Get your Maharaja, The Czar, and White Rascal while you can.
Colorado-based Avery Brewing Co. announced Thursday it plans to withdraw from eight states and seven other partial-state markets beginning in April.
Faced with skyrocketing demand, the brewery chose to cut back, rather than lose the ability to support all markets with a steady supply of fresh beer.
Along with Arizona, beer shipments to Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Tennessee will cease, along with several partial-state markets. Avery says they hope to re-enter these states once production capacity can catch up with demand.
Avery is just one of several craft breweries to announce such cutbacks this year. In March, Denver-based brewery Great Divide announced it was pulling its beers from several regions, just weeks after Dogfish Head -- the 11th-largest craft brewery in the country -- announced it was pulling out of four states due to similar distribution issues.
While fans of Avery may be disappointed, this is actually a sign of a positive trend in the craft beer industry. The popularity of craft beer is exploding, with more converts every day -- and while Avery says it's saddened it had to make the decision, there are far worse things than being too popular.
