Clifton Park, NY — Shmaltz Brewing Company is thrilled to announce the partnership with a new distributor for its home state of New York, SPIRIT & SANZONE Distributors Co., Inc. The latest addition to Shmaltz’s team of distributors across the country, SPIRIT & SANZONE Distributors Co., Inc., 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 Upstate New York comes on the heels of opening a new 20,000 square feet brewing facility in Clifton Park, NY. 100+ new Upstate New York bars, restaurants, and off-premise accounts have recently added Shmaltz’s beers to their portfolio, and a notable 12,000 consumers visited the onsite tasting room since its opening (May 2013). Shmaltz increased its staff to 30 employees (many of which are new employees from the Albany, NY metro area) to oversee its latest capacity expansion from 20K barrels to 35K barrels per year.
“Spirit and Sanzone Distributors is excited to add Shmaltz Brewing Company’s products to our current lineup of quality, New York State produced brands,” says Bill Sanzone, President of SPIRIT & SANZONE Distributors Co., Inc. “Our experienced team of sales professionals is excited to be launching Shmaltz’s diverse portfolio of award-winning styles and will certainly prove to be successful around greater Syracuse and Utica areas. Brewed locally in upstate New York and with a national presence, Shmaltz Brewing fits perfectly into the growth and excitement about New York State products that are as good, if not better, than the best craft beers around the country and beyond.”
“We couldn’t be happier with our decision to partner with SPIRIT & SANZONE,” 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 here in Upstate New York. The entire family at SPIRIT & SANZONE 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.”
In November 2015, Shmaltz Brewing and SPIRIT & SANZONE celebrate their new regional partnership at two standout craft beer events, including The 3rd Annual Craft New York Brewers Festival (Landmark Theatre, Syracuse, NY, Nov. 7, 2015) and America On Tap (OnCenter Convention Center, Syracuse, NY, Nov. 14, 2015). Come on out to meet the Shmaltz and SPIRIT & SANZONE teams, and sample exceptional brews from their acclaimed line-up.
For a full list of Shmaltz’s distributors, please visit: www.shmaltzbrewing.com/HEBREW/distributors.html
About SPIRIT & SANZONE Distributors Co., Inc.
The story of Spirit and Sanzone Distributors begins over 100 years ago when Samuel Joseph Sanzone (Savatore Guiseppe, prior to his arrival at Ellis Island), Sicilian immigrant, came to the United States with his family in 1909. Following his service to the United States Army in World War I, Sam started F. Sanzone and Son’s Fruit Stand in Rome, NY in 1920 along with his father Filippo.
In 1927, Samuel and his father acquired a 7UP franchise to add to the fruit business. Then in 1933, following the repeal of prohibition, the company was able to enter into beer distribution with Haberle Congress Beer and later Genesee. After Samuel’s passing in 1964, Samuels son Francis (“Bud”) took over the company and expanding into other brands such as Miller Brewing Company in 1969. Bud went on to make an number of acquisitions to expand the overall territory, portfolio and service area to 9 total counties. With the expansion into Onondaga County in 1993, Bud moved the headquarters to East Syracuse, NY in 1994. William Xavier (“Bill”) joined the company in 2004 and was able to add additional brands and territory. Then in 2009, Bill was named President, with Bud still active in the business. In 2011, Spirit and Sanzone Distributors further expanded their portfolio when they were issued a wine distribution license, and have since gained a Liquor license, further diversifying our portfolio of brands and products.
Over the last 93 years, Spirit and Sanzone has grown from a small fruit stand in Rome, NY, to a full service distributor active in a total of 17 counties in New York State; 4 of those proudly with the ECA (Onondaga, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison counties).
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.