Drink like a native

BY GINA DAUGHERTY | CIN

Crack Open an Ice-Cold Hudy Here...
Pesslers Distribution site and retail store: 256 Monitor Ave.

Jeff's Drive-Thru & Carry Out, Bridgetown and Mack

Hoerst Drive Thru, Taylors Creek

Back's Delicatessen & Drive Thru, Harrison

Delhi House Drive Thru, Saylor Park

The Scoreboard Lounge, Delhi

Abby's Pub And Grill, Dent

Going native
1. Eat like a native
2. Drink like a native
3. Endless love
4. Bad name, great game
5. Say what?

The availability of Hudepohl brands has been nothing short of a buzz kill on Cincinnati shelves this past year.

Little Kings lovers, Hudy Delight fans and Christian Moerlein drinkers have been clamoring at the counter, largely to no avail.

But the people negotiating the sale of the brands say that Christian Moerlein was sold two weeks ago to a "local company," and the infusion of money has allowed them to ramp up production of Hudy Delight and Little Kings Cream Ale.

"We're looking at a steady running of the brewery," says Mark Dottore, CEO of Dottore Cos. in Cleveland, which is running Snyder International Brewing Group Inc., the parent company of Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. He says he cannot reveal the buyer for another week, but he says the company is in the southwest Ohio tristate area.

"Right away we'll see Little Kings and Hudepohl brands back on the shelves. We got an infusion of cash with the sale of Christian Moerlein to help keep up with demand."

Demand for Hudy Delight and Little Kings -- the little green grenades, as they are affectionately called because of their 7-ounce size -- has never faltered, says J.D. Willett, manager of Beer House Distributors in Newport.

"Oh my god, they're burning up my phones for it -- retailers and customers," he says. "If you've been drinking a brand for 40 years, then you want it."

But getting it to shelves has been problematic. Production has been spotty, leaving retailers who normally carried the brands -- such as Keller's IGA in Clifton -- with empty shelf space. Manager Brian Valerius says the store was forced to stock other beers in its place.

Dottore says the sale of Christian Moerlein will allow the company to boost production from lows of 3,000 barrels a month back up to 5,000 to 6,000 barrels a month. It will also stop the on-and-off production that has disappointed customers and retailers.

"The real story here is that in the Midwest, the economy is in terrible condition, but our production is anything but slow," says Dottore. "It's shameful how busy we are. There has been plenty of demand."

Filling that demand as much as possible has been Pessler Distributing Co. in Saylor Park, which focuses exclusively on Hudepohl-Schoenling brands. Manager Jim Pessler says he has been able to keep some 300 bars and retailers flush with kegs, 24 packs and six packs.

As for the future of the rest of the Hudepohl brands, Dottore says there are several people interested in buying.

Cheers to that.