Flew in this week to finish moving, hung out at some favorite tap rooms for the last time, and I have been hearing some crazy rumors, but I am not sure it is true. Crazy (and not sure it is true because it doesn't make much sense)..... But I have heard it from more than 6 people now. Is there a distributor in MN giving money (I have heard figures from $800k to over $2million!) to new MN breweries, or newer breweries with little or really NO sales record? A couple hundred kegs of non-tap room sales does not seem to justify payment for distribution rights of 7 figures, let alone breweries that haven't even opened or been open 1 year. If this is true, does anyone know who the breweries and distributor are? I have only heard over conversation, so I can't confirm. Are any of these actually working? I mean, if a distributor is brand collecting many many new brands under one roof, are all breweries actually getting sales volume that works - especially in today's saturated market? Again - only rumor/tap room talk, but it was mentioned that 1 brewery in particular south of the Twin Cities has just let people go and that they are weeks away from closing the doors - and they got paid by the distributor before this happened! Yuck. That's not a good sign. This is fascinating if true, and maybe sad to watch what happens. ???
It is true. If you have been surprised by a new brewery starting huge or announcing a massive expansion in their first couple years, they probably sold their distribution rights. It definitely speeds of the process of breweries either becoming successful or failing, so the breweries taking the deals must be confident. If successful, it will benefit all parties involved (brewery, consumer, and distributor).
