Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day from Skeff Distributing! We hope you are currently enjoying the day off with an ice cold Bud Light in your hand or soon will have one placed there by the best of your friends.

Bud Light Party

Today is a great day to take your time, enjoy yourself and reflect on all the hard work you’ve done so far this year. Then give yourself a pat on the back, and perhaps give your friend, your significant other, your kid, or your coworker one, too! That’s exactly what we at Skeff Distributing are going to do.

We are dedicating today’s blog post to the members of Team Skeff.

Thank you for all the hard work you do day-in and day-out to sell, market, deliver, and merchandise the beer and non-alcoholic beverages that keep our fridges stocked and for making sure our families are provided for by doing so. Our business could not run without all the pieces of this well-oiled machine.

We toast in your honor today and thank you for all the labor you put in throughout the year – especially in the hot summer months and the busy holiday season, when our workload is more than enough to keep us occupied. Enjoy the day, and know we are grateful for you … and for the day to reflect on a job well done.

Cheers!

Best Damn Hard Tea: The Best Way to Toast Summer’s End

We both know that one of the best things you can have on a hot summer’s day is a tall glass of iced tea. Now, Best Damn Brewing Company had our enjoyment in mind when they brewed up a big ol’ batch and brewed it hard.

Best Damn Hard Tea (5.5% ABV) takes a classic summertime American favorite and kicked it up a notch. It has the “refreshingly smooth iced tea taste” that comes from being aged on real black tea leaves. Then they put that delicious cold brew in 6-pack 12 oz. bottles and 25 oz. cans to make it easier for you to enjoy or to pour over ice!

BD Hard Tea - Original

And that’s not all. If you like a little flavor to your tea, try Best Damn Hard Tea – Peach! It’s “brewed with natural peach flavors for a delightful hint of sweetness.”

BD Hard Tea - Peach

These hard teas are the best way to toast summer’s end and get ready for the fall, football, and the kids heading back to school! So, the next time you’re at your local supermarket or liquor store, be sure to pick up a 6-pack or grab a few 25 oz. cans to toast the end of summer.

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Cheers!

It’s Not a Party without the Ritas!

Summer is a season of barbeques, backyard get-togethers, and parties of all sorts. It is a time to gather your friends and family, and enjoy days spent outdoors doing whatever you like best to fight the heat or embrace it!

At Skeff Distributing, we enjoy doing much the same thing once the day’s work is done. The only thing we would change to this recipe for fun is to add the Party-With-Ritas Variety pack. Now, it’s a party.

Party with Ritas Variety Pack

If you haven’t picked up a Party-With-Ritas pack yet, and you’re planning your next soirée with your friends – add it to the list! You will find a flavor in this pack for everyone. Whether your guests prefer the originals – Lime-A-Rita and Straw-Ber-Rita – or you like to mix it up with whatever might be the latest addition to the Rita family – like Mang-O-Rita and Pine-Apple-Rita – they will find something to please their taste buds!

This 12-pack of 12 oz. bottles in the latest sleek design is only available for a limited time, though, so be sure you strike while the iron (or the weather, rather) is hot! This variety pack is sure to perk up any party.

Whether you’re in the backyard firing up the grill, at the lake boating, or just having some friends over to catch up, the Party-With-Ritas Variety pack is sure to be a party pleaser! After all, it’s not a party without the Ritas.

Cheers!

Party with Ritas Flavors.png

Visit Us in the Bud Tent at the Illinois State Fair!

Illinois State Fair 2018

Oh, what fun we have planned for you in the Bud Tent at the Illinois State Fair this year, August 9-19!

First, there’s the entertainment. Live music is always a must at the Bud Tent, and we’ve done everything we can to bring it to you every day and night of the fair! Pop in for your favorites or to discover a new favorite at the following dates and times:

  • 9th – 7:30pm Take 10
  • 10th
    • 5pm Smashtag
    • 9pm After Sunset
  • 11th
    • 1pm Tennessee Borderline*
    • 5pm Brandy Kristin & The Revival*
    • 9pm NCR*
  • 12th
    • 1pm NCR*
    • 5pm Lady Luck*
    • 9pm Exit 52
  • 13th – 6:30pm Wreckless Whiskey
  • 14th
    • 5pm Madd Hoss Jackson*
    • 9pm Betty Whitesnake
  • 15th
    • 5pm Smashtag
    • 9pm Broseph
  • 16th
    • 5pm Feudin’ Hillbillys
    • 9pm The Devin Clemons Band
  • 17th
    • 5pm Wreckless Whiskey*
    • 9pm Take 10
  • 18th
    • 1pm The Josh Holland Band
    • 5pm The Get Down*
    • 9pm Imagine That Band
  • 19th
    • 1pm Diversion*
    • 5pm NCR*

There will also be ticket giveaways to Illinois State Fair concerts and the Demolition Derby as well as Budweiser swag giveaways. Our longtime Bud Tent bud Mikey’s Entertainment is celebrating 20 years with us and is giving away a number of prizes for party games at the Bud Tent shows indicated with an asterisk above.

As if that’s not enough, you can also join us for trivia and a Democratic Day party in the Bud Tent as well!

  • Tuesday 8/14 – Budweiser Trivia 5pm. Win Budweiser Gear
  • Wednesday 8/15 – Budweiser Trivia 5pm. Win Budweiser Gear
  • Friday 8/17 – Democratic Day Party, All Day!

Of course, you know there will always be plenty of your favorite beer brands from Skeff Distributing available for your drinking pleasure! We’re looking forward to seeing you in the Bud Tent in just a few days at the Illinois State Fair.

Cheers!

Decatur Celebration: End of Summer Bash

This weekend is one of the town’s longstanding favorite summer events – the Decatur Celebration. So scratch off those plans you thought you had made and write “DC18” in their place.

Friday, August 3rd through Sunday, August 5th take your fun to the streets of downtown Decatur. You will find all the things you love about this event from the carnival to the food to the Razzle Dazzle Parade. Plus, you can watch the Battle of the Bands or enter the Heinkel Hot Dog Eating contest, the Miss Illinois Festival Pageant, or put your tike into the Adorable Baby Contest. There’s fun to be had for the whole family at all ages.

And for the adults…we can enjoy some adult beverages such as Budweiser and Bud Light on draft or Pine-Apple-Rita and Straw-Ber-Rita throughout the Celebration. Or make our way to the wine and craft beer garden to sip on a great selection of wine and beer:

  • Golden Road Palisades Pineapple
  • BrewDog Elvis Juice
  • Urban Chestnut Big Shark
  • Kona Big Wave
  • Firestone Walker Lager

Then, folks, it is time for the musical entertainment! Head to the Bud Light Show Stage for your chance to see the following acts bound to delight your ears!

  • Corner of Franklin and Eldorado
  • Broseph
  • Jessie G
  • Gretchen Wilson
  • DJ Mondo
  • T.I.
  • Battle of the Bands Winner
  • Josh Holland Band
  • Country Financial $1k drawings and 50/50 raffle
  • Daughtry

We’ll see you downtown at the Decatur Celebration – the best end-of-summer bash – cheers!

 

Downhome Music Fest: Your Plans this Weekend!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Look no further. Skeff Distributing is here to share our weekend plans with you. We’re heading to Springfield for the Downhome Music Fest on July 27–28.

Make your way downtown to the corner of 7th and Washington this Friday and Saturday. You will find plenty to entertain and intrigue you Downhome. There are 3 stages of live music from local bands to keep you constantly entertained. Check out the lineup and see which bands you may want to mark your calendar to be sure to see or for those you may want to happen upon while you’re there!

Downhome Music Fest 7-27..28-18

Local food vendors will also be there to share their best festival foods and keep you sustained throughout the weekend. Then wash that snack down with one of the 100 different craft beers available. Skeff Distributing will be there to help you with that, so be sure to stop by the beer booths for some from our portfolio.

Downhome Music Fest is a family-friendly event, so bring the kids! There are areas designed just for them to play and have a good time, so you can do the same.

We’ll see you Downhome, this weekend!

Cheers.

 

Grape-Fruit-Rita at C-Stores Near You!

You may have noticed a new member of the Rita Family in 25 oz. cans at your local convenience store. We’re here to tell you to go ahead and give it a try!

Grape-Fruit-RitaGrape-Fruit-Rita (8% ABV) combines the sweet juiciness of a ruby grapefruit with the twist of a margarita you already know and love. So it begs the question – why wouldn’t you try it? With the familiar flavor of the margarita and grapefruit, what’s not to like?

Again, we will tell you the answer – nothing. There is nothing wrong with it, and everything right about it. It’s deliciously sweet and tart and will make the flavored malt beverage lover in your friend group the happiest person in the world, if you are kind enough to buy them one and introduce them to it.

It will sure make you a hero – even if you did pick it up at the last minute on your way to the party because you forgot to put it on your grocery list and your crazy workweek distracted you every day since! We know how it goes and that’s why we keep those coolers at the c-store near you stocked with 25 oz. cans of Grape-Fruit-Rita!

Cheers!

Balloons Over Vermilion

balloons over Vermilion logo 2018

If you haven’t been to Balloons Over Vermilion in the past couple years, here is your chance to rectify that! Head to Danville for the 3rd annual hot air balloon event at the Vermilion County Airport Friday, July 13th through Sunday, July 15th. There’s fun for the whole family at this event, and it gives you something to do during the day or night!

Get your tickets at the gate, starting at 3 p.m. on Friday or 1 p.m. on Saturday, for just $5 admission and $5 parking (cash only, please)! Kids under 10 years old are free with each paid adult, so it’s a budget friendly event for the family as well.

Once you are in, you will find food, live music and entertainment, and vendors with wares to peruse and buy left and right. Of course, there will also be craft beer and Bud Light delivered by yours truly, Skeff Distributing. Be sure to stop by the beer stands to whet your whistle while you have a look-see around the event!

There are tethered rides, balloon fly outs, balloon school, and – one of our personal favorites – a balloon glow at night! Balloons will light up the Vermillion County Airport with color and fun that everyone is sure to enjoy.

Then again, balloons aren’t the only thing available to enjoy at Balloons Over Vermilion. You can make your way through the car show checking out all the wheels out for your viewing pleasure, go for a helicopter ride and see the view from above, or play in the sand volleyball tournament. No matter what you do or where you go at Balloons Over Vermilion, you are sure to find something that will please everyone in the family (and how easy is that ever to achieve?) and have a great time.

We’ll see you there! Cheers!

Bud Light Blue Wave Visits Skeff Distributing!

Skeff Distributing got a visit from the town crier along with the Bud Light team who were traveling the land on the Bud Light Blue Wave to share the King’s message during the month of May. They began their journey in New York City and traversed down the East Coast, stopping in South Carolina, Florida, and a number of other cities and states along the way.

They traveled on the Bud Light Coach Bus to the Southeast and made their way to the Midwest. In just three weeks and the Bud Light team visited 35 wholesalers, and Skeff Distributing just so happened to be one of them!

The team was tasked with sharing the King’s message and getting wholesalers fired up about the Bud Light messaging and the summer season. The bus stopped at Skeff Distributing for a meeting with our Sales team on May 16th and showed the impact of the latest Bud Light multimedia messaging for Dilly Dilly has had.

Our team of course dressed the part in our best Bud Light attire and welcomed the town crier and the Bud Light Team as they pulled in the lot. We met for a couple of hours in our large conference room, which was decked out in Bud Light blue and the latest display pieces you’ll see in stores.

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It was a great visit and sure got our team excited for summer and the direction of Bud Light. We hope you feel the same as you see the work of Team Skeff in your favorite stores, bars, and restaurants!

This summers is going to be one big, Blue Wave!

Dilly Dilly!

 

Interested in a Lifetime Supply of Shock Top? Shock. Scratch. Win.

Shock Top Shock Scratch Win 5_30_18

Now that we have your interest piqued. The rest is pretty easy. All you have to do is Shock. Scratch. Win.

Head to a participating bar or restaurant of your choice and enter the Shock Top sweepstakes by ordering a Shock Top bottle or on draft. Then, scratch off the game piece, and you may just find yourself a winner!

There is a 1 in 10 chance that the bottle you ordered or the drafts poured prove you a winner. You could win a lifetime supply of Shock Top or one of the other great prizes available, including coupons for Lyft, Touch Tones, Dominoes, and Fandango.

Of course, you must be 21 to enter with a limit of one entry per person per day.

To see official rules and even more details about the sweepstakes, visit the following links:

Spend your summer looking forward to what’s ahead with Shock Top and enter for a chance to win Shock Top for life.

Cheers!

Memorial Day: Service Never Stops

Happy Memorial Day from Skeff Distributing! We hope you are enjoying yourself and your long weekend. While you heat up the grill and pour yourself a Budweiser, take a moment remember what this weekend is all about.

We honor the soldiers of the U.S. military who made the ultimate sacrifice. We thank them for their service and enjoy every day the freedom their sacrifice ensured.

They aren’t the only ones who sacrificed or the only ones we honor this weekend, though. We often forget that there are whole families behind the servicemen and women we see in uniform. These families are who keep the home-fires burning and who are left to carry on after their spouse or parent didn’t make it home.

This year, Budweiser got its team of veteran brewers to help honor both the fallen soldiers and their families by brewing a beer with its own connections to the military. Inspired by a recipe found in George Washington’s military journal from the 1700’s – Budweiser Freedom Reserve red lager will have you thinking red, white, and blue.

That’s not even the best part about this patriotic brew. Budweiser also committed to donating $1 to Folds of Honor for every case of Budweiser Freedom Reserve sold and to provide scholarships to families of fallen military men and women. See for yourself the impact these scholarships have and why service never stops:

Cheers to all the fallen soldiers and their families – this Bud’s for you! Happy Memorial Day!

Cousin Eddie’s Vegas Giveaway: May 30th!

Head to Cousin Eddie’s this May for a chance to win a free trip to Las Vegas!

All you have to do is come to Cousin Eddie’s on any of the three qualifying Wednesday nights and sign up for a chance to win. Qualifiers will be selected each of the first three Wednesdays, and put those lucky people one step closer to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Be sure to qualify on the following Wednesday nights…

Cousin Eddie's Vegas Giveaway 5-30-18

…before the final night on May 30th, when a trip to Las Vegas will be given away. The trip includes a flight voucher and hotel stay, as well as the winner’s choice of when to take their Vegas getaway!

While you’re at it, you can enjoy Bud Light 16 oz. draft and Budweiser Family bucket specials! Plus, there will be other prizes and swag given away, including:

  • Budweiser or Bud Light coolers
  • Goose Island tumblers
  • And more

Put your name into the hat for some great Skeff Distributing swag and a chance to win the trip. You just may find yourself leaving with more than you came with!

Cheers!

Bud Light Orange: The New Taste of Summer

You are about to start seeing something new on the shelves from the brewers of Bud Light. Introducing the new taste of summer – Bud Light Orange!

We are excited to put this citrus spin on Bud Light on the shelves for you this summer. Brewed with real orange peels Bud Light Orange (4.2% ABV) will be available in 12 oz. bottles and cans, but only for a limited time. It will only be on shelves and in your favorite bars and restaurants for the summer season.

Enjoy Bud Light Orange and its fresh, citrus taste in every sip this summer. You can drink it by the pool, on the lake, or on the back porch as you watch the sunset. No matter what you do or where you sit to sip on a Bud Light Orange this summer, you’re sure to enjoy it and this new twist on Bud Light.

Be sure to watch for it on shelves and on beer menus this summer. Pick up a pack or order it from the barkeep, sit back, sip, and relax.

Cheers!

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Summer Hours: Coming Soon!

Warmer weather is just around the corner, and Goose Island is getting us ready for it by brewing Summer Hours.

Goose Summer Hours (5.5% ABV) has a “crisp and refreshing lager that has a light, bready malt character balanced with a clean Noble hop flavor aroma.” It’s brewed with German Hallertau hops and 2-row and Munich malts that combine to give this lager that light, refreshing taste you’ll want after a long day at work.

Goose Summer HoursBe on the lookout for it in 6- and 12-packs to appear on the shelves…and making their way into your fridge for happy hour. You can invite your boss and your coworkers to have a beer and talk about Summer Hours. They won’t know you’re talking about one in the same thing, and it just may open the door for summer hours to becoming the latest company policy.

As the brewers put it, “[w]hether your company lets you clock out early during the summer or not, Goose Summer Hours is the perfect beer to enjoy all summer long from the ‘end of the day’ to the end of the night.”

Cheers!

The New Rita about to Sweep the Nation: Coco-Nut-Rita

Spring is (almost) in the air and with this season comes new life, new adventures, and new Ritas! Be on the lookout for the latest addition to the Rita Family – Coco-Nut-Rita!

This new Rita will have you thinking tropical thoughts of warm weather and sunshine as it “combines the tropical flavor of coconut with the margarita twist you know and love” as the brewers put it.

Screen Shot 2018-02-25 at 6.34.33 PM

Coco-Nut-Rita (8% ABV) is being launched nationally and will join its sister flavors in 25 oz. can packages. That’s enough for you to pick up a few, break out your blender, invite a few friends over, and make a round of frozen Coco-Nut-Rita concoctions you can all enjoy.

As the weather warms up, the birds come back, and thoughts of summertime and beaches start to enter our minds, Coco-Nut-Rita is a perfect adult beverage to sip on and plan our activities for the spring and summer!

Cheers!

The Beers You Should Be Drinking this Summer from O’Fallon Brewery

There are two year-round beers and one seasonal you should most definitely add to your order or your grocery list this summer. O’Fallon Brewery resides in the Show Me State next door – Missouri – and they’ve used the themes of the state and the seasons to inspire their brews.

Show Me IPAFirst up is the Show Me IPA (6.5% ABV), obviously named for the Show Me State itself. This year-round beer is brewed with 2-Row malt and Citra and Mosaic hops to give it fruity flavors and aromas. It’s available both on draught and in packaged bottles, so you can find it no matter what you want that day!STL Red

STL Red (5.6% ABV) is an easy-drinking Cardinal red amber ale, and we bet you can guess why. “STL Red balances the sweet roasted nut flavors from the barley malt [2-Row, Munich, and Caramel]  with the soft, spicy, and floral notes from the [Magnum, Cascade, Centennial] hops.” This redbird inspired beer is available year-round on tap and in package bottles, so you can support the St. Louis Cardinals whether it’s Opening Day or the middle of the holiday season.

Daze of SummerAnd then there are those Daze of Summer (4.8% ABV) we all love to enjoy… This seasonal summer Ale is sweet and tart just like its pink lemonade color suggests. Daze of Summer is a wheat beer somewhere between a Radler and a Shandy and is brewed with real lemons and lemon zest for “a fresh-squeezed citrus taste.” Available on draught and in bottles for a limited time, you had better hurry to enjoy this summertime ale while you can and the weather is hot! Summer will be gone before you know it, and you’ll have to wait a year for Daze of Summer to come around again.

Next time you’re at the store, ambling down the beer aisle or at your favorite watering hole, perusing the beer list and you see an O’Fallon Show Me IPA, STL Red, or Daze of Summer, do yourself a kindness and put it in the cart or order it right up! You’ll be happy you did.

Cheers!

Try Riggs Beer Company’s Summer Seasonal Beers ASAP!

Have you tried any of Riggs Beer Company’s summer seasonal beers yet?  No? Well, we can fix that.

Every month of the year Riggs selects a beer to brew to put the taste of the season right on your taste buds. This summer, they have brewed and will brew a Pilsner (June), a Citraweizen (July), and a Helles (August) beer.

As the months go by the tap markers at your favorite watering holes will change from one beer to the next, the fun part about this is – that same handle can all be beers that come from Riggs. You can make a standing date with your friends and your favorite barstool, try the latest from Riggs, and enjoy a great-tasting beer while you’re at it.

Don’t worry, you can still find you favorite year-round beers from Riggs as well. If you feel like ordering something you have already tasted and approved, go for it! Those beers (American Lager, Red Lager, Hefeweizen, and India Pale Lager) are available to you as well. Either way, there will always be something you already know and love and something new to try every time you look at that beer list and see one Riggs Beer Company.

In the meantime though, head out to your neighborhood bar that serves Riggs beer and ask the bartender for a Pilsner (if it hasn’t already been drunk dry) or a Citraweizen and look forward to August when you can try the Helles!

Cheers for summer beers!

Riggs Logo 1

Best Damn Sweet Tea: The Drink of Choice for Memorial Day 2017

Happy Memorial Day! First, we want to thank all those veterans who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Second, we want to thank their families for their sacrifices and help them honor their soldier’s memory today. One way we know how to do that is to toast them with the new Best Damn Sweet Tea.

On a day when we celebrate the United States, our freedom, and those who fought for both, we think it’s only apt to toast them with an All-American drink. May I ask, what drink is more American than sweet iced tea? Perhaps Best Damn Sweet Tea, the 21+ version of the classic tea.

Best Damn Sweet Tea (5.5% ABV) is a hard sweet tea. It is aged on real black tea leaves while brewing to give it that real tea flavor. The brewers describe its taste a little something like this: delicious, easy-drinking, with a “delightful, refreshingly smooth iced tea taste.”

We trusted them, but then we sampled it ourselves….And they were right. It’s delicious, easy-drinking, and delightfully refreshing. In fact, it’s so much so that we couldn’t think of a better drink to have on a hot, sunny Memorial Day than Best Damn Sweet Tea. Like they said, they “put the TEA in party!” and we’re ready to celebrate today.

Best Damn Sweet TeaNot only is today a major American holiday (and one of our favorites to celebrate), it is also considered the first of the summer holidays and the one that kicks off the summer season.

If you haven’t already, head out and pick up some Best Damn Sweet Tea and give it a try. You can find it in the following packages:

  • 6 pk. 12 oz. bottle
  • 6 pk. 16 oz. can

Be sure to toast the American heroes that fought and sacrificed, so you can enjoy your freedom. We’ll get you started….

Cheers to all the American heroes and to a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Best Damn Cream Soda: Taking You Back to the Summers of Your Childhood

We are one week away from the holiday that kicks off the summer – Memorial Day! We are excited and ready for summertime weather, fun, and (of course) drinks, which is why we are equally excited to tell you about Best Damn Cream Soda.

Remember the summers of your childhood? Remember how much fun they where? Remember how you used to ride your bikes to the closest soda shop and enjoy a cold cream soda?

Well, some of our readers just might remember doing exactly that while others have only heard stories of such summer activities as this. Either way, you know the feeling of enjoying an old fashioned soda in a soda shop – whether from personal experience or through stories that sang through your imagination.

We’re here to take you back to those childhood summers through the taste of Best Damn Cream Soda. Now, the major difference here is that you’ll be drinking the adult version of that soda you enjoyed in your youth!

Best Damn Cream Soda (5.5% ABV) is a hard soda with the same great taste you remember drinking or imagining. Aged on real vanilla beans during the brewing process, Best Damn Cream Soda adds “a touch of sweetness to a timeless recipe,” as the brewers describe it.

Look for this great-tasting, old-timey hard soda Best Damn Cream Sodaon shelves in the following packages:

  • 6 pk. 12 oz. bottle
  • 6 pk. 16 oz. can

For those of you who sampled or saw it at the Decatur Chamber Business Expo & Taste in early May, you know what we’re talking about! It’s “Soda-licious, you’ll love it!” (We had to end with a bit of the brewers’ soda humor).

Head on out and grab a six pack to try and get transported back to the summers of your childhood…and enjoy them like an adult this Memorial Day!

Cheers!

Shock Top Lemon Shandy has a New Look!

Your favorite summer seasonal is back, and it has a brand new look! Check it out, and be sure to look for this refreshed packaging on shelves in your local grocery and liquor stores.

ST Lemon Shandy Refresh 2017

After all, Shock Top Lemon Shandy “is summer in a bottle” as the brewers describe it. Memorial Day Weekend is the kickoff to the summer season, and what better way could there be to get a head start on some summer fun than to stock the fridge with a Shock Top Lemon Shandy (4.2% ABV)?

We couldn’t think of one either.

You can stock the fridge or your cooler with a:

  • 6 pack of 12 oz. bottles or
  • 12 pack of 12 oz. bottles.

Or perhaps you feel like going out for a beer with your friends? Be sure to ask the bartender for a Shock Top Lemon Shandy on tap at your favorite watering hole this summer.

No matter what, though, with its “classic, refreshingly balanced sweet and crisp lemon recipe,” the summer will be off to a good start…with a Shock Top Lemon Shandy in hand, of course. Now, it’s time for you to enjoy that taste of summer for yourself!

Cheers!