WOW! DISTRIBUTOR BUYS MILLER BRANDS

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

Miller Brands-Milwaukee, LLC, local distributor of Miller products including Foster's, Leinenkugel's and Pilsner Urquell, will be bought by Beer Capitol according to industry sources.
The Madrigano family, owners of Beer Capitol and W.O.W. Distributing has been consolidating its control over much beer distribution in the state, and recently purchased Beloit Beverage from the Morello family. This consolidation has led to logistic and economic efficiencies, perhaps at the risk of loss of competition.
Only rival distributor Beechwood Distributors, Inc., which carries Budweiser and other brands and the much smaller General Beer Distributors with no major brands, remain in this market. Beechwood has been particularly aggressive now that Miller Beer is no longer considered a local brand, thus removing much sales resistance that existed for St. Louis beer in these parts.
Aldo Madrigano, the head of W.O.W., was named Chairman of the National Beer Wholesalers Association on October, 2007, as we noted here.
The NBWA considers itself to be the "guardian of the 21st Amendment," which repealed Prohibition and established the three-tier [Producer - Wholesaler - Retailer] distribution system for alcoholic beverages.
Beer distributors operate with exclusive arrangements with brewers in their geographic areas. Their contracts with brewers are virtually perpetual, and they usually mark up their product 30 per cent. Brewers who seek new distributors must pay damages to their old distributors.
To call beer distributing is a racket would be an insult to organized crime. It is so much more!
Neither Madrigano or Steve Johnson of Miller Brands returned a call asking for comment by press time.

BUTLER TAPPED TO HEAD ALCOHOL TASK FORCE
It was announced this afternoon, Tuesday, August 19th, 2008, that Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. has appointed former Wisconsin Supreme court Justice Louis B. Butler, Jr. to head the city's Alcoholic Beverages Licensing Task Force to study possible improvements in the granting of liquor licenses here. Hines created the panel in the wake of former Ald. Michael McGee's conviction in Federal Court on extortion and bribery charges related to the granting of licenses in his 6th aldermanic district.
And all along I was counting on former aldermen Marvin Pratt or Fred Gordon to get the job!
--Michael Horne