The Lion strikes up an alliance with Christian Moerlein

Modern Brewery Age, Oct 25, 2004

The Lion Brewery, of Wilkes-Barre, PA, has announced an alliance with the Christian Moerlein Brewing Co., an Ohio-based contract brewer.

Gregory Hardman, president of Christian Moerlein Brewing Co., will handle sales and marketing for the group. Previously, Hardman worked for Warsteiner Importers Agency, Inc. for 17 years, eventually becoming president of the company.

The Lion and Christian Moerlein plan to represent each other's products in their respective markets and provide marketing support to the brands.

"Integrated marketing efforts to include on-premise and off-premise promotions, will be held in order to create excitement and gain awareness of our premium portfolio of branded beers," Hardman says.

Chuck Lawson, president of the Lion, will run operations and administration for the companies. "This will provide us with significant savings and enable the two companies to focus more on the sales and marketing of our portfolio," he said.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. was founded in 1853, but left the business during Prohibition. The brand was revived in the 1980s by Hudepohl-Schoenling, and has had several ownership changes since.