Last month Rancho Bernardo-based Abnormal Beer Co. shared the welcoming reception it’s received since opening a tap-equipped airstream trailer as a satellite “tasting room” at an art collective in Phoenix. Since that debut, the Abnormal crew has spent time in the area to get to know the members of its emerging craft-beer scene. That included brewing a beer in collaboration with one of Arizona’s most popular beer companies, Wren House Brewing. As it turns out, soon Abnormal and Wren House will have something in common: Scout Distribution. The San Diego beverage-distribution company is expanding its footprint to include the Grand Canyon State and will launch with newly signed Wren House when it does.
Headquartered in Scripps Ranch, Scout launched in 2018 with a handful of boutique California breweries in its portfolio (including sister brand Harland Brewing) and manufacturers of other alcoholic beverages such as hard cider, hard kombucha, hard seltzer and wine. The company initially distributed exclusively within San Diego County, but its network has grown to include Orange County. Arizona will be the first territory Scout has opened outside of California.
“We believe that Arizona is a prime location for this expansion based on our existing relationships with chain retailers, adjacency to Scout CA’s existing market and our ability to utilize our strong back-of-the-house systems and management team,” says Scout CEO Jeff Hansson. “We have curated an incredible portfolio for Arizona that will appeal to a wide range of drinkers.”
Scout will offer the wares of numerous San Diego operations to Arizona retailers, including Bivouac Ciderworks, Local Roots Kombucha and Karl Strauss Brewing. The latter recently signed on to have Scout distribute its beers and Endless Summer Hard Seltzer line in Arizona. Other established brands in the company’s portfolio include Artifex Brewing, Fort Point Beer Co., Toppling Goliath Brewing and Topa Topa Brewing. The aforementioned Abnormal is distributed by Scout in California, but is already spoken for in Arizona.
Scout has brought on new team members to oversee its expanded operations, including Vice President of Operations Michael Yao and Scout AZ Vice President and General Manager Bryan Paul. The latter has nearly three decades of experience, including lengthy stints with Boston Beer Co. and Young’s Market in Arizona and Southern California. Yao joined Scout last October, coming over from L.A.’s Triangle Distributing Co. Prior to that he held executive roles with Mikkeller Brewing San Diego, Karl Strauss, Starbucks and PepsiCo.
“Scout’s disruption of our industry was exciting to watch, and I knew I wanted to be part of something so unique,” says Yao. “Scout is basically a brand incubator and has its own dedicated route-to-market.”
Scout expects to begin distributing beer in Arizona in April.