From the Chicago Tribune; Anheuser-Busch Cos.’ attempt to gain more control over its distribution in Illinois has taken a twist that could burn the beer giant. The Illinois Liquor Control Commission is considering whether Anheuser-Busch should have to divest its 30 percent ownership of Chicago-based City Beverage, one of the country’s largest beer wholesalers, which… Read More…

Anheuser-Busch InBev has reached a deal with St. Louis-based Major Brands to buy back an Oregon beer distributorship that it sold less than three years ago. The agreement will return ownership of Western Beverage Co. in Eugene, Ore., to A-B InBev within the next two months, confirmed Tony Short, who leads Major Brands’ beer division…. Read More…

K&L Distributors of Renton, WA announced that it will sell its regional beer wholesaling business to King Beverage of Spokane in January. K&L Distributors in Alaska is not part of the deal. The deal will roughly double King Beverage’s annual distribution to about 12 million cases.

Young’s and Republic to merge operations Young’s Market Company and Republic National Distributing Company jointly announced last week that they will merge distribution operations in Arizona. The transaction is expected to close on August 1. The name of the combined venture will be “Young’s Market Company Southwest, LLC” and the President of the new venture… Read More…

DC’s famous Brickskeller rumored to close this month According various news articles and blog reports, the famed Brickskeller in Washington, DC will be closing soon. Apparently due to the sale of the building, reports have said that the closing date could be as early as Dec. 18th. The building will apparently be remodeled into a… Read More…

St. Louis A-B distributor acquires wine and spirits house. Lohr Distributing Co., the Anheuser-Busch Distributor in the city of St. Louis, has purchased nearby distributor Gateway Wine & Spirits. The move unusual in that the A-B wholesaler located in A-B ground zero St. Louis is expanding into a brand portfolio that will include wines and… Read More…

Court rules against AB which disallows self-distribution A federal court has thwarted Anheuser-Busch’s attempt to buy the rest of its largest Chicago-area distributor; and in the process, made it unlawful for craft brewers to self-distribute in the state. The court upheld an Illinois Liquor Control Commission ruling that because A-B’s parent, Anheuser-Busch InBev, is based… Read More…

Expansion of Florida facility to handle growth and consolidation A Denmark-based draft-keg-beer-dispense-equipment manufacturer Micro Matic is expanding its Tampa Bay, Florida facility for the second time in the last three years. In 2007 it grew its location from 20,000 square feet to 50,000. This week the company announced the plans to add another 32,000 square… Read More…

Starbucks to add beer and wine in its cafe Starbucks Corp announced last week it will give beer and wine a try in one of its namesake cafes when it reopens a renovated Seattle store in the fall. According to an online Routers story, the world’s biggest coffee chain has been selling beer and wine… Read More…

“Game Day’ brand to be rolled out nationwide 7-Eleven, the third-largest beer retailer in the U.S. will be rolling out an in-house brand billed as a premium beer at a budget price. Game Day comes in two varieties. Game Day Light is 3.9 percent alcohol by volume and 110 calories per 12 ounces. Game Day… Read More…