Southern Tier arrives in Memphis as part of Tennessee expansion
Beers from New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Company started arriving at bars and on retail shelves in Memphis over the last two weeks.
The move is part of Southern Tier’s expansion of its distribution network into Tennessee that was announced in September.
Memphis craft beer lovers can now find three of Southern Tier’s regular offerings — 422 Pale Wheat Ale, Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale and the Porter — as well as the mid-winter seasonal Eurotrash Pilz.
Even more Southern Tier could be on the way as Memphis distributor A.S. Barbaro is working to get its high-alcohol license. A.S. Barbaro is the Memphis area distributor for such brands as Samuel Adams, Schlafly, Lazy Magnolia and Shiner.
“People are demanding that they have a better selection and better choice,” said Ashley Crawford, chain account manager for A.S. Barboro. “We’re in it to give the customer as much choice as possible.”
Southern Tier beers can be found at select Kroger stores, as well as the Cash Saver Plus on Madison, Ike’s on Union and the Walnut Grove Market in Cordova. For on-premise sales, bars and restaurants carrying Southern Tier include both Flying Saucer locations, Young Avenue Deli, Movie & Pizza Co., The Green Beetle, The Beer Garden, Flying Fish, Kudzu’s, Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Pub and Zac’s Bar and Grill.
In operation since 2002, Southern Tier Brewing Company of Lakewood, New York, has grown to produce around 50,000 barrels of beer annually. In the summer of 2012, Southern Tier started construction on an expansion to include a 110-barrel brewhouse to help meet calls for increased production. Prior to this, a new high-speed bottle line was installed in December 2010 followed by a high speed keg line.
Anybody tried any of the Southern Tier beers yet? If so, what did you think? Leave a comment below.
Had the 422 Pale Wheat Ale over the weekend. Really light. 3/5 stars. Can’t wait for their higher gravity offerings to hit the city, Fall Seasonal Pumking is great.
1Prolly too cold out for the 422, but it’s definitely Porter weather. Excited to see what seasonals will be here!
2Had the Phin and Matt’s at the Saucer. A very solid American Pale Ale. Bright hop flavor in an easy drinking beer. Would like to get my hands on the Pilz but haven’t seen it on draft anywhere.
3I got a bottle of the Pilz to split if I see ya any time soon.
4Looking forward to giving these a try!
Tangentially, any word on whether the acquisition of a high-gravity licence by A.S. Barbaro means that we’d be able to get the high-gravity brews from the breweries mentioned above (eg, Schlafly, Lazy Magnolia, Sam Adams)?
5Yes, I hear that is in the works, and it would be really great for Memphis beer drinkers. Hoping to get more details in the next couple of weeks.
6Agreed — all those brewers have great high-gravity stuff that Memphis is missing out on. Bought some Schlafly T IPA in Nashville last month and it was excellent. I’ve also driven down to MS to get some of Lazy Magnolia’s Timber Beast.
7Looking forward to trying both those beers! The Timber Beast can be found in DeSoto County, so it’s not far. I’ve just never hunted it down.
8I really disliked the Eurotrash Pilz, but I’m also not a huge pilsner fan.
The 422 Pale Wheat was an odd hybrid: it had the initial taste of a wheat beer with a semi-hoppy aftertaste. It really does taste like a Frankenstein mix.
The porter was solid: not the best I’ve ever had, but I’ve also certainly had worse.
The Phin & Matt’s was excellent, by far my favorite of the four. If you like Schlafly’s APA, then you’ll love this one.
9Thanks for the comment!
Had a bottle of the Phin & Matt’s last night. Solid beer.
10Porter=also solid.
11I heard the high gravity license will also pave the way for Lagunitas and maybe more.
12Hadn’t heard about Lagunitas, but would make sense with the Chicago brewery opening. Figured both A.S. Barbaro and Budweiser of Memphis would be in pursuit.
13Stopped by Walnut Grove Market tonight for the first time. I can’t believe I didn’t know that store had such a great selection for east Memphis. Thanks for the heads up!
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