened in 2016. In 2019, the brewery’s production volume increased 10%, to 1,900 barrels, according to the BA.
Denver Beer Co. Brewer Jason Buehler Dies in Climbing Accident
Denver Beer Company head brewer Jason Buehler died in a climbing accident in the Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado, on November 6.
“There is nothing we can say that can possibly convey the way we are feeling right now,” Denver Beer Company wrote on Facebook. “He was our glue. He was our inspiration. He was our energy.”⠀
A fundraiser for Buehler’s family — his wife Leanne and three young children, Ellie, Clive and Otto — has raised more than $101,000 of its $250,000 goal, as of press time.
“Ultimately, the hope would be that we can raise a substantial enough amount to help with the kids’ education or start a foundation/scholarship in remembrance of Jason’s legacy,” the GoFundMe page said.
Buehler was an avid climber and hiker and completed summits of 36 14,000-foot mountains.
“As a brewer, Jason was one of the greatest talents in the industry,” Denver Beer Company wrote. “The GABF and World Beer Cup hardware he amassed in his career is only the beginning of that story. The rest of it is in our pint glasses. And will continue to be for a long, long time as we brew his recipes in his honor.”