Avery Brewing draws down distribution

BOULDER – Avery Brewing Co. announced Thursday it will stop distributing beer to eight states and seven other markets as it focuses on keeping up with skyrocketing demand in its core market, which includes Colorado.

The Boulder-based craft brewer said in a media release that the withdrawal came as production growth grew by 75 percent in first quarter 2011, but the growth is not enough to keep up with demand.

“The brewery has been forced to make the tough decision or lose the ability to support all markets with a steady supply of fresh beer,” the release said.

Avery will stop shipping beer to Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Tennessee. The brewery is also leaving partial state markets including northern California, which includes the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento, eastern Arkansas, New York state outside of New York City, the central Florida area around Orlando and parts of Wisconsin.

The company hopes to re-enter those markets in the future, when production capacity catches up with demand.

Executives were apologetic in the release.

“We all feel terrible about having to pull out of these markets.  No matter how you cut it, it is disappointing that we’ll no longer be able to serve our loyal fans in these areas,” president and founder Adam Avery said.

The release noted that Avery is one of several craft brewers that have had to consolidate their market areas as demand has increased.

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