EP-121 Artisanal Imports, Whiner Beer, Dovetail with Lanny Hoff + Co.

The three-tier system is something that’s continuously up for debate in our
country, surfing on arguments about who it serves poorly and who it
services well, who it protects us from and who it favors. It’s a
complicated value chain mandated by the federal government to exist, but
also regulated by states, and increasingly getting sliced up into more
unique and critical ways of bringing your favorite breweries to market.

One part of that value chain that’s been quietly evolving is the role of
the importer. They work between the brewer and distributor, and
traditionally bring you beers from oversees from places like Belgium, the
UK, and Germany. You may have heard our interviews from Shelton Fest two
years ago when we interviewed two of their operators to demystify this part
of the business, and shine a light on the value that importers bring even
when they’re working with domestic instead of foreign breweries. For its
part, Shelton Brothers just announced their next festival will be in
Atlanta on August 18-19.

Then there's the domestic side of the import business, sometimes even
called a domestic importer. It's really a convoluted way of describing an
importer who moves products domestically through their existing
infrastructure, state-to-state instead of country-to-county.

As more and more small local breweries are finding ways to grow sustainably
and gain access to market when the shelves are tight and tap handles are
scarce, the role of the domestic importer is helping some of these niche
breweries find niche audiences wherever they might be.

Today’s guests are excited to talk about a very unique scenario in this
vein. Artisanal Imports, known for importing brands like Sunner Kolsch, St
Feuillen, and De Proef, are now partnering with U.S. brands. They’ve been
working in U.S. cider for some time now with Farnhum Hill and EZ Orchards,
which are among the best in the world. But niche, hyperlocal breweries is a
new step towards diversifying their business and finding new territory to
explore. In Chicago, they’ve partnered with Dovetail and Whiner Beer, two
newcomers with unique portfolios.

Today we’re going to hear about what’s behind that move, and why it might
be a new model for small brands going forward. It’s a full room on this
one, so I do my best to keep it all straight. We’ve got Hagen Dost and Bill
Wesselink from Dovetail Brewery, Brian Taylor of Whiner Beer Company, and
Lanny Hoff of Artisanal Imports. Listen in.