Hamilton brewery’s beer will soon be available in more places

Municipal Brew Works brewer Andrew Jarvi works with the tanks at the brewery on March 9. Municipal Brew Works has signed a distribution agreement with Ohio Eagle, which means the local brewery will have a wider distribution of its products. GREG LYNCH / STAFF

Municipal Brew Works brewer Andrew Jarvi works with the tanks at the brewery on March 9. Municipal Brew Works has signed a distribution agreement with Ohio Eagle, which means the local brewery will have a wider distribution of its products. GREG LYNCH / STAFF

Some of the beers brewed at Municipal Brew Works will soon be available throughout three counties now that the Hamilton brewery has a distribution agreement.

Monroe-based Ohio Eagle Distributing, a wholesale distributor of domestic, imported and craft beers, has partnered with Municipal Brew Works to distribute its brews in Butler, Warren and Preble counties.

“It is about the best group of guys you could be in a partnership with,” Devyn Dugger, Ohio Eagle’s president, said of the owners of Municipal Brew Works. “They are very passionate about what they do.”

MORE: Hamilton natives open brewery in former city building

The agreement will allow the small brewery, which opened in June 2016, to grow.

“The response and support we’ve received since opening has gone far beyond our expectations,” said Jim Goodman, CEO and co-founder of Municipal Brew Works. “Distribution is the next phase of our growth.”

When Goodman and his four founding partners were planning Municipal Brew Works, it was a goal to eventually enter into distribution, he said.

“We are seeing a lot of visitors from the Dayton and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area make their way to downtown Hamilton to give us a try,” Goodman said. “We have an amazing staff that handles everything we ask of them. All of this gives us a solid foundation to enter into distribution.”

RELATED: Fallen Hamilton firefighter honored with special beer

Ohio Eagle will operate as the brewery’s sales, marketing and distribution arm, he said.

“Our production capacity is somewhat limited due to the size of our brewing area,” Goodman said. “Ohio Eagle understood this and have agreed to work within our capabilities. They tailored a marketing plan to fit the needs of Municipal Brew Works and are not trying to make us something we are not.”

Municipal Brew Works will continue to make the tap room at 20 High St. its top priority, but its more popular beers — like Approachable Blonde Ale, Midnight Cut Porter, Free City Ale and Two Cents American Pale Ale — will make their way around the Ohio Eagle distribution footprint.

Ohio Eagle distributes more than 3.5 million cases of beer annually and makes more than 2,000 deliveries and sales calls each week according to Dugger.

“With them being a smaller operation they won’t be able to get to a lot of places that we can get them to,” he said. “… once people get to know their beer and know them — it will be successful.”

Download the free Journal-News app, Butler County’s #1 source for local news

About the Author