Direct-to-Consumer Beer Sales Become a Lifeline for Breweries

“Summer vacationers stream to Rhode Island’s sandy Westerly beaches, soaking up sunshine while sipping beers from Grey Sail Brewing. The local stalwart, founded in 2011, is known for Captain’s Daughter, a hazy double IPA that’s distributed in five states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

But sales sometimes stop after fans leave Westerly; not every tourist lives near a store that sells Grey Sail. This spring, the brewery partnered with ecommerce platform LiquidRails to ship its beer to customers’ distant homes. Rekindling warm memories of cold Captain Daughter’s is now a click away. “We’re able to serve our consumers that live elsewhere and grow [our business],” says Carey Beralderi, the director of sales.”