Sun King Adding Chicago & Louisville Distribution

Sun King Brewery, one of the leaders of the independent craft beer movement in Indiana, is excited to announce distribution of its award-winning, flavorful and fresh beer in Chicago and Louisville, Ky., beginning this August. For the first time, Sun King fans outside of Indiana’s borders will be able to purchase award-winning brews such as Sunlight Cream Ale, Wee Mac Scottish Ale and Osiris Pale Ale, as well as other seasonal beers such as Pachanga (a new Mexican-style lager available this summer), Fistful of Hops, Oktoberfest and a rotating IPA series, along with select specialty and Sun King King’s Reserve beers. Sun King will be available in liquor stores, grocery stores, and on tap at local restaurants and bars where independent craft beer is appreciated and enjoyed.

“For the past eight years, Sun King has been making great beer with the goal of becoming Indiana’s beer,” said Clay Robinson, co-owner of Sun King Brewery. “We haven’t sold our beer outside of the state due to constraints caused by our own capacity and restrictions that were in place because of antiquated state laws. Having worked to increase Indiana’s barrelage limitations and increase Sun King’s capacity to make more beer, we’re now in a position to not only meet the demands of Hoosiers throughout the state, but also to share our beer in other markets where craft beer enthusiasts want to enjoy it. Louisville and Chicago are two of those places, and we’re excited to begin distributing there in August.”

Sun King’s $2 million expansion to its downtown Indianapolis brewing facility and continued investments in new brewing technology, processes and equipment – like adding another 420-barrel tank to its production line – have helped Sun King respond to the growing demand for its fresh, flavorful beer. This increased capacity enables Sun King to make its beers more widely available to Hoosiers and fans in other states. Demand for craft beer continues to grow with sales up 6.2 percent nationally according to the Brewers Association. Sales of craft beer in Chicago are expected to grow to $18 million in 2018 according to Mintel, and more than 34 craft breweries have opened in Kentucky as of 2016, according to the Brewers Association.

“We meet Sun King fans from all across the United States who either travel to our taproom or attend regional festivals and events in their cities for an opportunity to enjoy our beers,” said Dave Colt, co-owner and head brewer of Sun King. “We’re excited to not only be able to make it more convenient for them to purchase and enjoy our brews, but to also increase awareness of our tasty beers and continue to achieve smart, sustainable growth in the independent craft beer industry.”

Lakeshore Beverage in Chicago and River City Distributing in Louisville will help expand the distribution of Sun King’s extensive variety of beers on tap and in cans at hundreds of liquor and grocery stores, bars and restaurants throughout Chicago and Louisville, respectively.

Sun King is teaming up with its distributors to host several launch events and “tap takeovers” in Chicago and Louisville at which customers can sample brews and enjoy special promotions on the purchase of a variety of Sun King’s beers.