Breweries, distillery grow distribution during pandemic

Derek Shimeall: Canned beer demand is exceeding production in the first month.

Two Springfield breweries and a Walnut Shade distillery are making summer moves to grow their distribution reach.

Both 4 by 4 Brewing Co. LLC and Springfield Brewing Co. have jumped into the canned beer scene to add a new revenue stream in retail amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cans debuted for 4 by 4 Brewing in July and Springfield Brewing Co. plans a Sept. 1 launch.

“All the cans that hit the market that Fourth of July week were sold out within two weeks,” said 4 by 4 Brewing co-owner Derek Shimeall, of the brewery’s initial 400-case production round.

The activity at Springfield Brewing Co. incorporates more than a canned product, as the downtown brewery plans to open an event venue and distillery in the 507 W. Walnut St. building, which formerly housed Missouri Spirits House LLC.

Neil and Christina Chanter have ownership in both the brewery and Missouri Spirits, after buying out Scott Shotts’ 9-year-old distillery distribution business earlier this year, said SBC Operations Director Todd Schade.

Schade said SBC is combining both businesses.

“The entire property will become one address very soon,” he said, referring to 305 S. Market Ave., where the brewery has operated since opening in 1997.

The distillery, dubbed Ty Iechyd Da, will occupy the back portion of the former Missouri Spirits building, while the event space, The Cellar, fills the front, Schade said. Ty Iechyd Da will distill, bottle and distribute brandy, gin, bourbon and whiskey. He said SBC has obtained a federal distilling license. The name, a Welsh phrase that translates to “good health house,” also is a nod to co-owner Neil Chanter, a native of England who attended University of Wales in Cardiff.

Making connections
Down in the Branson area, another distillery has been actively expanding its distribution footprint. Copper Run Distillery LLC this month debuted its product line of whiskeys, moonshine and rum in three Branson-area Walmart stores. The distillery aims to expand into more, said co-owner Keith Hock.

“Walmart is ready to move us pretty quickly – provided sales go fairly well – into all of the Walmarts in the Springfield and Branson area,” he said.

Co-owner Jason Iacobucci said Copper Run’s sales were on the rise before the Walmart deal. He said the distillery increased year-over-year revenue 30% in 2019 and was on pace to do even better in 2020 before the pandemic. Still, the owners expect to have revenue growth this year, citing its new distribution deals. Aside from Walmart, Copper Run also is on shelves in St. Louis-area Schnuck’s stores, with future plans for Indiana, Hock said.

“Distribution is where we really wanted to continue to grow the business,” Iacobucci said. “We want to expand the brand in our backyard, in the state and then beyond Missouri.”

Copper Run has added Arkansas and Illinois to its distribution footprint since Hock and Iacobucci purchased the business in 2018 from Jim White and Jim Blansit. Expansion to Florida, Indiana and Texas is targeted by year’s end.

One of the new distributors, Miami-based Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, recently placed a record-breaking order for Copper Run.

Hock said the distributor ordered five pallets, or roughly 500 cases of whiskey, moonshine and rum for Walmart, Schnucks and other Missouri retailers. Iacobucci said wholesale prices range from $110-$130 per case, equating to a purchase order of $55,000-$65,000.

Hock said Copper Run also has distributor agreements with Cicero, Illinois-based Breakthru Beverage Group and Little Rock, Arkansas-based Moon Distributors.

“We’re trying to be smart about it,” Iacobucci said of the distribution growth. “That’s a testament to the product.”

In the can
At 4 by 4 Brewing, the pivot to produce canned beer was born out of need, said Shimeall. The Galloway Village brewery was closed for several weeks due to stay-at-home orders and has contended with occupancy limits this summer. The pandemic temporarily stopped the company’s keg distribution to bars and restaurants.

In response, 4 by 4 Brewing launched its canned beer line. Five are in rotation: Parkside Pineapple, Summer Crush, Smooth Criminal, Strawberry Fields 4 Ever and Toates M’Goats. Shimeall estimated the canned product investment was roughly $30,000 for labeling machinery, cans and design fees, noting the company previously bought a canning machine upon the January launch of Basic Batch, its hard craft seltzer.

Shimeall said 4 by 4 Brewing’s sales are about 20% off the pace from 2019, which finished with $800,000 in revenue. But the canned products, along with the hard seltzer, already are making a positive impact.

“I would say this has supplemented a good 10% of revenue that we would have otherwise lost,” Shimeall said.

In just over a month, some 1,200 beer cases over three production rounds have been sent to 20 Springfield-area retailers, including Brown Derby, Macadoodles and Hy-Vee.

“That’s not keeping up with the demand at all, which is a good problem, but a problem nonetheless,” Shimeall said.

Meanwhile, Springfield Brewing Co.’s canned beer sales have yet to begin. Schade said the company purchased a canning machine earlier this month and spent several days calibrating it. He declined to disclose the canning production investment.

Several of the brewery’s varieties will be replaced when the cans hit retail shelves, with one label to be released over each of the next four months, he said. Green Ghost IPA remains the flagship beer. Recipes are changing with the newcomers, Blue Canoe American Pale Ale, 417 American Lager and a rotating seasonal kettle sour. They will replace Paul’s Pale Ale, Walnut Street Wheat and Bull Creek Brown. However, the three beers will remain on tap at the brewery.

“They’re not going away indefinitely,” he said. “You will still be able to drink those there. They just won’t be distributed to off-premise retailers.”

Shimeall said 4 by 4 Brewing didn’t have plans for canning beer at year’s start. But based on its early success, he said it will be sticking around.

“It was probably a blessing in disguise that forced our hand to move in that direction,” he said. “We have full intentions of keeping this as a third avenue of business between the taproom, keg distribution and now cans.”