AB Distributing Offers Free Beer to the Public

Beer connoisseurs, craft beer enthusiasts and those just looking to try something new now have an outlet to experiment with locally-carried labels without shelling out 10 bucks for a sixer, at AB Distributing’s monthly Taste Buds sampling event.

The free beer tasting kicked off last month with five beers carried by the AB brand, including the latest cider on the line, Johnny Appleseed, as well as Goose Island 312, Shock Top, Shock top Lemon Shandy and Cayman Jack.

General Manager of AB Distributing Brian Thomma said the objective behind the new project is to provide consumers an opportunity to try out different beer portfolios and familiarize themselves with beverages from suppliers apart from Anheuser-Busch that the company distributes locally.

“For years and years AB-Distributing has been exclusively an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler,” Thomma said. “Over the last four to five years we’ve started picking up some craft beers, some not-AB brands. The twist of Taste Buds was to try to get [the word] out that we have more brands than we have been known for forever.”

Among the products AB is now distributing are water, mixers, energy drinks and even milk, Thomma said, but Taste Buds will feature strictly beer, ranging from Texas crafts to well-known international labels such as Bass, Stella Artois and Beck’s.

Last month, approximately 35 people showed up for the sampling, and Thomma hopes to be able to expand upon that by bringing in brew masters to speak on the brands, and he is considering eventually adding a food-pairing element to the program.

“We carry Woodchuck and the rep has already agreed to come and do it that night,” Thomma says of an upcoming date. “He’ll be able to talk about the brands, and ciders are pretty interesting, some of the things we do with them, and those guys are just real passionate about it.”

The next Taste Buds sampling will take place on Thursday, June 19 from 5-7 p.m. at the AB Distributing warehouse at 3639 S. Jackson St. On the menu next week are four beers from Fredericksburg brewer Pedernales, as well as Ziegenbock.

The event is free and open to the public, with proper ID. No more than five three-ounce samples will be served to guests, and “wooden nickels” will be handed out at the door which patrons will redeem for beer.

“We know that there’s an audience out there for [experimentation] and we want to get them to try something,” Thomma said. “Some people are a little apprehensive about going to the store and spending 10 bucks on a six pack, even if it’s mix and match. We just want to give them a chance to be able to try it.”