Family Businesses Delivering America’s Beverage

The Pennsylvania Beer Alliance was originally created in 1973. The PBA was first incorporated under the name of the Pennsylvania Importing Master Distributors Association (PIMDA). The name PIMDA denoted in its clearest sense the actual position that the members of our alliance hold in the Commonwealth’s 3 tier system of beer distribution.

The Pennsylvania Beer Alliance is a full-service professional trade association representing primarily the wholesale tier of distributors of malt and brewed beverages in Pennsylvania. The members of the PBA operate in an area of business that is heavily controlled and regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As such, the alliance has an active program of monitoring and often times initiating or opposing legislation affecting our member companies. The PBA strongly supports the licensed three tier distributing system for the sale of malt and brewed beverages in Pennsylvania.

In addition to a wide range of benefits for our member companies, the PBA is a valuable resource to policy makers and the public on alcohol regulation, educational programs designed to combat underage drinking and drunk driving; as well as assisting adult consumers with information on product availability in Pennsylvania.

Letter from the President, Jay Wiederhold

Welcome to the Pennsylvania Beer Alliance (PBA) website and thank you for taking the time to stop and check us out!

I’m sure you have all seen our trucks on the road delivering America’s beverage, beer. And no doubt, many of you understand beers’ important and unique place within the American culture. However, have you ever stopped to think … just how does that ice cold beer end up in my favorite distributor, restaurant or tavern?

Beer wholesalers are a critical component in our current three tier distribution system designed to provide consumers with an enormous variety of choices at a great value, to generate tax revenues that can be collected efficiently from the industry and to encourage moderation and responsibility in consumption.

There are few products in the market today that come in as many different styles as beer. Just stop by your local distributor to see the many micro, craft and specialty beers that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for your beer wholesaler. For it’s the wholesaler who gives these smaller, more unique beers a vehicle to market hence providing consumers with the selection they deserve.

As you can see, our wholesalers do a lot more than simply deliver beer to adults of legal drinking age. Wholesalers are very active within their communities and work diligently to provide choice and variety to consumers across the Commonwealth. PBA’s member wholesalers also promote responsible consumption, help to combat drunk driving and work daily to eliminate illegal underage drinking.

More than 90 million adults of legal drinking age enjoy a cold beer responsibly and in moderation. Members of the Pennsylvania Beer Alliance work vigilantly to ensure that the products we provide are consumed legally. We sponsor numerous prevention programs – from distributing pamphlets and videos to help parents talk to their children about underage drinking, to providing resources for law enforcement and retailers, and sponsoring educational speakers in local schools. In doing so, the beer industry spends tens of millions of dollars each year to eliminate illegal underage drinking. These programs focus on real solutions, such as increasing the involvement of parents, peers, teachers and community leaders and enforcing existing laws.

On behalf of Pennsylvania’s licensed independent beer wholesalers, thank you for taking the time to learn more about what we do and who we are.