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Lion expands US distribution for Bell’s Brewery
Lion, a subsidiary of Kirin, has expanded the reach of Bell’s Brewery to the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Utah.
Kalamazoo-based brewery, which was acquired by the Australian drinks company Lion, a division of Japan’s Kirin, back in 2021, was named prior to its sale as the sixth-largest craft brewery nationwide and ranked 15th in overall breweries with production of 490,000 barrels of beer, according to data from the Brewers Association.
Bell’s Brewery is best-known for its much-revered flagship Two Hearted IPA and popular Light Hearted Ale brands, which its owning company now wants to maximise across the US in canned, bottled and draught formats.
The planned distribution deal is, according to local reports now due to make beers from Bell’s Brewery’s portfolio available all year round to the five extra states, with its wheat variant, Oberon Ale, becoming available from the months of March to September.
Speaking about the distribution plans, Carrie Yunker, Bell’s executive vice president, said: “Expanding our footprint to become a national brand is a top priority this year, and we can’t wait to share Bell’s beer with more fans across the country. We’re particularly excited about entering the Pacific Northwest market, a notably strong craft beer market already, where folks have been asking for Bell’s for decades.”
Lion, which also recently absorbed Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewery, is, according to Brewbound, aiming to shift Bell’s distributor network to the Reyes Beverage Group in all markets except Michigan to align with New Belgium’s wholesalers.
Last year, Bell’s is also rumoured to have already changed its distributors in Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey and parts of New York.
The Pacific Northwest expansion is said to include deals with 10 wholesalers that also carry New Belgium Brewing products. With the five new states added to Bell’s distribution, the brewery now sells beer in every US state except for Hawaii, plus Puerto Rico.