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Detroit's Atwater Brewery is bringing its beers to Chicago.
The craft beer company was acquired last year by Tenth & Blake Beer, the U.S. craft division of Molson Coors, for an undisclosed amount. Atwater is among the top 10 craft brewers by volume and sales in Michigan.
Chicago, and eventually the rest of Illinois, will be an important market for Atwater, says Mark Rieth, who first invested in the brewery in 2002 and bought it in 2005. Detroit transplants in Chicago have been asking for it, and Molson Coors' distribution network will make it possible.
"The Molson Coors partnership has really put us in a great spot to be able to launch the market properly," Rieth says. "We put a lot of time, effort and energy prior to bringing our product to Chicagoland. . . .Now it's time."
The beer trucks left March 1 from Detroit, Rieth says. Atwater's products are expected to hit Chicago retailers' shelves by this week.
The goal is to get some tap handles into bars and restaurants in...