Revolver Brewing, maker of Blood & Honey, is continuing its march outward from its Texas home, starting next week by launching in Arkansas.
Then in July, the Granbury, Texas-based craft brewer will start selling beer in Missouri and Kansas, marking the seventh and eighth states where Revolver is available at retail. That follows its expansion into New Mexico, Oklahoma, western Louisiana and eastern Tennessee over the past year.
Finally, in September, it will release the newest packaged beer to its core lineup, a Mexican-style lager called Mi Chéve, which translates to "My Beer" in Spanish slang used in northern Mexico.
“With the strong influence Mexican culture has on Texas, this is a beer that just makes sense for us,” says Manuel Gutierrez, vice president of sales and field marketing for Revolver.
The easy-drinking pale lager is brewed with Vienna malt and Saphir hops and checks in at 4.8% alcohol-by-volume, which gives the brewery another sessionable option, Gutierrez says.
Mi Chéve will launch in cans in Texas in September and is slated to expand throughout the brewery’s distribution footprint in 2020. It joins flagship Blood & Honey, Full-Tang IPA, Hop Device IPA and Long-Range Pils in the brewery’s core lineup.
The brand overall is up 10.1 percent year-to-date in sales volume, according to Nielsen cross-channel data through June 1.
Revolver’s expansion into three new states this summer continues its deliberate, step-by-step approach to brand-building that stokes demand and name recognition in new markets before it arrives.
“It’s a regional strategy building concentric rings around the brewery,” says Revolver co-founder Rhett Keisler. “When you look at where we’ve had success, Oklahoma shot the lights out for us, and we think it’s because there’s a lot of influence going up the I-35 corridor from Dallas-Fort Worth to Oklahoma City.”
Keisler is optimistic that influence extends into Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri as well. “When we were in Kansas, people would recognize the Revolver logo on my shirt and compliment us on our beer. They’re ready for it,” he says.
A recent test in eastern Tennessee is proving that the brand has appeal even in places where brand recognition isn’t as high. The brand’s sales teams secured more than 160 draft placements of Blood & Honey at launch, and now drinkers are asking for it at retail.
“We’re liking what we’re seeing in Tennessee,” Keisler says. “It bodes well for us long-term.”