THE GIST
Left Hand Brewing of Longmont, Colorado has announced that it will begin distributing to neighboring state Wyoming this July. The distribution deal, signed with Cheyenne & Laramie Beverage will see Left Hand ship Milk Stout & Milk Stout Nitro, Sawtooth Amber, Extrovert IPA, Polestar Pilsner plus a range of seasonals and limited edition beers to the Cowboy State.
WHY IT MATTERS
It’s taken Left Hand Brewing 23 years to get its beer into the lowest populated State in the US, despite its capitol, Cheyenne being just over an hours drive away from its Longmont headquarters. For this reason alone the news of this distribution deal is significant.
Colorado has long had one of the nation’s healthiest brewing scenes but in the last five years brewing industry growth within the State has been explosive. New breweries are opening weekly and the old guard of breweries such as New Belgium, Oskar Blues and Left Hand are expanding production and so naturally need to expand distribution.
For residents of Wyoming, the news probably seems long overdue, even as upstarts like Melvin Brewing of Alpine take their local position on the western boarder. With comparably soft competition, will states like Wyoming start to seem attractive to national craft brands despite their sparse population?
— Matthew Curtis
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Left Hand Brewing Expands to Wyoming – Via Left Hand Brewing Company