Alesmith to NC

In Raleigh

RidgewoodWine&BeerCo ‏@ridgewoodbeer 40m
Six beers from @AleSmithBrewing just rolled in. Speedway Stout, IPA, Grand Cru, Horny Devil, Wee Heavy & Extra Pale. pic.twitter.com/iUYTQkW9CO

 

I hate all of the Raleigh people now. Hopefully it makes its way west as well. Just picked up a bottle of Speedway when I was in Pittsburgh a week and a half ago.

 

Really hope this gets to QC soon, really want to try some of their beers!

 

Does anyone know how much they are going for?

 

At Sam's Bottle Shop, 750's are going for 11.99, IPA is 6.59 and X is 5.59. They rescinded the bottle limit when I dropped by, but I left plenty for all of you to enjoy :-).

 

Tasty Beverage in Raleigh just got some. Hope this ends up in Charlotte soon.

 

I don't know why, FW has been in Virginia for years now.

 

Agreed. It would make sense that we would get it here.

 

It's actually really simple, just do a brand search for and then generate a brand report. Doing so shows that, for the moment at least, Mims is the only distributor that has it so it will only be in their territory for now. That could change tomorrow or it could be months away.

 

So this means no Asheville? I got so excited...

 

Not at the moment, but I will say that I checked a couple days ago when this thread started and there was no record at all, so it's possible the website just isn't updated with all of their info yet. It's probably more likely though that they are doing a market-to-market roll out rather than trying to cover the entire state right off the bat. NC is big geographically and there are a lot of accounts so it would makes sense to focus on one major metro area at a time.

 

This reminds me of the wrong-minded Great Lakes and Lagunitas entries into North Carolina. Splitting things up with multiple distributors across a state is a real pain for a brewery and always causes problems. A single statewide distibutor like Tryon is always a smarter move for many reasons.

 

I thought that might do it, but every time I tried to generate a brand report it just took forever and didn't do anything so I gave up. Next time I'll let it run longer and hopefully get something back, or try a different browser.

 

I'll agree that there are pros to going to a statewide distributor, but that doesn't mean that it's always a smarter move.

 

It could backfire, but the additional administrative work required with multiple distributors should make the due diligence of picking the correct distributor that more important. Both models can work just fine. If I was a brewery, I would prefer to deal with fewer rather than more buyers.

 

If I was a brewer, I would prefer to work with fewer as well, but I would also prefer to work with good people that are really engaged with the product that they sell. For whatever reason, I'm friendly with a number of the distributors in the area I live in (Catawba County). I don't know if its just because we have a really active local (which happens to be the Bud distributor in the area as well), but I've felt like the guy that's local is more passionate about craft beer than the other statewide guys.

 

Looks like Firestone Walker has a couple approved beers as well...that might be old though..i.e. Windsor Pale Ale

http://reports.abc.nc.gov/abc_repor...dividual_brand_report&param0=7009&param1=7009

 

You've got your options. Statewide distributors are smaller and a bit more focused. Think freedom and millennium. A few great brands and some meh ones.

The larger distributors stick to small territories. Raleigh and durhAm have separate Budweiser distributors.

 

Having spoken to a few brewers regarding distribution in NC I know one concern with Tryon is that they'll get lost in their massive portfolio. Some brewers prefer to go with a distributor where they will be more prominent and not compete internally with 107 other brands* for the sales people's effort.

*This really is the actual number of beer brands Tryon has listed on their website for the Charlotte area.

 

I'm driving from VA to Wilmington next week. I know AleSmith doesn't distribute to Wilmington yet, but are there any good bottle shops off of 95 that would have Speedway?