Granite City Food & Brewery has launched a bottled beer line in retail stores outside its 26 restaurants throughout the Midwest.

Through its patented beer processing system, Granite City has been developing and brewing handcrafted beers that are available throughout the region. Today, Granite City ranks as the sixth largest brewpub group in the U.S., with approximately 600,000 gallons of beer sold in 2010.

The company has partnered with distributors to have its beers bottled and available for sale in liquor stores and grocery stores in states throughout the Upper Midwest area.

“We are very pleased to build on our strategy of providing our handcrafted beer to our loyal consumers in locations outside of our restaurants,” said Steve Wagenheim, president and founder of Granite City.

“Over the years our beers have become some of the best handcrafted beers in the area, having won numerous awards. We see this as a great branding strategy for our restaurants, with the opportunity to create many more loyal customers.”

The company will begin to sell three of its beers in retail outlets including Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild. The beers will be available in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Sioux Falls, Fargo and various Kansas markets beginning in April 2011.

The inaugural batch to be bottled will include Northern Lager, Duke of Wellington and Brother Benedict’s Bock, three of the company’s most popular beers. This inaugural batch will have a special “first-run” designation on each bottle. 

The beers will be bottled at Minhaus Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin. Associated Brewing Company (ABC) will import and sell the beer, in addition to handling other logistical and invoicing items for Granite City. ABC, in turn, will sell the beer to various distributors who will work with retailers throughout Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Kansas.