Guide to Breweries in the United Kingdom

UK beer companies offer authentic beers and ales for American retailers

By Michele Vrouvas

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If your liquor shop or English-inspired pub strives to attract beer aficionados, there's no better way to stock up on the real thing than by contacting breweries in the United Kingdom. The distinctive brewing heritage of breweries in the UK has produced the world's most uniquely flavored lagers and ales. With the British beer renaissance in full bloom here in the United States, it's no wonder that beer lovers are demanding ever-increasing supplies of beers and ales imported from United Kingdom breweries.

Almost any large-scale UK beer company with a foothold in the United States will sell directly to beer retailers. Whether you're looking for supplies of traditional ales, fruity lagers or the ultra traditional cask-condition ales, British breweries are quick to meet the high demand for their product. When seeking to buy beer or ale directly from British beer companies, consider your options:

1. Stick with traditional, top-selling brands that the largest UK breweries are known for.

2. Consider expanding your product line with custom brews from a reputable UK brewery.

3. Attract ale-consuming purists with cask-conditioned taps made by UK beer companies.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find dependable sources of the most recognized brand names from UK breweries

As a beer retailer, you focus on moving your inventory fast. Brand names fly off the shelves, so why take a chance on stocking the unknowns? Even worse; if the fads don't sell, your regular beer connoisseurs will question why dust has accumulated on the bottles, which means they've been sitting on the shelf too long and their flavor is tainted.

I recommend: Coors Brewers, one of the largest breweries in the world, brews its distinctive draughts and ales in the famed Burton-on-Trent region of England. It offers an extensive menu of award-winning draught beers that are well known to American consumers under the names Carling, Coors Light, Grolsch, Worthington's and Caffrey's Premium Cream Ale. Another major player is Scottish & Newcastle, makers of Newcastle Brown Ale, a wildly popular ale among American beer drinkers. Shepherd Neame, a brewery that operates well over 300 pubs in England, consistently provides the traditional Kentish ales and highly acclaimed lagers.

Experiment with new products from British beer companies

You operate a pub or a specialty liquor shop that caters to patrons with adventurous tastes. Satisfy your customers' whims with a steady supply of new ales, lagers and draughts.

I recommend: Moorehouses has innovative brands that are consistent winners at beer festivals through the United Kingdom and Europe. The brewery has been operating since 1865 and has an established market in the United States. Another trendsetter among British breweries is Adnams, which produced the first carbon neutral beer and takes the lead when it comes to creating small batches of specialty brews.

Replicate a traditional British pub with cask-conditioned beer directly from UK beer companies

You've built a British-style pub in the United States and, true to your business' vision, you refuse to serve mass-produced beers. Instead, you're planning to expand your taps and serve hard-to-find cask beer and ale from fine British breweries.

I recommend: Beer4Home provides real cask ale to private homes but also ships overseas to commercial accounts. Isle of Skye Brewing Company has been selling premium quality cask-conditioned ales for more than 10 years. Dent Brewery specializes in distinctive cask ales made in Yorkshire Dales National Park.

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