E-Malt.com News article: USA, ME: Baxter Brewing Company to start Vermont distribution

Baxter Brewing Company, the acclaimed all-cans craft brewery in Lewiston, Maine that was the first of its kind in New England, will be available throughout Vermont beginning next month. “Vermonters have a long, deep appreciation for craft beer,” said company founder and CEO, Luke Livingston. “We’ve wanted to be part of that exciting environment ever since we started, but until now we hadn’t been able to make enough beer to even supply our existing markets in Maine and Massachusetts.” Recent new construction has expanded the brewery’s capacity by more than 400%, and Vermont is the first place the brewery has chosen to go with its new capabilities, Brewbound reported on November 15.

Baxter currently produces three year-round varieties plus three unique seasonal offerings, and all will be made available to retailers, restaurants and bars throughout Vermont by g. housen, the state’s leading distributor of craft beers. “We are thrilled to add Baxter’s beers to our list,” said Scott Anderson, g. housen, Craft Beer Portfolio Manager. “There is a great craft beer culture here in Vermont, and we’re proud to represent some of the finest craft beers in the world.” He added, “Baxter has already proven to be very popular at some of our festivals. And Vermonters who have visited Maine and Massachusetts have been bringing Baxter home with them for a couple of years, now. We’re eager to help all Vermont beer lovers have easy access to the brand,” said Livingston of partnering with g.housen, “In our eyes, there was no other choice for distribution in Vermont. We’re very excited to be stocked in a warehouse alongside such titans of the craft beer industry as Stone and Dogfish Head; and our friends from Maine, like Rising Tide, Sebago and Allagash.”

Livingston mentioned that Baxter’s policy of packaging only in kegs and cans is well suited to Vermont lifestyles and values. “Cans are the most environmentally friendly form of packaging there is,” he said, “and they are completely portable – they can go to mountaintops, to the lake, to ski slopes, to the woods.” And because cans prevent any contamination from either light or oxygen, beer will stay fresh longer in a can than in a bottle.

Named the Best New Brewery in the U.S. for 2011 by the beverage industry’s BevNET Magazine, demand for Baxter’s beers has exceeded supply since its inception. But the brewery’s recent expansion increased total capacity to more than 33,000 barrels/year. “We really appreciate our fans’ patience while we’ve been ramping up, and we’re thrilled that we can now satisfy thirsty folks in Maine and Massachusetts and also come to Vermont.” Baxter has been deeply involved with philanthropic, sports, and economic development efforts in all its existing markets, and plans to be actively engaged throughout Vermont, as well. A series of release parties and tastings is planned to roll out over the course of the next month or so.

Baxter’s year-round varieties include Pamola Xtra Pale Ale, Amber Road amber ale, and the flagship Stowaway IPA. The first seasonal beer arriving in Vermont right away will be Phantom Punch Winter Stout, to be followed by Summer Swelter summer ale, and Hayride Autumn Ale at the appropriate turns of the calendar. All have been recognized by industry and popular press throughout New England, and until the recent expansion, demand had exceeded supply by nearly three-fold. The brewery is housed in the historic Bates Mill, in Lewiston, Maine, and has become a destination for beer lovers from all 50 states, and more than three-dozen countries from all across the globe. “But starting next month, Vermonters won’t have to travel beyond their corner store to enjoy Baxter,” Livingston said.


15 November, 2013