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After reading of the release at Midnight Sun, I got in touch with co-owner Volker Stewart to see how long it would take the nectar of the Gods to reach suffering beer drinkers in Annapolis and on the Eastern Shore. Stewart said their wholesaler distributes in Anne Arundel County, so in theory, the beer should reach Annapolis liquor stores the same time it reaches those in Baltimore City and Harford, Howard, and Baltimore counties.
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"In practice, we've found that we can sell of the beer we can produce in the three counties around Baltimore," Stewart said. "It's sort of out of our hands."
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It won't surprise Anne Arundel County beer lovers to hear that Lures Bar & Grille in Crownsville often takes it upon itself to procure Res by other means. Those guys love their beer.
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Stewart said he and his partner, Tom Creegan, used to drive Res to beer distributors in Centreville so that it would be present in the Eastern Shore market. Creegan, the son of a retired Washington College professor, was raised in Chestertown.
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"Between driving all the way out there, basically making a day trip out of it, and paying for travel costs, we just couldn't keep it up any longer," Stewart said. "We regretfully pulled from the Eastern Shore market."
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Sly Fox Beer in Pennsylvania will ew and can the the new product. Sly Fox also ews and bottles the current 740-milliliter bottles, while The Brewer's Art takes care of draft production at its Mount Vernon location. Stewart said he's apprehensive to spread his distribution into another area without increasing the overall supply of beer. It doesn't do anyone any good to have the beer sold out everywhere, with liquor stores frustrated that they can't keep it on the shelves, and beer drinkers frustrated that they can't find it.
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"We have no control over how often the folks in Pennsylvania can ew this for us."
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Beer in cans is becoming quite the trend in the craft beer industry, with popular beers like New Belgium Brewing Company's Fat Tire, Brooklyn Brewery's Brooklyn Lager, and Oskar Blues Brewery's Dale's Pale Ale leading the way. Stewart said the trend results from improvements in canning technology that have addressed concerns that it adversely affected taste, as well as being more ecologically sound than bottles.
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"And also, in the summer, people can throw cans into a cooler and take beer to the park without worrying about eakage."
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-- Andrew Keatts
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Photo courtesy of Volker Stewart, The Brewer's Art
