Local beer distributors hopping with every Phillies win
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Phillies love their beer. Moments after they clinched the NLDS, the crew wheeled in cold bottles of Anheuser-Busch where players drank up and celebrated.
This kind of beer, area distributors say, is in high demand at local bars and restaurants.
The bar manager at Chickie's and Pete's in South Philadelphia, says with the Philly Sports world is on fire, she's doubling the amount of beer she's ordering this week.
It's a busy day at Penn Beer Sales & Service in Hatfield, Montgomery County. The wholesaler stores and ships beer to eight counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
"We have thousands of bars, beer distributors and supermarkets that are all purchasing more beer. And we're really doing well," John Derenzi, Penn Beer Sales & Service Vice President of consumer connections, said.
Derenzi says demand for beer has been up ever since the Phillies made the playoffs two weeks ago.
"'You have larger accounts down by the stadium, like Xfinity Live!, which is probably getting 20 pallets of beer today," Derenzi said.
That equates to more than 28,000 bottles of beer.
"As the Phillies move on, and you have the other sports teams opening. The Sixers opened last night, the Flyers are hot, the Eagles are super hot, beer sales are through the roof right now. Very good for us," Derenzi said.
The Penn Beer Sales & Service facility in Hatfield is 330,000 square feet, so employees use a golf cart to get around. This area alone has thousands of cases of beer, and by this time next week all this product will be shipped out.
"Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra are the big sellers right now. Everybody's on top of them. The Budweiser brand is the sponsor of the Phillies," Derenzi said.
Earlier this year, there was a beer shortage due to supply chain issues, but Derenzi says now the supply has skyrocketed. Hundreds of trucks are leaving this warehouse every day and they say there are enough drivers to meet the demand.
"Our drivers do a great job here and they are working some overtime to get all the beer out in time," Derenzi said.
Derenzi says the company will be even busier if the Phillies make the World Series.
