Tag Archives: expanded distribution

Funky Buddha Brewery

Funky Buddha to bottle and expand distribution

Press Release:

Florida, it’s time to Get Funky! That’s right: Funky Buddha is proud to announce that bottles of its acclaimed beers will be hitting distribution for the first time on Wednesday, December 10. This anticipated launch will see six-pack, 12-ounce bottles arriving on the shelves of major retailers throughout South Florida just in time for the holiday season.

“The launch of package is a huge leap in our growth as a company and a dramatic step forward for the evolution of craft beer in South Florida,” says KC Sentz, General Manager and Co-Owner of Funky Buddha Brewery. “Our customers have been demanding this for a long time, so the fact that they will finally be able to walk into a store and purchase a six-pack of our beer is an extremely proud moment.”

This launch truly has been a long time in the making. In February, Funky Buddha set out on a three-million dollar expansion to its Oakland Park facility that included taking on an additional 21,000 square/feet production space, technical upgrades to the infrastructure of the facility, and a host of new equipment – including a bottling line from industry leaders CFT and a centrifugal separator from Westfalia Group. This state-of-the-art equipment will ensure the highest level of quality and freshness for Funky Buddha’s beers, all while preserving the bold flavors the brewery has become known for. Simply put: this expansion has cemented the framework for Funky Buddha to create and distribute over 600,000 cases of beer throughout Florida by the end of 2016.

“Florida is thirsty for our beer, and we’re excited to say that we’re ready to deliver,” says Head Brewer and Co-Owner Ryan Sentz. “We’re humbled by the response we’ve received to our beers in the past two years, which just makes the future that much more exciting.”

That future begins on December 10, when Funky Buddha will launch six-packs of its best-selling flagships Floridian Hefeweizen and Hop Gun India Pale Ale at major retailers throughout Broward, Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties. Now, a little more on these launch beers:

funkybottles

Floridian Hefeweizen (92 rating on RateBeer.com) is a perennial favorite on draught throughout Florida and the best-selling beer in Funky Buddha’s acclaimed line up. This German-style wheat ale is full on flavor yet light on the palate, with the compelling notes of banana, citrus and clove. Available year-round, Floridian Hefeweizen will be packaged in cases of four six-packs.

Hop Gun IPA (95 rating on RateBeer.com) is Funky Buddha’s East Coast-style India Pale Ale, delivering a payload of good ol’ American hops that burst forth with the flavors of grapefruit and pineapple. Smooth caramel and honey malts balance out the complex hop finish – just like any good wingman should. Also available year-round, Hop Gun IPA will be packaged in cases of four six-packs.

Funky Buddha isn’t stopping there. In January, the brewery plans to launch Zen Session IPA (formerly known as Crusher IPA), a light-bodied, 4.5% ABV ale brewed with Citra hops for lush citrus aroma and flavor. That month will also see the release of the brewery’s first limited, 12-ounce four-pack, Last Snow Porter. Ranked as the #2 porter in the world by the 2014 Rate Beer Best awards, Last Snow is an ode to Florida “winter” brewed with real coffee, white chocolate, and coconut.

Moving forward in 2015, seasonal four-pack releases will include favorites Nib Smuggler Chocolate Milk Porter, More Moro Blood Orange IPA, Blueberry Cobbler Ale, and Sweet Potato Casserole. Limited 22-ounce “bombers” will also hit distribution in 2015 and include the brewery’s sought-after specialty release and barrel-aged brews, the first of which will be Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, scheduled for release at the brewery on January 10. Package product will be distributed by Brown Distributing of West Palm Beach, with distribution throughout the Orlando, Tampa, and Northern Florida markets by the end of 2015.

ABOUT FUNKY BUDDHA BREWERY: Founded in 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, Funky Buddha Brewery is committed to producing bold craft beers that marry culinary-inspired ingredients with time-honored technique. Its lineup includes year-round brews Floridian Hefeweizen and Hop Gun IPA, along with specialty releases such as No Crusts Peanut Butter and Jelly Brown Ale and the highly sought after Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. Its Oakland Park production brewery opened in June 2013 and distributes draught beer to over 650 retail outlets from Key West to Central Florida.

Wynwood Brewing expands distribution

Miami’s Wynwood Brewing is looking beyond the azure waters of Miami and expanding distribution further north into central and southwest Florida.

From Wynwood’s Facebook page:

We are excited to announce our journey into northern Florida with limited distribution in a few accounts just to get started… Keep an eye out for Wynwood Brewing Company up in Ft. Meyers/Naples, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville.

Looks like the new tanks and the brewery space previously announced are being put to good use.

Big Storm Brewing Logo

Big Storm Brewing moves to cover Florida

What started out as two USF alumni beginning Pasco County’s first craft brewery has now escalated into an operation looking to distribute beer to the entire state of Florida.

Big Storm Brewing Company recently told the world that they were going into distribution in South Florida–when asked for comment, Big Storm’s General Manager Lee Northcutt went into a bit more detail saying:

We have recently opened up all of South Florida for distribution. We have also opened up Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Ocala and Lakeland as well. In the next few weeks we are scheduled to meet with Daytona and Pensacola, and should have the whole state covered very soon.

Intuition Ale Works Logo

Intuition Ale Works expands distribution

Intuition Ale Works has had a lot to celebrate recently. The brewery has been building up momentum towards the upcoming Underdark release and has had a cookbook, Cooking with Intuition, published to showcase their beer with local chefs. Now Intuition is expanding their distribution footprint to include sending draft beer further than they have before.

From the Intuition newsletter:

We’ve signed on with Brown Distributing to expand our distribution throughout the state of Florida! This week we shipped out kegs to be sent to select accounts in Gainesville, Tallahassee, Ormond, Deland, Daytona, Lake City and everything in between.
Our brews will only be available on draft in these new markets for now (sorry – no cans yet!).
We’re working on a calendar of tasting events in these new cities so keep your eye on our FB page for further details!

Mile Marker seeks to expand Florida reach

Saint Augustine’s Mile Marker Brewing has been serving the First Coast for two years now, and they are looking at expanding their Florida reach in 2014.

According to an article published in today’s Saint Augustine Record, Mile Marker has two goals for 2014:

The goal for Mile Marker in 2014 is to expand the brand’s reach. In the near future, the company would like to have its beers available in cans at area stores.

Currently, the beer is only packaged in kegs. It is distributed locally by Burkhardt Sales and Service and is also distributed in South Florida by Brown Distributing.

That leaves the rest of the state as possible new markets.

“Our main goal is production,” said Joy, who added that the brewery is looking to quadruple output.

Joy and head brewer Taylor Strunk take turns monitoring the process, checking on each batch, usually twice a day.