Olde Mecklenburg Pulls Back Triad Expansion

OMB forced to stall unprecedented growth as it nears state-sanctioned self-distribution cap

CHARLOTTE — The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Charlotte’s oldest and largest brewery, is pulling back regional expansion to ensure it remains in control of the distribution of its award-winning beer.

The tipping point? A state law that mandates craft breweries turn over distribution to a third party once a brewery produces more than 25,000 barrels of beer a year. OMB brewed just under 20,000 barrels in 2015 and is on a trajectory to exceed 25,000 barrels in 2016.

“To prevent going over the cap, we will be forced to stifle our growth, directly decreasing new hiring and promotions in 2016,” says OMB founder John Marrino.

OMB started 2015 by announcing a “very deliberate” expansion into the Triad (Greensboro, WinstonSalem and High Point), leasing a 5,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in Greensboro, complete with a custom cold-storage room. Just a year later, that warehouse will now go dormant. Self-distribution is critical to OMB. By using its own, focused sales and distribution team the brewery can achieve a much larger relative market share than it could through the efforts of independent distributors with bloated brand portfolios. Retaining distribution also enables OMB to provide a much higher level of service and develop stronger relationships with its bar and restaurant customers. Finally, it creates good sales and distribution jobs.

“In order not to underserve Charlotte — our home market — we are preemptively pulling out of the Triad,” Marrino says. “We have grown every year and received numerous honors along the way. Just recently we won the Gold Medal for our Mecktoberfest beer at the 2015 European Beer Star competition in Germany. That will inevitably increase demand for that seasonal next fall. Together with the strong organic growth of our other brands, there is no doubt we would pass 25,000 in 2016 if there were no cap to stop us. We should be growing in the Triad, instead of pulling out. Unfortunately that’s not possible under current North Carolina law.”

OMB has experienced explosive growth since moving the entire brewery in 2014 just a tenth of a mile to its current location. The renovated American Crankshaft factory at 4150 Yancey Road includes a 60- barrel state of the art brewhouse, restaurant and taproom and event rooms.

MORE ABOUT OLDE MECKLENBURG BREWERY
Founded in 2009, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery ignited the ultra-premium beer scene in Charlotte and has been at the forefront of the local market ever since. OMB adheres to the oldest purity guidelines in the world, the German “Reinheitsgebot.” This law states there can be only four ingredients in beer: barley or wheat malt, hops, yeast and pure water. OMB is one of only nine craft breweries included on the Inc. 5000 list, and the only in North Carolina. OMB’s fall seasonal Mecktoberfest recently won a gold medal at Germany’s European Beer Star competition, and the brewery’s tour was named best in the country by the readers of USA Today. Try OMB because it’s local, drink it because it’s fresh. For more information, visit oldemeckbrew.com

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