So my boss has bought beer from this obscure brewery (no web page, no social media) from what seems to be a contract brewery who brews many of the same beers under different names. I checked the BA page for more info and while the beers are moderately rated, there's not a lot of info about the owner of this company and this has me worried. The "best by" dates are about over a year for styles that don't age well THAT long (DIPA, Brown Ale, Bock, and Mango IPA). Anyone have anymore information about Winery Exchange/World Brews? These beers don't feel very "unveiled" at all.
Winery Exchange/World Brews typically supplies retail chains with what are essentially regional "store brands" - many of the US-brewed brands are contract-brewed at Genesee in Rochester, NY or City in LaCrosse, WI. Looks like these are done at Abita ("Abita Springs, LA" on the labels is a good hint).
Thank you for clearing things up a bit, I'm suspicious of any brewery of questionable/not easy to obtain origins or buried under too much red tape.
@jesskidden are you aware of any particularly shady dealings with World Brews/Winery Exchange? Any reason not to sell things from them?
Nope. The company changed their name to WX but seems to have dropped their websites for their individual brands of beers, which used to list the stores that had exclusive rights to the particular beer brands (e.g., XYZ ALE & PORTER - Jimmy's Grocery Emporium - AL, MS, LA). Years ago, many large grocery, liquor and drug store chains used to have their own private beer labels, just as they have for many other consumer products. WX seemed to act as middlemen between breweries and the chains, probably designing the labels, arrange distribution (in most states they likely deal with established distributors and follow state laws re: private label brands), etc. See WX Brands but doesn't look like their "Beer" page is online yet. They were involved in one of those nonsense lawsuits a few years ago when a "consumer" sued Walmart claiming the WX brand they sold under the 'dba' "Trouble Brewing Co." wasn't a "craft" beer. Here's the local Rochester NY paper's story about it. Wal-Mart's Trouble Brewing produced by Genesee: Should we care? Of course, the Genesee brewery is about the same size as "craft" brewers like Boston Beer and Yuengling and apparently is kept off the Brewers Association list only because owner of the parent company, FIFCO USA (formerly North American Breweries), is based in Costa Rica.
