E-Malt.com News article: USA, IL & WI: Solemn Oath Brewing expanding distribution

Scores of Chicago area beer lovers make a point of crossing over the border to Wisconsin to get a trunkload of New Glarus beer so it only stands to reason that Wisconsinites would return the favor and head to the Land of Lincoln for beer from Illinois that's unavailable in America's Dairyland, Chicagoist.com reported on March 1.

One of those breweries until February 27 was Solemn Oath, the Naperville brewery that's growing by leaps and bounds and has fast established a reputation as one of the area breweries to watch. Solemn Oath Brewery will launch in Wisconsin around April through an exclusive partnership with Wirtz Beverage Wisconsin, marking "a significant expansion effort" for both companies. The agreement marks the first craft beer brand for the distributor (in its Wisconsin division, anyway) and the first market expansion for the emerging Illinois-based craft brewery.

"We are a Chicagoland brewery and our primary focus is here in this oft-frozen eight-county metropolis, but Wisconsin is a foundation and extension of our home," Barley writes. "It is a part of our roots and we can’t wait to bring our beer there."

Solemn Oath and Wirtz are still in the process of deciding which of their beers to send to Wisconsin but they will be starting with draft-only accounts in the spring in Milwaukee and Madison. "We simply don’t make enough beer to spread it around as much as we’d like to right now," Barley noted. "But we plan on being able to send more before long."


05 March, 2014