{"id":339,"date":"2007-12-19T15:23:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-19T15:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.2beerguys.com\/wordpress\/?p=339"},"modified":"2008-03-15T15:29:08","modified_gmt":"2008-03-15T20:29:08","slug":"starr-hill-to-expand-across-us-with-help-of-anheuser-busch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/19\/starr-hill-to-expand-across-us-with-help-of-anheuser-busch\/","title":{"rendered":"Starr Hill to expand across U.S. with help of Anheuser-Busch"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy Tasha Kates \/ tkates@dailyprogress.com | 978-7267
\nDecember 19, 2007
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Adults across America may soon pop the cap off an ice-cold bottle of beer from Starr Hill Brewery.<\/p>\n

The Crozet-based brewery took a big step Tuesday toward fulfilling its mission of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bringing the gift of great beer to the world\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by announcing a distribution deal with Anheuser-Busch Inc. The deal will eventually allow Starr Hill to peddle its brews from coast to coast in independent and chain stores.<\/p>\n

Brewmaster Mark Thompson said the distribution deal is a dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re honored and humbled and thankful to be chosen,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thompson said.<\/p>\n

The brewery, which was founded in 1999 on Charlottesville\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Main Street, has been working on the deal for more than a year. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch, said the company seeks out specialty brews to sell alongside its flagship products.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Starr Hill has already developed a loyal following among craft beer consumers in Virginia, and together with our wholesaler network, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking forward to enhancing the distribution and sales support for these award-winning beers,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Peacock said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Starr Hill will continue to market and produce its brews at its Three Notch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d Road location. Thompson said the first year of distribution would focus on Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will start immediately in Roanoke and Lynchburg,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thompson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153After those two, we will do Blacksburg and Danville. By mid-2008, we will do [Virginia Beach] and the last remaining areas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s three-year plan is to have its beers available from New York to Atlanta. Thompson hopes the brews go nationwide in five to 10 years.<\/p>\n

The company has designed four core beers – Starr Hill Amber Ale, Starr Hill Jomo Lager, Starr Hill Pale Ale and Starr Hill Starr Stout – for which it has won 12 awards. The brewery also produces several holiday beers.<\/p>\n

Starr Hill had been looking for a way to expand its business before the Anheuser-Busch deal, but Thompson said it would have involved significant time and energy.<\/p>\n

The St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch holds a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales and is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans. The company also owns a 50 percent share in the Mexico brewer Grupo Modelo and a 27 percent share in China-based brewer Tsingtao.<\/p>\n

Keeping up production at Starr Hill will require a few extra people. Thompson said the company would need to purchase more fermenters and hire another brewer in the next year. The brewery has the capacity to produce up to 60,000 barrels a year.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have a long future here in Crozet,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thompson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will continue to make all of the beer right here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Starr Hill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s distribution deal is beneficial for the community too, said Michael E. Harvey, executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The further their reach gets, the more attention they get about their product, the more people visit the area,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Harvey said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If they so choose to have a storefront like [brewer Redhook], there is a benefit to the area in terms of those direct jobs and indirect jobs and bringing people to the area.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

While Starr Hill is rolling out its distribution plan slowly, Thompson has an idea of what he would like to see Starr Hill become – a nationally sold craft beer.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want to be the next Sierra Nevada,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thompson said.<\/p>\n

Link to Article.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tasha Kates \/ tkates@dailyprogress.com | 978-7267 December 19, 2007 Adults across America may soon pop the cap off an ice-cold bottle of beer from Starr Hill Brewery. The Crozet-based brewery took a big step Tuesday toward fulfilling its mission of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bringing the gift of great beer to the world\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by announcing a distribution deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2beerguys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}