Brick Brewing Company Expands Sales Relationship with The Kirkwood Group in Canada

TORONTO, Aug. 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Always striving to represent exceptional brands across Canada, The Kirkwood Group is pleased to announce an expanded partnership with Brick Brewing Company.  Following the successful management of the Canadian Prairie provinces, The Kirkwood Group will now be representing Brick's Waterloo craft premium beer and Seagram Ready-to-Drink (RTD) portfolio's in British Columbia, the Atlantic Provinces as well as the on-premise channel in Ontario.  

"We are thrilled to expand our representation of Brick's brands and build upon the already successful relationship we have with Brick Brewing Company," said Gord Haist, Chief Operating Officer for The Kirkwood Group.  "We look forward to expanding the brands' sales and marketing opportunities across the country and giving Canadians additional opportunities to savour brands they know and love as well as new brands that they have yet to try."

Waterloo Brewing Company is Ontario's original multi-award winning craft brewery and features Original Dark, Traditional IPA, Authentic Amber, Classic Pilsner, in addition to interesting seasonal brands including Grapefruit Radler.  The Seagram Cooler portfolio is a leader in the RTD category with offerings that include Seagram vodka-based Original Wildberry, Classic Lemonade, the Seagram 80 line-up; a low calorie offering with Black Cherry, and Mixed Berry, as well as Apple Cider.  The Seagram portfolio also includes a malt-based line-up of Orange Mango, Lemon Lime, Iced Lemon Tea, and Original Wildberry flavours.

"The Kirkwood Group was the clear choice to help lead the growth of our Waterloo and Seagram  trademarks in Canada," said George Croft, President and CEO of Brick Brewing.  "Their successful track record in managing our brands in the Prairie Provinces contributed to our decision and we look forward to growing and further strengthening our relationship."

The Kirkwood Group's increased representation of Waterloo and Seagram trademarks will come into effect in Q3 of Brick's fiscal year.

About The Kirkwood Group

Founded in 1998, The Kirkwood Group is a Canadian family drinks business representing producers of premium and prestige wines, spirits, ready-to-drinks and beer across the country.  These brands include national and international distributed brands such as Citadelle Gin, Kaiken Wines, Felix Solis wines, Iceberg Vodka, Flor de Cana rum, Mott's Caesars, Ian MacLeod, Blue Nun, House Spirits, Hood River Distillery, Dillon's Small Batch Distillery, MontGras wines, and Sileni wines. Additional information on this privately held company may be found at www.thekirkwoodgroup.com  

About Brick Brewing:

Brick is Ontario's largest Canadian-owned and Canadian-based publicly held brewery. The Company is a regional brewer of award-winning premium quality and value beers and is officially certified under British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards for Food Safety, one of the highest and most internationally recognized standards for safe food production. Founded in 1984, Brick Brewing Co. was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario, and is credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada. Brick has complemented its Waterloo brand premium craft beers with other popular brands such as Laker, Red Baron, Red Cap and Formosa Springs Draft. In March 2011, Brick purchased the Canadian rights to the Seagram Coolers and now produces, sells, markets and distributes Seagram Coolers across Canada. Brick trades on the TSX under the symbol BRB. Visit us at www.brickbeer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute forward looking statements as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "seek", "plan", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause actual performance and financial results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only at the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation does not undertake to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: The Kirkwood Group

Holly Wyatt, The Kirkwood Group, Vice President, Marketing, 905-849-4346 x124, [email protected]; George Croft, Brick Brewing Company, President and CEO, 519-498-9908