No more Samuel Adams for Singapore

Beer Importers & Distributors (BID) have officially confirmed that they are no longer distributing Samuel Adams here in Singapore.

But this development has been looming on the horizon for a while: ever since New South Wales, Australia-based BID lost its distribution rights for the American craft beer brand – ranked by the Brewers Association as the biggest US craft brewer in terms of sales volume in 2013 – to Coca-Cola Amatil for the Australian market end of last year, Singapore’s supply, which BID’s Singapore office gets by way of Australia, had been under threat. Coca-Cola Amatil had signed a long-term exclusive agreement with the Boston Beer Company to distribute Samuel Adams, in Australia effective from mid-December 2013. It seems BID’s stocks of Samuel Adams in Singapore – it used to distribute the Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Samuel Adams Noble Pils – must have finally been depleted.

Samuel Adams had been a flagship brand for BID in both Australia and Singapore, and is believed to represent a large portion of the company’s turnover; BID’s managing director Franck Berges, had in November last year told Australian liquor trade online newspaper TheShout he was disappointed to have lost one of his key brands. “But we’ll wear it – we’ll rebuild with another brand,” he had said.

Losing Samuel Adams must have been the key reason for BID recently picking up the rights to distribute Abita Springs, Louisiana-based Abita Brewing Company for Australia and Singapore earlier this year. But Abita may not have quite the same pull: it’s ranked at No.15 on the same chart where Samuel Adams is No. 1.