Deep Ellum Brewing Company announced it has shipped a couple of kegs to Massachusetts. This is the first time the brewery has offered its beer outside of Texas, so I called their sales ninja Tait Lifto to find out why they'd set up their next accounts so far away.
"It's kinda funny how this business is a relationship business," Lifto said as he described meeting the folks from Clown Shoes in Houston. That brewery is based in Massachusetts and was working on a Texas Beer Festival featuring 512, Real Ale, Saint Arnold, Karbach and most recently DEBC. Tait and his team just strapped a few kegs to a pallet to be shipped on a truck, and they'll be flying up behind the brews to spread the word about their beer this weekend.
Why not target cities in the South and Midwest? Isn't it expensive shipping beer all the way to Massachusetts? "Starting up a brewery is not cheap," Lifto said, but he's hoping the move pays off big. They're already working with two bars in the area and hope to continue to grow in the region until it's profitable. "Our long term vision is included in every decision that we make," he added, so I asked him what that long term vision was. "To have our beer in everybody's mouth, in every state," he said.
Two down: 48 to go.
