Vanberg and DeWulf founders, Don Feinberg & Wendy Littlefield, penned a final note to the V&D email list on Wednesday as they transition the company to new ownership, Total Beverage Solution. They included a sneak peek of some things to come in the second half of the year. More below…

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Good Afternoon Friends,

For the last several years you’ve been receiving regular updates from us about beer history, limited edition pre-order opportunities, beer & food pairings, recipes, exemplary beer programs run by your colleagues, beer travel tips as well as Coast-to-Coast Toast prep updates.

Most of you already know that, after thirty-three years of proselytizing on behalf of independent family-run brewers, Don and I hand-picked our successors to carry on the good fight. These are the fine folks of TBS (Total Beverage Solution) based in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina who, in the space of a little over a decade, have built a company with nearly $50 million in sales – encompassing fine spirits and wines, as well as beers. We conveyed to them the rights to the beers in the Vanberg & DeWulf portfolio. We and the brewers have every confidence that TBS will be excellent stewards of the collection and great partners for you. […]

You will want to remain subscribed if you want to receive early alerts and pre-order opportunities on new, notable & rare beers in the collection and stories that will help you present the beers in distinctive ways. There are lots of exciting developments coming down the pike in the second half of 2014. In a few short weeks the official beer of Philly Beer Week debuts. This collaboration between Brewery Dilewyns (aka Vicaris) and Dock Street that was brewed in Dendermonde in February. It’s a honey of a beer called Philly Tripel. Soon thereafter, look for Vicaris Quinto and Tripel Gueuze from Anne Catherine Dilewyns. Olivier Dedeycker of Brasserie Dupont experimented with challenger hops cultivated in Belgium for the Cuvee 2014 Dry Hopping of Saison Dupont. The effect of the dry hopping is most remarkable–crisper and even more refreshing on the tongue. In June, the Christmas beers will be announced – one among them, the rare and prized Scaldis Prestige de Nuits, named one of “100 Best Beers in the World” on RateBeer.com. The 2014 Lambickx and Lambrucha sour blends have been bottled and the arrival is imminent. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

It has been a privilege, honor and pleasure to work with you. Thank you for the truly vital role you have played in giving access and exposure to our beers in your markets. We will be following your progress with interest. Please stay tuned and support TBS. Let us know if there is anything we can do to make the transition easy for you.

All best wishes,
Don & Wendy