Pepsi Co. has purchased the fourth-generation family-owned Washington Pepsi distributor Corwin Beverage and plans to shut down their two craft beer divisions, leaving over a hundred craft beer and cider brands without a distributor in Southwest Washington and the Seattle Metro area.
Kendall’s Craft Beverages distributes about 35 local and regional craft beer brands along with 60 specialty import beer and cider brands in the southwest portion of the state. Brower Polska services the Seattle area with about 50 domestic and import craft beer and cider brands. Both are divisions of Corwin and will be closed.
The announcement was sudden and has left many breweries without any distribution option across the region. Although Corwin has said they are trying to find a home for the brands, options are few as consolidation has left only a few large beer wholesalers in the state.
Corwin issued a statement yesterday saying “Corwin Beverage Company, which started out as Pepsi Cola of Vancouver in 1941, has decided to exit the highly competitive beverage distribution business. The non-alcohol division of Corwin Beverage Company will be acquired by its longtime partner PepsiCo. Concurrently, the company is actively exploring transition options regarding its craft beverage business through assignments to other distributors in accordance with its beverage distribution agreements.”
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