{"id":2213,"date":"2010-01-29T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T19:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.2beerguys.com\/blog\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2010-01-29T15:14:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-29T19:14:00","slug":"pr-gritty-mcduff%e2%80%99s-2009-growth-in-draft-sales-new-product-development-and-national-interest-bode-well-for-2010-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/29\/pr-gritty-mcduff%e2%80%99s-2009-growth-in-draft-sales-new-product-development-and-national-interest-bode-well-for-2010-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"PR: GRITTY MCDUFF\u2019S 2009 GROWTH IN DRAFT SALES, NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND NATIONAL INTEREST BODE WELL FOR 2010 PROSPECTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GRITTY MCDUFF\u2019S 2009 GROWTH IN DRAFT SALES, NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND NATIONAL INTEREST BODE WELL FOR 2010 PROSPECTS <\/p>\n

Portland, Maine \u2013 Gritty McDuff\u2019s (www.grittys.com) has kicked off the new year with attention from Imbibe magazine, a leading, national trade publication for drink professionals, and noteworthy growth reports for 2009. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s strategic alliances and local regional and national coverage earned in 2009 are just one indicator of continued business success in 2010. Thomas Wilson, Gritty\u2019s director of marketing, reports that sales of Gritty\u2019s draft beers, sold in the company\u2019s three Maine pubs and in restaurants and bars throughout New England, were up 15 percent in 2009, and the company plans to focus on increasing exposure and sales in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire this year. In addition, Gritty\u2019s Red Claws Ale, introduced in 2009 in honor of the Maine Red Claws NBA Development League team, is the number one seller during Red Claws games at the Portland Expo.<\/p>\n

The January issue of Imbibe calls Portland one of America\u2019s \u201cemerging beer meccas,\u201d and names local bars, pubs, breweries and stores that have put the city on the beverage map. Gritty\u2019s was named one of six breweries and brewpubs to earn a spot on the magazine\u2019s guide to Portland, called \u201can up-and-coming beer city,\u201d alongside other Portland favorites including Novare Res Bier Cafe and Shipyard Brewing Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already know that Portland is an important beer city and produces some fantastic beer selections,\u201d said Thomas Wilson, Gritty McDuff\u2019s director of marketing. \u201cIt\u2019s really satisfying for the national beverage publications to be increasingly giving the city the spotlight it deserves. We\u2019re proud to be a part of bringing attention to our \u2018corner of the beer world.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Imbibe coverage caps off a year of local, regional and national attention for Gritty\u2019s. In April, Forbes.com writer Zack O\u2019Malley Greenburg singled out the small-batch ales and ambiance offered at Gritty McDuff\u2019s Brewing Company as just one of the many good reasons Portland was selected as America\u2019s Most Livable City. In addition, Gritty\u2019s was among seven beers selected by Sant\u00e9 magazine for inclusion in the New England Beer section of its Spirits Review.<\/p>\n

Gritty\u2019s also made headlines in business outlets when it entered into a groundbreaking sponsorship agreement with The Maine Red Claws (www.maineredclaws.com), the NBA Development League\u2019s team for the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats. Gritty\u2019s is producing the team\u2019s official beer, \u201cRed Claws Ale,\u201d for sale throughout Maine \u2013 and proving to be a sell-out item at Maine Red Claws games. <\/p>\n

Most recently, New England Cable News covered the Maine Red Claws-Gritty McDuff\u2019s teaming (\u201cRed Claws Brand Proves to Be a Slam Dunk\u201d; http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/ydjh5n8). Additionally, CNBC recently aired a story about the growing popularity of D-League NBA teams (\u201cNBA D-League on the Rise\u201d; http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/yb4xg9j), and Darren Rovell, CNBC sports business reporter, praised the team for connecting with its target audience by strategically finding the right home city and generating one of its most creative team sponsorship deals with Gritty McDuff\u2019s. The brewing company\u2019s sponsorship success also was picked up by Yahoo! Sports, DRAFT magazine, and Beverage
\nIndustry News. <\/p>\n

It was also a year of cycling and community involvement for Gritty\u2019s. Gritty\u2019s was named the official beer of The Dempsey Challenge (www.dempseychallenge.org), an event that benefited The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing. According to Wilson, Gritty\u2019s plans to continue its support of the Dempsey Challenge and is planning increased involvement with the event in 2010. The Gritty’s Cycling Team also pedaled in the 25th anniversary \u201cTrek Across Maine\u201d in 2009, and raised and donated more than $18,000 to the American Lung Association of Maine. In addition, Gritty\u2019s three Maine pubs hosted numerous fundraising and social events for important charitable and professional organizations, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine, Young Professionals Organization, the Good Shepherd Food Bank and many more organizations.<\/p>\n

About Gritty McDuff\u2019s Brewing Company
\nSince its founding in 1988, Gritty McDuff\u2019s, Maine\u2019s first brew pub since Prohibition, has brewed creative, quality beers that have earned awards ranging from repeat First Place wins at the annual Real Ale Festival in Chicago, to its most recent award: a silver medal at the prestigious 2007 Great British Beer Festival for Gritty\u2019s cask-conditioned version of the 21 IPA. Gritty’s Brew Pubs also have frequently won in statewide polls the titles of “Maine’s Best Brew Pub,” “Best Maine Microbrew,” and “Best Bar.”<\/p>\n

In addition to brewing, Gritty McDuff\u2019s operates three popular brew pubs in Maine. Located in Portland, Freeport and Lewiston\/Auburn, the locations draw crowds of all ages. Known for their four seasonal ales and five year-round ales, tempting pub fare and welcoming atmosphere, Gritty\u2019s pubs have been named an Editor\u2019s Pick by Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler, highlighted as \u201ca legend among New England brewpubs\u201d by The Boston Globe, and cited by Playboy.com as one of the best bars in America. Gritty\u2019s has earned numerous accolades from a wide variety of beer blogs and industry press outlets, as well, including Every Day with Rachael Ray, Forbes.com, DRAFT magazine, Cosmopolitan, Imbibe and Sant\u00e9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GRITTY MCDUFF\u2019S 2009 GROWTH IN DRAFT SALES, NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND NATIONAL INTEREST BODE WELL FOR 2010 PROSPECTS Portland, Maine \u2013 Gritty McDuff\u2019s (www.grittys.com) has kicked off the new year with attention from Imbibe magazine, a leading, national trade publication for drink professionals, and noteworthy growth reports for 2009. The company\u2019s strategic alliances and local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[286,21],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/redclaw-300x200.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2213"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2218,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions\/2218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}