Ska Brewing Partners With Stone Brewing For SoCal Distribution

is announcing the opening of its first new market in five years. The move into Southern California at the end of the month comes with the addition of a new high-speed canning line that has relieved capacity issues for the Southern Colorado brewery.

“We’ve been considering the Southern California market for years. The bar is set high in here, but our beers fit right in with the quality of beers available, and the character of our brewery fits well with SoCal culture” said Ska President and former Ocean Beach resident, Dave Thibodeau. “Plus, I really needed a way to write off my travel expenses when a good swell rolls through.”

North County San Diego will be the staging ground in the newest theatre on the war against mediocre beer. Ska is teaming up with California uber allies, Stone Brewing Co., through their distribution arm Stone Distributing Co., to mitigate on-ground operations. Ska’s arsenal is deep and will encompass nearly their entire award-winning portfolio including the flagship Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale, gold medal winner at this year’s AmeriCAN Festival. There will also be a focus on Ska’s popular canned seasonal beers; Mexican Logger, Euphoria, and the Seasonal Stout Series.

Ska has been distributing Stone’s beers in Southwestern Colorado since 2003, the year Ska first canned their beer. “It had always been our hope that Stone would do the same with Ska’s beers in California” says Thibodeau, indicating that capacity issues and strong growth in existing markets have hampered Ska’s efforts in the past. “We’ve been coming to the Stone Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Fest for years, trying to set the stage but our old canning lines just couldn’t keep up. Now the stage is set and the show is about to begin.”

Starting June 30, Ska beer will be available throughout Southern California in all markets south of Santa Barbara. Numerous kick-off events will take place the weekend preceding the formal release including sneak previews at Hamilton’s on June 27th and Churchill’s on June 28th. Sunday June 29th will feature Ska’s Barroom Hero, Arlo Grammatica, as he hosts a guided tasting at Blind Lady Ale House before heading to Tiger!Tiger! at 4:00 p.m. for Ska Happy Hour.
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