Wirtz Beverage has done a decent job of ushering in breweries that have been long sought after in Chicago. The beginning of the year saw Deschutes Brewing Co. coming into the market. Deschutes has been known for beers like Abyss Imperial Stout, Dissident Flanders Oud Bruin, Black Butte Porter, and Obsidian Stout. All of which have mainly been available to beer geeks via beer trading or a few online markets.
The latest connection that Wirtz has made is with San Diego brewer, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. Ballast Point, which has been an award winning brewery since 1996, produces over 50 styles of beer and has world class-rated brews such as Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter and Sculpin IPA.
Wirtz has only been in the craft beer business for a little over 2 months and has now opened an avenue for yet another acclaimed West Coast brewery to enter into the Chicago market. It will be interesting to see what more Wirtz will be able to do throughout the rest of this year.
Look for Ballast Point to land in Chicago starting in May, 2013.