History

The year was 1933 and Prohibition came to a close as a failed experiment.

Breweries throughout the country could return to producing beer and ale after struggling to survive financially by producing candy, soda pop and near beer (non-alcoholic). As the production of beer resumed there became a demand for companies to deliver kegs and cases to local taverns, clubs and homes throughout nearby communities. The Vecenie family opened their doors in the Borough of Millvale in April of 1933 as one of the first beer distributors in the state of Pennsylvania after Prohibition. The distributor delivered local brands throughout their community. In 1936 the company survived the St. Patrick’s Day flood that devastated Millvale and the City of Pittsburgh. In the late 1940’s a fire destroyed the building that housed Vecenie Distributing but in 1950 a brand new building was erected and this facility would provide the company with its first wholesale brand opportunity.

In the early 1950’s Erie Brewing Company was seeking a distributor to provide the area with their popular Koehler Beer. Vecenie Distributing built this brand as a favorite throughout the North Hills and North Side of Pittsburgh until the breweries closure in the late 1970’s. Not long after Pittsburgh Brewing chose Vecenie Distributing to distribute their iconic brands in a similar territory as a strong local favorite. A few years passed by when the family brewers at Straub of St. Marys, PA decided to pick Vecenie Distributing as their Distributing arm in the greater Pittsburgh area. These two local brewries became the cornerstone of our wholesale business and remain an integral part of our wholesale business.

In 1987 the Stoudt’s family opened Pennsylvania’s first operational craft brewery in Lancaster County. Stoudt’s beer would be our first entry into the craft beer world. Soon to follow would be other Pennsylvania craft brewers who would look to Vecenie Distributing to represent their brands. Victory, Troegs, Lancster, Erie and East End to name a few. Soon craft brewers from around the country such as Anderson Valley, Stone, Oskar Blues and Schell’s from the west chose our company as our wholesaler, as did east coast brewers like Dogfish Head, Otter Creek, Smuttynose and Heavy Seas. We have also added a few hand picked imported beers from around the globe including Hacker-Pschorr of Munich, Germany, Fullers of London and Zywiec from Poland and further points include Asahi from Japan and Coopers Ale of Australia. A full listing of our breweries are listed on this site.

Now beyond our eightieth year n business we are pleased to continue to offer Western Pennsylvania with the worlds finest ales, lagers and specialty sodas.

CHEERS!