WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Dyckman Beer Company is taking big steps beyond northern Manhattan.
The uptown beer company, which last year began its attempt to put Washington Heights and Inwood on the craft beer map, has been approved as a Whole Foods vendor, beer company owner Juan Camilo said Wednesday. The move allows the company to sell its beers in any of Whole Foods' 24 New York and New Jersey-based stores.
While no individual locations have been locked down as of yet, Camilo said he would look to sell his beers in Manhattan and Yonkers.
"[Whole Foods] is very hyperlocal," Camilo said. "They give you a market to start with and you work directly with every store and each manager."
The move comes as Camilo gets ready to debut his second beer, the Highbridge Summer Ale. Camilo describes the ale as a wheat beer with a cherry flavor.
"It's the best beer in the world," Camilo said. "It's a great, refreshing summer beer and it's going to be very easy to drink."
The company's reach has grown quickly. Last July, it debuted its signature Dyckman Brew pilsner at a single bar in Washington Heights — and now the beer can now be found at 55 restaurants and bars, 14 supermarkets and 30 bodegas across Manhattan, Brooklyn Queens, Westchester and New Jersey.
"It's been a rollercoaster," Camilo said. "But a lot of people are receptive to the brand."
