Midwest Breweries - Why Sun King pulling back distribution can be a good thing.

This week it was reported, by may different blog sites and news outlets, that Sun King was pulling distribution from many areas throughout the state.  I propose this can be great news for the whole Indiana craft beer scene.

Outside of being extremely disappointed by those of you that live outside of either Bloomington or Indianapolis areas; we can infer that Sun King can really only meet the demand for their product within these locations.  Taking that piece of information we can make two assumptions.  People who drink Sun King are drinking a shit ton of their beer or Sun King is a great way to introduce people to craft beer thus more people are drinking their beer than ever before.

Personally I like the idea of the second option.  With breweries popping up all the time throughout Indiana we can only assume that there is a growing number of craft beer drinkers willing to take chances on discovering new, inventive, and great beers.

Why I say that Sun King pulling back distribution is a good thing for the craft beer scene can be summed up in three points.

1.  There is only so many taps.  Dominated by the major brands, due to a lack of faith and/or knowledge of the craft beer scene, leaves many breweries scrambling to jockey for these coveted positions.  With Sun King leaving some of these taps open allows for other breweries to sneak their way into your local taverns, bars, and restaurants.

2.  For those who become accustom to Sun King, but now cannot find it in their area will be looking for new beer.  If other breweries realize this they will be sending sales reps to every corner of the state with similar beers to the Sun King's "Big Three".  Using this opportunity to expand their brands awareness.

3.  There are so many wonderful beers in the state of Indiana.  Many breweries doing special releases, seasonal, and small batches that are fantastic.  As people are introduced to these new breweries it offers a great way to highlight these special beers.  When a person tries a beer they like from a particular brewery they will be more incline to try their other products.  

Although Indiana laws have not kept up on the growing craft beer community and Sun King is one of the breweries most effective by these laws I think that it has the opportunity to help grow our community.