Idle Hands Craft Ales to expand via cool craft-exclusive wholesaler Craft Collective

Distribution can be the ugliest part of the usually very lovely craft beer industry what with all of the local political struggles and the broader corporate and anti-competitive concerns — none of which is looking to get better, as we noted in “Winter is coming for the beer distribution industry.” This is what makes an organization like the Craft Collective in Boston so appealing. The Craft Collective calls itself a boutique craft distribution company and was founded to help promote quality craft beers.

The latest addition to the Craft Collective portfolio is Massachusetts-based Idle Hands Craft Ales, which announced on its blog:

“From the time we started our little nanobrewery in Everett up through now, we’ve always handled the distribution of our beers. It was partly because we enjoyed having the personal relationships with our retail customers and partly out of necessity, brewing the small quantity of beer that we did. Lately, we’ve been hearing that you wish our beer was a little bit easier to find, particularly since our brewery tasting room is currently defunct.

Distribution, especially expanded distribution, requires a significant time commitment. With so many other items on our plate right now (i.e. building out the new Malden brewery) we realized the best way to meet your requests of expanded distribution would be to start working through a distributor.

So today I’m excited to announce we’ve partnered with Craft Collective, a relatively new craft focused distributor that specializes in small brands such as ours. Craft Collective will be our go to partner in expanding our reach in Massachusetts.”

We at CBB wish both ventures well. … We wish your local sports teams lose in unspeakably horrific ways, but your business models, we wish nothing but the best.