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Maximus BumSoo didn’t like beer so he told his friends that he was allergic to hops. Finally, one night in London, he drank a London Pride and loved it! He emailed the company and spent the next 3 weeks learning about beer. Then he flew to London and got the exclusive distribution deal.

Now Maximus is CEO and President of London Ale & Co. in Seoul, Korea. They are the exclusive distributor of Fuller Smith & Turner’s beers from the United Kingdom.

If you have excess product or if you want to expand to new markets, you might want to export beer to tap new craft beer markets. American craft beer is popular in Korea, and other foreign markets are craving craft beer from the U.S. and elsewhere.

Some of Maximus tips on how to export craft beer:

Contact your local governing agency about legal requirements.
Pick an importer who loves your beer.
Pick an importer with enough funds to move large shipments of your product.
It’s best to ship the product with climate control the whole way, but it’s not always feasible.
Get paid up-front.

Listener question:

From Nick Bray: Why are you doing this work?

Book recommendation:

Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter.
Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery by Sam Calagione.
The Oxford Companion to Beer by Garrett Oliver (Editor).

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

An upcoming beer style:

Sour beer

Other resources:

Exporting Alcohol Beverage from the U.S., TTB, International Affairs Division (IAD).
Directory of State Alcohol Beverage Control Boards.
Export Development Program (EDP), Brewers Association.
U.S. craft brewers exporting beer – and ideas – around the world, Eric Gorski, The Denver Post, April 8, 2014.
Why American Craft Beer Exports Are Booming, Lisa Wirthman, Forbes, July 11, 2013.

You can reach Maximus BumSoo and London Ale & Co. at:

Diagram showing the Chief Winds of the World and the Average Rainfall (1922) by Eric Fischer on flickr (CC BY 2.0) was modified from its original state.

You might also like:

MicroBrewr 045: Launch your brewery with a strong opening night, featuring West Cork Brewing Company in Baltimore, Ireland.

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Canning Versus Bottling Beer and Getting Your Distributors to Sell More of Your Beer

In this podcast, I had a ton of fun talking with Tyson Starling from Atlantic Brewing Company. Tyson started as a credit analyst and after having to foreclose on somebody, decided that this was not the career path for him. Tyson switched careers to work as a sales rep for a beer distributor in Maine and then was approached to work on the day-to-day operations for Atlantic Brewing Company. In this episode, we go into detail about the pros and cons on canning versus bottling beer and why Tyson would be canning if he could do it all over again. Tyson also has some cheap and easy tips on how to get your distributors to sell more of you beer and the importance of branding for your brewery.

Topics that we covered:

Why working in a brewery and a bank are more similar than you’d think
The importance of picking a distributor since you’re locked in once you make your choice
Unique and cheap ways to get your distributor to help increase your beer sales
The scary truth about how long your beer can sit in a warehouse before making it to your customer
The power of consistency in all of your labeling or branding
How to use MicroStar to sell kegs out of state and not having to worry about having your keg returned
The pros and cons of canning versus bottling your beer and why canning may be better for your microbrewery

Here Are All the Great Resources Discussed in the Podcast

Craft Beer Business – How to get in contact with Tyson

Atlantic Brewing Company

“So You Want To Open A Microbrewery Podcast” w/ Collin McDonnell – Talks about the real life of being a craft brewer

“Branding and Transforming Your Beer into Art” w/ Harvey Shepard – Recommendations on branding and labeling your beer

MicroStar Kegs

Keg Credit

Cask Canning Equipment

“Developing Your Brewery Business Plan” w/ Aaron Brodniak – Goes into the cost of starting a brewery

I Need Your Help To Spread The Word

If you like this podcast on canning versus bottling beer and increasing your sales through distribution, I would really appreciate it if you would give me a rating in iTunes to help spread the word about the podcast. All you need to do is search for MicroBrewr in the iTunes store or you can use link this link here (then just click “View in iTunes”). If you’ve never given a rating in iTunes before, I put together these instructions to walk you through the 2 minute process. Giving a rating in iTunes will continue to push the podcast up in the rankings which help get the podcast into the ears of more people. Thanks in advance!

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