Surly Brewing Company has just signed a deal with Johnson Brothers, a St. Paul based liquor distributor, to become our newest Minnesota beer distributor.

We’ve been distributing our own beer since we sold the first Surly keg back in early 2006. Since then, we’ve grown our network to more than 500 bars, restaurants and liquor stores throughout the Twin Cities and at various locations across the state.

As demand for our beer continues to grow, we’re going to be working with Johnson Brothers to expand our network of on and off-premise accounts and find a more efficient way to distribute our beer. We’ll still be maintaining our relationships with beer distributors in the northwest Twin Cities suburbs, Duluth and Rochester.

By the end of 2014, we’ll be significantly increasing beer production at the Destination Brewery. Once the brewery is fully operational, Johnson Brothers, through its Artisan Beer Company, will help us distribute significantly more beer to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores across Minnesota. Surly couldn’t take its next steps without a partnership like this.

We wanted to work with someone who understood our company, and Johnson Brothers is the ideal partner. We’re both growing, family-owned Minnesota companies and it was clear that they understood the Surly way.

“We are extremely proud and excited to be partnering with Surly, one of this region’s truly great craft breweries,” said Todd Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of Johnson Brothers. “We look forward to working closely with Surly and helping make these fantastic beers available to even more beer lovers throughout Minnesota. They can’t build that new brewery soon enough.”