The Musical Beer Chalice

The minds over at Stella Artois are some of the best around. They can take something like their signature beer chalice and turn it into a musical instrument of epic proportions. Check out the videos below and let us know what you think in the comments section, on Twitter or on Facebook!

LIST: Top 30 US Beer Distributors

Here is the top 30 list of Beer Distributors by volume, via Harry Schumacher and Beer Business Daily:

1. Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
St. Louis, Missouri
Case Volume: 135 million (est.)
Dollar Sales: $3 billion (est.)
Principals: ABI Management


2. Reyes Beverage Group
Chicago, Illinois
Case Volume: 102 million
Dollar Sales: $2.2 billion
Principals: Reyes family
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

3. Silver Eagle Distributors
Houston, Texas
Case Volume: 48.2 million
Dollar Sales: $987.7 million
Principals: John Nau III
Major Suppliers: ABI, Crown, NAB

4. Ben E. Keith Beverages
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Case Volume: 39 million
Dollar Sales: $780 million
Principals: Hallam family
Major Suppliers: A-B

5. Hand Family Co.
Clarksville, Tennessee
Case Volume: 39 million
Dollar Sales: $650 million in revenues
Principals: J.R. Hand
Major Suppliers: ABI

6. L. Knife & Son
Multistate
Case Volume: 35 million (est)
Dollar Sales: $750 million (est)
Principals: Timothy Sheehan 
Major Suppliers: A-B, Craft division

7. Columbia Distributing
Kent, Washington
Case Volume: 35 million
Dollar Sales: $675 million
Principals: Gregg Christiansen
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA, Pabst

8. Manhattan Beer Distributors
New York
Case Volume: 34,210,000
Dollar Sales: $735 million
Principals: Simon Bergson
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, Boston Beer

9. Glazer's Family of Cos.
Dallas, Texas
Case Volume: 31 million
Dollar Sales:  $560 million
Principals: Bennet Glazer
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

10. L&F Distributors, LTD 
The Rio Grand Valley, Texas
Case Volume: 30 million (est)
Dollar Sales: $480 million (est)
Principals: LaMantia family
Major Suppliers: ABI

11. Crescent Crown Distributing
Phoenix, AZ / New Orleans, LA
Case Volume: 28 million
Dollar Sales: $520 million
Principals: James R. Moffett Jr.
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

12. Gold Coast Beverage Distributors Inc.
Miami, Florida
Case Volume: 27 million
Dollar Sales: $648 million
Principals: Frank Schwiep
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

13. Andrews Distributing Cos.
Dallas, Texas
Case Volume: 26,635,145
Dollar Sales: $587,102,371
Principals: Barry Andrews
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

14. JJ Taylor Companies
Jupiter, Florida
Case Volume: 26.5 million
Dollar Sales: $495 million
Principals: John J. Taylor III
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, HUSA, Boston Beer

15. DBI Beverage
San Francisco, CA
Case Volume: 25,979,763
Dollar Sales: $497,321,075
Principals: Jeff Skinner
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, HUSA, Boston Beer

16. Topa Equities, Inc. (Anderson)
Los Angeles, California
Case Volume: 20 million (est.)
Dollar Sales: $420 million (est.)
Principals: John Anderson
Major Suppliers: ABI, Crown, Boston Beer

17. RA Jeffreys
North Carolina
Case Volume: 20 million (est.)
Dollar Sales: $360 million (est.)
Principals: Robert A. Jeffreys
Major Suppliers: A-B

18. Hensley Beverage Co.
Phoenix, AZ
Case Volume: 19,978,123
Dollar Sales: $372 million
Principals: Robert Delgado, the McCain family
Major Suppliers: A-B

19. Origlio Beverage
Philadelphia, PA
Case Volume: 19 million
Dollar Sales: $365 million
Principals: Origlio/Honickman
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Yuengling, Pabst  

20. Superior Beverage Group
Columbus, Ohio
Case Volume: 18 million
Dollar Sales: $339 million
Principals: John M. Antonucci
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

21. The Banko Family
New Jersey 
Case Volume: 17 million (est)
Dollar Sales: $240 million (est)
Principals: Mary Ellen (Banko) Racz
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

22. Heidelberg Distributing
Midwest
Case Volume: 16,614,779
Dollar Sales: $296,193,860
Principals: Vail Miller Jr. 
Major Suppliers: ABI, Crown, HUSA

23. Standard Sales Co., LP
Colorado Springs, CO
Case Volume: 15.6 million
Dollar Sales: $310 million
Principals: Lanny Layman
Major Suppliers: A-B

24. Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co.
Pittsburgh, PA 
Case Volume: 15,460,439
Dollar Sales: $242,378,905
Principals: Frank Fuhrer II 
Major Suppliers: A-B, Boston Beer, Crown

25. Monarch Beverage
Indianapolis, Indiana
Case Volume: 15,056,274
Dollar Sales: $254 million
Principals: Phillip A. Terry
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, Crown, HUSA

26. West Side Beer Distributing
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Case Volume: 15 million (est.)
Dollar Sales: $290 million (est.)
Principals: Don and Keith Klopcic
Major Suppliers: A-B, Boston Beer, NAB

27. Gulf Distributing Holdings
Alabama
Case Volume: 13,574,000
Dollar Sales: $249.5 million
Principals: Elliot Maisel
Major Suppliers: MillerCoors, HUSA, Crown

28. The House of LaRose
Brecksville, Ohio
Case Volume: 11.8 million
Dollar Sales: 182 million
Principals: LaRose family 
Major Suppliers: ABI

29. Houston Distributing Co.
Houston, Texas
Case volume:  11 million
Dollar sales:  $210 million
Major Suppliers:  MillerCoors, HUSA, Gambrinus
Principal:  Bo Huggins

30. Clare Rose 
East Yaphank, New York
Case Volume: 10,950,000
Dollar Sales: $210 million
Principals: Sean Rose
Major Suppliers: ABI, HUSA

KATZ Gets Interactive at SXSW!

Check out the Interactive Coasters that KATZ Americas have on display in the Blippar tent at this year's SXSW Festival!

Let us know what you think in the comments below or on our Twitter and Facebook pages!

The Case For Beer!

Thanks to Frugal Dad for the infographic and content!

Best Beer Bars in New Orleans!

Live Mardi Gras vicariously through our blog with our top 6 Craft Beer Bars in New Orleans! 

6) Crescent City Brewhouse
Not a craft bar as much as it is a brewery with a restaurant attached, CCB makes the list mostly because their house brew is crafted in small batches, and conforms to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. Also, the guy that makes it is a German dude named “Wolfram,” which you have to admit is pretty rad.

5) d.b.a.
Okay, so d.b.a. might have started off in Yankeeville New York and migrated down to New Orleans. Big deal. It's been nativized now, and this town is the better for it. Their draught selection may not be as impressive as some of these other spots (hence it's in at five), but it’s got a solid 20 taps, not to mention the fact that it's one of the best places in the city to catch a live show.

4) Abita Brew Pub
One of the best and largest homegrown breweries, any list such as this couldn’t ignore the Brew Pub in Abita Springs because you can uniquely sample draught versions of all of their offerings -- from favorites like Amber, Turbodog and Purple Haze to seasonals and harvest ales -- in one spot. Plus, they brew up some good food, too.

3) Cooter Brown’s Tavern
Cooter’s has always been a great place to knock back some raw oysters, but their vast beer menu takes it from a good spot to a great spot, with a stunning variety of international brewskis ranging from Slovakian Golden Pheasant, to Brazilian Xinghu, to Canada's Elephant Red, which ironically can make you forget.

2) The Bulldog
Say what you will about the jocular nature of the crowd at the Bulldog (as well as their dogs... and there are always dogs), it takes the number two spot here. Not just because of the selection (which is vast, at 160 and counting, incl. vaunted rarities like Mikkeller, and Clown Shoes), but because their draught beer never touches air until it reaches your glass, since the lines are pumped with CO2 and nitrogen. Not to mention the fact that they use a $5000 dishwasher & a detergent specifically designed to clean pint glasses.

1) The Avenue Pub
Easily taking the blue ribbon is the Avenue, the sine qua non of craft beer temples in the city, if not the state (and we’ll throw in Mississippi and Arkansas, too. And Delaware, because what are they gonna do about it?). With 40 brews on draught and more than triple that by the bottle, you’d be hard-pressed not to find something to satisfy even the nerdiest of beer nerds. Do they have Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break? Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout? Green Flash Citra Session? Yes, yes, and yes.



Thanks to thrillist.com for the content in this article.