![\"VeteranBeer\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/VeteranBeer.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
Many of the salesmen I rode with while working on a Coors truck during my college years were Korean War vets, but the majority of the managers were World War II vets.\u00a0 Likewise, the sales manager at Schepps Distributing during my tenure was\u00a0a bomber pilot during WWII.\u00a0 These vets were all professionals and very hard workers.<\/p>\n
While\u00a0VP of sales with Coors in San Antonio, the president of the company was a retired Air Force colonel (later promoted to brigadier general) and former astronaut, the 10th man on the moon. In addition, we\u00a0had several employees in the sales department who were Vietnam vets.\u00a0 A couple of them came to Coors of Kansas to work with me.\u00a0 Two of these vets were able to land jobs at AB houses in key positions.\u00a0 Recently I had the opportunity to work with some returning vets from Desert Storm and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Last summer I was invited to participate in a fund-raising event at a golf and ski resort in the UP of Michigan.\u00a0 The golf tournament helped raise money to enable the purchase of adapted\u00a0ski sleds designed to give special needs children the ability to ski.\u00a0 While there I had the privilege of meeting a gentleman by the name of Paul Jenkins, a Naval Academy graduate and former Navy pilot.<\/p>\n
After leaving the Navy, Paul decided to pursue a career enabling vets the ability to find meaningful work.\u00a0 He came upon the idea of starting a craft brewing company that employed only war veterans.\u00a0 After doing quite a bit of research he started The Veterans Beer Company<\/i>.\u00a0 Along the way he received support from many industry people, including Pete Coors, who provided technical expertise on brewing and helped with some potential distributor interviews.<\/p>\n
Veteran, headquartered in Chicago, currently brews two beers: The Veteran<\/i>, an American lager, and The Blonde Bomber<\/i>, a blond ale. \u00a0Both beers are contract brewed by other veterans.\u00a0 All of Paul’s employees are vets.\u00a0 The beers are currently available in only two states: Illinois and Indiana.\u00a0\u00a0 According to Paul, sales are ahead of plan and Veterans has received wide publicity, being featured in national news reporting including Fox News and The Today Show. 2014 will bring plans to expand the company.<\/p>\n
Distributors and retailers are swamped with all the new beers that have hit the market during this craft implosion.\u00a0 Decisions must be made as to which breweries a distributor will represent and those decisions are made given a number of key considerations.\u00a0 Regardless of what those key components are, there needs to be a story behind the beer.\u00a0 As a distributor, I could not think of a better story to tell my customers, or offer a beer with a more compelling story than that of Veterans Beer.<\/p>\n