A lot of things have changed for us since we opened our first store in Belmont, MA in 2010. One aspect that has not changed is our commitment to amazing beer, hospitality, and education.

There are now over 5,000 breweries operating in the United States. Many of them make amazing beer; some of them do not. There’s a lot to keep up with.

We are continuously trying to stay ahead in this industry. One way we are going to do that, starting at the beginning of 2017, is that all our stores will have a list of approved beers to purchase from.

The list is not permanent, as we are constantly evaluating new beers and re-evaluating established ones.

The goal, going forward, is consistency across the Craft Beer Cellar brand in terms of offering positively reputable beer to customers in all stores. There are many breweries we champion, and we will work harder to represent them in the best way that we can.

“We want to represent to our customer the very best of the beers we have available to us,” said Craft Beer Cellar Co-Founder Kate Baker. “Whether it is a local brewery, or one from further afield, one thing is true: it should stand up as the most positively reputable beers that are available in any market a Craft Beer Cellar is located.”

Baker said Craft Beer Cellar has communicated with several of the breweries not on the approved list, and added that the team – which will consist of a group of Craft Beer Cellar Store Owners and Brand Members that share in the passion of purchasing the most amazing and positively reputable beer we can get our hands on – is always willing to revisit those beers.

“We are not afraid to have open conversations with breweries about our thoughts and have been able to hold some really positive and constructive dialogue about our findings,” said Baker. “In fact, we’re currently in conversations with a brewery that has not been approved as positively reputable. Both the brewery and Craft Beer Cellar HQ are communicating and trying to find a time in the next few days to meet and discuss not only the beers, but the packaging, price-point and both of our goals in this industry!”

Co-Founder Suzanne Schalow stressed that Craft Beer Cellar remains a young company with a goal of “selling and supporting amazing beer.”

“Craft Beer Cellar holds as its integrity and guiding principles three very simple concepts: amazing beer, hospitality and education,” said Schalow. “It is our goal to continue to work hard to define this ideology and support those brewers that provide great liquid.”

Craft Beer Cellar has 29 stores in 13 states, with 10 more stores currently in planning.