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For over 17 years, Mario Edmonds has worked at Merrimack Valley Distributing in Danvers, Massachusetts.  As a forklift/ truck driver, Mario is on the front lines of the distributing process making sure cases and cases of beer get to where they need to be to ensure consumers have a diverse selection of beer at their local retailer.  

Beer distributors in Massachusetts are some of the hardest working people in this business during Super Bowl week. See how Williams Distributing in Chicopee gets the beer out to consumers in time for the big game. 

The ability of small brewers to gain access to the marketplace through independent distributors is a major reason that small brewers are able to exist at all.  Without independent distributors, most small brewers would have to cope with far less access to the market and consumers, and far lower growth rates.

Want to learn more about beer distributing in America?  Watch this video from NBWA on  the history of America's state-based regulatory system, the three-tier system and the regulatory, economic and commercial value of independent beer distributors in promoting public safety and access to market for all brewers of all sizes.

In part I of his two-part column for Brewbound Voices, Shumway describes the inner workings of a beer distributor and begins to explain how these organizations are evolving to accommodate an onslaught of new craft SKUs