Introducing Stoup Distro, a new beer distributor in Western Washington.
Since opening in 2013, Stoup Brewing has grown into one of Western Washington’s favorite and most-recognized local breweries. That’s no small feat given the fact that Western Washington alone is now home to hundreds of breweries. Stoup Brewing now operates two locations, the taproom at the brewery in Seattle and the restaurant/taproom in Kenmore. So why would a successful local brewery like Stoup get involved in the beer distribution game?
The goal isn’t to dive headlong into the cutthroat, dog-eat-dog end of the beer distribution biz; rather, it’s about working with some of their brewery friends and helping them expand into new markets. So says Brad Benson, one of the owners and founders of Stoup Brewing in Seattle, which has now started its own beer distribution company, Stoup Distro.
Beyond making great beer, Stoup Brewing created a strong presence in local markets with lots of legwork, especially from Seattle north to Bellingham, self-distributing its beer and building its own distribution network. In a recent conversation, Brad Benson explained that Stoup Distro is a way for the company to use what Stoup Brewing created to help other breweries get beer to the areas where it has established a presence.
For some brewery partners, Stoup Distro will provide purely logistical assistance: physically moving the beer to accounts that already want it. For others, Stoup Distro’s service will include sales assistance as well.
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Thus far, Stoup Distro is working with breweries like Fieldworks Brewing (Berkeley, CA), WeldWerks Brewery (Greeley, CO), Wayfinder Beer (Portland, OR), and Standard Brewing (Seattle, WA). Conversations are underway with other breweries and Stoup Distro is open to still more conversations.
In creating Stoup Distro, Stoup Brewing’s owners partnered with Robby Roda, the owner of Day One Distribution in Portland, Oregon as well as Jason Bass, Stoup Brewing’s Director of Wholesale operations.
Pictured above, left to right: Brad Benson (co-owner, Stoup Brewing), Lara Zahaba (co-owner, Stoup Brewing), Jason Bass (Stoup Brewing Director of Wholesale Operations), Robbie Roda (Owner, Day One Distribution), and Robyn Schumacher (co-owner, Stoup Brewing).
