Press Release:

[Note: this post is cross-posted from ModernTimesBeer.com.]

(San Diego, CA) – Here’s some seriously huge, immensely consequential news: we’ve signed a distribution agreement with Stone Distributing. Together, we’re launching Modern Times Beer throughout San Diego in the coming weeks.

Here’s the plan: our beer will be available through Stone starting June 24th. The week of July 8th will be our official launch week, for which we’re planning a slew of spectacular, invigorating events featuring our crew of marvelously entertaining brewers.

So all of you who have been emailing me about carrying our beer at your bar/restaurant/liquor store? Talk to your Stone sales rep ASAP. If you don’t know who your rep is, you can find them here (http://www.stonebrewing.com/sales/).

I couldn’t be more thrilled about this partnership. As many of you are aware, I spent two years working at Stone; it’s where I learned the business and I have a deep affinity for Stone’s values.

During those two years, I came to understand just what a remarkable operation Stone Distributing is. Distributors, like breweries, come in all shapes and sizes and exist on a broad spectrum of quality. Stone is at the far, far, far end of “high quality” on that spectrum.

Why? Three main things: 1) Extreme persnicketiness about beer quality & freshness, 2) Deep commitment to building the local craft beer market, and 3) Unimpeachable standards for business ethics.

Let’s flesh that out: Stone stores and ships all of the beer they distribute under refrigeration. They pay close attention to date coding. They work like crazy to put craft beer on tap at every possible outlet in their territory. They have extremely knowledgeable sales reps that are generally hardcore beer geeks (I often see the remnants of their absurd bottle shares in my Facebook feed). They invest a huge amount of time and effort in educating themselves, their accounts, and beer drinkers, even when there’s no immediate pay-off. And most importantly, they operate completely above-board with an obsessive attention to the law. That means they sell craft beer because it’s better, not because it comes with illegal inducements or shady incentives.

All of that has made Stone Distributing an enormous success and a perfect fit for Modern Times. This is the start of something deeply, lusciously beautiful.

Our distribution agreement covers all of Southern California, but we’re going to stick to San Diego County for the time being. Once we get a feel for how much demand there is here, we’ll start talking about expanding distribution up the coast and inland.

Right from the get-go, we’ll be launching with what we plan to make our year round beers: Lomaland (saison), Black House (oatmeal coffee stout), Blazing World (amberish IPA), and Fortunate Islands (hoppy wheat). Limited quantities of our first special release, Neverwhere (100% Brett IPA), will also be available. For now, Modern Times will be draft-only, but you can expect to see our supremely luxurious 16oz. cans on shelves in early August.