New owners of the Springfield Brewing Co. last night unveiled new company and beer branding and its plans to expand the company’s distribution throughout the Springfield area during an open house at the restaurant and brewery, 305 S. Market Ave.
The microbrewery's new brand is SBC, and its new packaging on three varieties is intentionally local: Paul’s Pale Ale, named after Paul Mueller; Walnut St. Wheat Beer, named after the historic center city street; and 11 Point Pilsner, named after the river east of West Plains.
The brewery distributes through Wil Fischer Distribution Co., SBC co-owner and Brewmaster Ashton Lewis said.
“Our goal is not to sell far and wide. Our goal is to focus on our local market and be the best local brewery we can be,” Lewis said, addressing a crowd of around 80 at the open house.
In November, a group of six investors, including Lewis, purchased the craft brewery and restaurant from Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL.PK) for $3 million with ideas to expand the business’ reach.
“We opened our doors in December 1997, and for 14 years, I was brewmaster of the brewery. Somehow, I got a group of people together and we convinced Mueller that it was a good idea to sell this awesome place,” Lewis said.
SBC was built with the goal to showcase brewery equipment to Mueller Co. clients, such as Anheuser-Busch. Throughout its history, SBC has had limited distribution because it didn’t want to compete against Mueller Co. customers, Lewis said. But with the new ownership group in place, Lewis said the company does plan to expand its distribution throughout the area.
He said ties were not severed with Mueller Co., and SBC is continuing to be a showcase for its equipment, but SBC is working to better tap into the local retail market. The company currently sells its beer to Price Cutter and Brown Derby stores.
“We can use this Ferrari that Mueller built back in 1997 for what it is really meant for. It’s a killer little brewery, and we’ve never really opened up the carbs and blown out the spider webs,” Lewis said.
The May 31 announcement comes on the heels of
news that Springfield-based Mother's Brewing Co. outpaced other startup microbreweries that opened nationwide in 2011, according to the Brewers Association's annual industry review published in the May/June issue of its publication, The New Brewer. Mother’s Brewing sold 2,331 barrels of beer last year, which equates to more than 72,000 gallons of beer, by beginning to supply Wal-Mart stores through distributor Heart of America in August.
