(Escondido, CA) – Stone Brewing still rocking…

…It was announced at the Craft Brewers Conference that 14 of the top 40 craft breweries were above 30% sales growth in early 2011 (per Victory Brewing). All indications are pointing to craft beer surpassing the startling growth numbers of 2010.

Stone is among those leading the charge. As a bonus, it looks like they won’t have to pull distribution anywhere (at least not out of necessity). Per a newsletter sent out this morning, “First quarter numbers are in and we are cruising at a lovely 42% increase. What, you ask? Will we have enough beer? All signs point to yes. We’re working around the clock to continue to meet the ever-escalating demand! So rest easy and sell lots of our beer.”

…As of today, Missouri is the 37th state to sell beer in Stone Brewing’s portfolio. Launch events take place around the Show Me State beginning Tuesday.

…A peek at distributor performance shows some interesting findings (bear in mind that Stone turns 15 years old this year):

Stone’s #1 wholesaler in terms of case equivalents sold (an industry-standard measure that accounts for both on-premise and off-premise sales) is Ben E. Keith in Texas. If I’m interpreting this blog post correctly, only two beers in Stone’s portfolio were available from 2001 to September 2008: Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. Much of that growth has happened in just 2.5 years with the expansion into new territories in Texas and the rest of Stone’s product line funneling down to the Lonestar State.

After just one year in Chicago, Windy City Distribution is already the brewery’s 6th-ranked wholesaler in CEs sold.

Click Wholesale in Washington is the fastest-growing wholesaler for Stone (among those selling at least 14k CEs annually).

…Social Media Coordinator, Jacob McKean, noted that the delays with Imperial Russian Stout Classic and Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout have more to do with bureaucratic red tape (my words, not his) more than anything else. Labels have been approved at the federal level but the feds must also approve a statement of process for each beer. Also taking up time in this process are approvals at the state level, wholesaler pre-orders, printing and labeling. The newsletter made mention of the possibility of the two beers not making it out until early June but the current release date remains 5/31.

2011 Specialty Release Dates: