USA: United States Beverage completes agreement With Grolsch in the U.S.

United States Beverage and Grolsch International announced on March 2 that they have reached an agreement for United States Beverage to end their representation of Grolsch in the United States effective April 1, 2006.

"United States Beverage and our distributor network have done a terrific job building Grolsch during the past four years. When we began importing the brand, it was experiencing double digit sales declines with limited distribution and focus. As the new importer, United States Beverage created a much more contemporary brand position with updated packaging while enhancing the Grolsch distribution network that has been providing double digit growth. In fact, in the year 2005 Grolsch sales increases were double that of the over-all import category," said Joseph J. Fisch, CEO of United States Beverage. "Our team also developed and successfully tested and introduced nationally Grolsch Light Lager, selected by a major trade publication as one of "Best New Products of 2005." I am very proud of the work and the value that we have added to the Grolsch brand and we wish them continued success in the future."

"For United States Beverage this change allows us to open our doors for additional imported and craft beers. Over the past four years we have focused exclusively on Grolsch in the import sector. Moving forward, we will be able to apply our efforts and competencies toward several premium brands."

"United States Beverage has built the Grolsch brand to a great level from which Anheuser-Busch can grow the brand. We thank them for their hard work and wish them continued success," said Rob Snel, President, Grolsch International.

Industry consultant Seymour L. Leikind, of Leikind Consulting, L.L.C. of Manhattan, comments on this matter, "United States Beverage deserves tremendous kudos for their work with Grolsch. The USB commitment to utilize the full extent of its sales and marketing resources worked magic for Grolsch. Bottom line, USB increased Grolsch sales and distributor efforts significantly. USB deserves an A+ for its accomplishments. "

About United States Beverage

United States Beverage is a premium imported / craft beer and specialty malt beverage sales and marketing company located in Stamford, Connecticut. U.S. Beverage provides a national distribution network for a portfolio of premium brands.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .