Breakthru Illinois Grows Craft Beer Portfolio in 2017
Aug. 22, 2017
Since entering the craft beer business in 2013, Breakthru Beverage Illinois’ mission has been to create a well-rounded beer portfolio, filled with high-quality national, regional and local breweries. Over the past few months, Breakthru IL has strengthened its local offerings by partnering with two Chicago-based breweries: Haymarket and Spiteful. The market also brought on one of the west’s fastest growing craft breweries, Epic Brewing Co.
“We’re always very selective when bringing on new brewery partners, as we want to make sure that their values and expectations align with ours,” said Brian Stockard, Director of Sales, Craft Beer. “We are incredibly fortunate that these three breweries do just that, and we’re excited to share them with our customers throughout Illinois.”
Epic Brewing Co.
Very few breweries grow at the pace, and garner the same amount of respect for doing so, than Epic Brewing Co. Epic opened its doors in May 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT and within three short years of opening, the brewery opened a second location in Denver, CO.
“Epic is a fantastic addition to our portfolio,” said Stockard. “The brewery, while relatively young, has taken off and grown into a nationally known and sought after brand in just a few short years. Epic is one of those breweries our customers have been asking about for a while now, and we’re thrilled to be able to finally bring them into Illinois.”
Haymarket Pub and Brewery
Haymarket Pub and Brewery specializes in classic Belgian and contemporary American beer styles with an emphasis on hop flavor, not hop bitterness. Director of Fermentation, Peter L. Crowley, and Brewery Operations Manager, Toby Parsons, are highly decorated brewers with a combined 30 years-plus brewing experience. They’ve won over 75 local, national and international awards, including medals at the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival and the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer.
“Haymarket’s award-winning beers speak for themselves,” said Stockard. “I can only think of a handful of breweries who have earned as many awards as Pete Crowley and his team have won. The brew pub downtown has been a destination for craft beer drinkers for many years, and now we can finally share their beers throughout metro Chicago.”
Spiteful Brewing Co.
Life-long friends Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein founded Spiteful Brewing in 2012. Initially the two brewed every batch of beer in their 3.5 barrel brew house, renting a tiny warehouse space in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. Fast forward five years, and the Spiteful team is on the verge of opening a brand new 30-barrel brew house just a few miles away. They’ve also gained plenty of Chicago fans in that time span, largely due to Spiteful’s award-winning barrel-aged releases and hop-focused core beers, like Working for the Weekend Double IPA.
“Spiteful is leading that ‘next wave’ of Chicago breweries with huge consumer followings,” said Stockard. “They made a name for themselves on the city’s north side with fantastic beer and clever packaging, and now we’re ready to help them really take-off and grow.”