HWB was started in 1997 by Martin Wetten, who was, at the time, importing some of the world’s more interesting beers. Seeing an opportunity in the booming metropolitan Washington, DC area, he started HWB to fill the growing demand for specialty beer. The first products distributed by HWB included the products from Wetten Importers (Delirium Tremens, Liefmans, Kasteel, Samichlaus) and a few, then-unknown breweries. As the years passed, HWB expanded its vendor base to encompass growing breweries from California, Colorado, Delaware, Pennsylvania, among others. In addition to capitalizing on its relationship with Wetten Importers, HWB expanded its imported beer line by forging relations with other importers of specialty beers. Furthermore, as direct importers, HWB has access to some of the world’s finest beers such as Hofbrauhaus of Munich and Eggenberger of Austria. Currently, HWB counts 36 brewers and importers, domestic and international, as current and active vendors.
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As a result, HWB’s specialty beer division is the largest-developed category of any distributor in its service areas. The HWB product line is made up of over 100 brands, with several product lines and configurations represented within each brand. HWB’s advantage in distribution is its presence in well known on- and off-premise retailers, particularly the high-growth specialty chains in the area. HWB leverages its more popular brands to propel newer-to-market brands into chain and on-premise distribution that normally would be otherwise unavailable.
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HWB’s wine venture takes a more targeted approach, bearing in mind that the wine market is saturated with an overwhelming number of wholesalers and specialties. HWB’s approach is to carefully develop a wine portfolio that offers some of the best wines available in the Washington, DC are, yet exhibiting both quality and affordability. The wines HWB chooses to carry are estate-grown and estate-bottled wines. The partnership between HWB and its wine suppliers seeks to balance the “old world” represented by wine, and embrace the new generation of both vintners and wine importers.
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