In a twist to recent trends, Anheuser-Busch (AB) announced that they are buying an independent, family-owned distribution house in Bellingham, Washington. Sound Beverage Distributors covers Whatcom, Skagit, and Island counties north of Seattle. In addition to the AB portfolio, they carry several craft beer brands and specialty imports.
Sound Beverage was founded by Dale and Elaine Shintaffer in 1950 and has been owned and operated by the Shintaffer family since.
The acquisition is a noted exception to the trend over the past few years of AB selling off its company owned wholesalers to private concerns.
The Shintaffer family is well-known in the local area, and they have been a longtime supporter of local and regional craft breweries. The company currently sells about 15 regional craft brands.
It is unknown if AB will keep any of the craft brands in the portfolio, or if they will be an “exclusive” AB house.