I'm not sure that example is entirely accurate. Every brewery Shelton imports is small, and they have a TON of breweries. Just quickly thinking about what they carry, I can't think of another importer with nearly as many brands as Shelton. And when you sign with Shelton, they want you to carry everything. And there's a lot of stuff in Shelton's book that doesn't sell all that fast.



The only Shelton brands mentioned in this thread have been Cantillon (x3), Prairie (x2) and JP (x1). Those three breweries probably account for 2% of the SKUs Shelton sells. Shelton is very aware that people want Cantillon. More and more every day, despite that fact that production is not increasing. So calling Shelton and saying you want to carry Cantillon is like you calling your local store and saying you want Goose BCS Prop.



If it was as easy as inking a deal with Shelton and then loading up on Cantillion, 3F, Prairie, Anchorage, and the 5 Mikkellers you feel like having, then yes, Shelton would have distributors knocking down their doors. What's more likely the case is distributors are looking at the entire catalog, realizing for the five scorching hot brands they'll have, they are going to end up with a lot of beer that will take a whole lot of work and time to sell. And as we all know, time = $.



Add to that the reputation Shelton has garnered for having rocky relationships with their distribution partners, and it begins to make more sense why this sort of this happens.



Again, my 2¢. I don't have any info the rest of you guys don't also have. They could come back tomorrow for all I know. I'm just not going to hold my breath.

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