What LD Carlson does

LD Carlson, legally WINE-ART OF OHIO, INC., is a privately held wholesale distributor of beer, wine, and cider making ingredients, equipment, and supplies headquartered in Kent, Ohio, operating from an 85,000 sf warehouse facility. Founded in 1970 (originally as Wines, Inc.), the company is self-described as the oldest independent wholesaler of beer and wine making supplies in the United States and serves three primary B2B segments: craft breweries, commercial and hobbyist wineries, and homebrew retail shops, with on-premise accounts as a secondary channel. LD Carlson does not sell directly to consumers or clubs, enforcing account approval, annual minimums, and first-order prepayment for all wholesale relationships.

The company's product portfolio combines five owned proprietary brands (Brewer's Best for beer kits, Vintner's Best for wine bases, FermFast for premium yeast and spirits-making inputs, Cider House Select for cider supplies, and Brewer's Orchard for aseptic fruit purées) with a curated catalog of ingredients and equipment sourced from global maltsters and ingredient manufacturers including Briess, Avangard, Warminster, The Swaen, Montana Craft Malt, Winexpert, Yakima Chief Hops, White Labs, Lallemand, Fermentis, and Oregon Fruit. The Brewer's Orchard line is produced in HACCP-compliant, FDA-audited facilities. The company also operates a B2B digital storefront (storefront.ldcarlson.com) and an SMS notification program for account communications.

Revenue is generated through one-time wholesale product sales across the malt, yeast, hops, wine, equipment, additive, chemical, and book categories. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per account after approval. The company is founder/operator-led, with management largely promoted from internal operations, has 51-100 employees, and serves only the U.S. market. There is no disclosed parent company, no institutional funding, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

LD Carlson

Legal name

WINE-ART OF OHIO, INC.

Website

https://ldcarlson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

LD Carlson is a privately held U.S. wholesale distributor of beer, wine, and cider making ingredients, equipment, and supplies, serving craft breweries, wineries, and homebrew retail shops from its 85,000 sf Kent, Ohio warehouse under five proprietary brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beverage Ingredients Wholesale Distribution

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (4248)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alcoholic Beverage Wholesale (Beer, Wine, Spirits) (AFAIAGAA)

Keywords

• Beer making supplies
• Wine making supplies
• Cider making ingredients
• Brewing ingredients wholesale
• Winemaking equipment distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Kent

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Distribution of Beer and Wine Making Supplies: LD Carlson generates revenue through wholesale distribution of brewing and winemaking ingredients, equipment, and supplies to craft breweries, wineries, and homebrew retail shops. They do not sell to consumers or clubs directly. Revenue comes from product sales across categories including malt, yeast, hops, wine supplies, equipment, additives, chemicals, and books. First orders must be prepaid for new accounts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

LD Carlson is a wholesale distributor of beer, wine, and cider making ingredients, equipment, and supplies. The company sells malt, yeast, hops, wine bases, additives, chemicals, racking and bottling equipment, and educational books to craft breweries, wineries, and homebrew retail shops. It also markets its own flagship brands including Brewer's Best, Vintner's Best, FermFast, Cider House Select, and Brewer's Orchard. LD Carlson operates exclusively as a business-to-business wholesaler and does not sell to consumers or clubs.

Product overview

LD Carlson is a wholesale supplier of beer and wine making ingredients, equipment, and supplies serving the craft beverage industry since 1970. The company operates as a single unified product offering through its wholesale distribution platform, carrying multiple flagship brands including Brewer's Best® for beer making kits, Vintner's Best® for wine bases and equipment kits, FermFast® for premium spirits yeast and additives, Cider House Select for cider supplies, and Brewer's Orchard® for fruit purées. Their product portfolio spans ingredient categories (malt, yeast, hops, wine supplies, additives, chemicals), equipment (racking, bottling, brewing), and educational resources, complemented by a curated selection of supply partner brands from global maltsters and manufacturers. LD Carlson serves as the oldest independent wholesaler in the country, distributing to craft breweries, wineries, and homebrew retail shops.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brewer's Best: Flagship brand offering beer making kits and supplies
• Vintner's Best
• FermFast
• Brewer's Orchard
• Cider House Select

Products and services

• Brewer's Best® Flagship brand offering beer making kits and supplies for homebrewers and craft breweries, covering the full homebrewing experience from ingredient kits to equipment.
• Vintner's Best® Wine making brand offering over 30 wine base varieties made with real fruit juice, including fruit wine bases and equipment kits for commercial wineries and home hobbyists. Creates 10% ABV fruit wine with no pH or acid adjustments needed, available in 5 gallon pails and 52 gallon drums.
• FermFast® Premium in-house line of yeasts, enzymes, additives, and accessories for crafting high alcohol spirits and liquors. Includes six yeast strains (48 Hour Turbo, 24 Hour Turbo, Fruit Turbo, Rum Turbo, Vodka Turbo, Whisky), accessories (Copper Mesh, Raschig Rings), and additives (Alpha Amylase, Anti-Foam, Dual Fine, Dual Smooth, Glucoamylase, Liquid Activated Carbon).
• Cider House Select Cider making supplies and kits for producing fruit ciders, part of LD Carlson's flagship brand portfolio.
• Brewer's Orchard® Aseptic fruit purées made with fresh-never frozen fruits. 100% all natural, undiluted, not concentrated, not fermented, and preservative-free with intense aromas and flavors. Available in 11 and 44 lb sizes for adding fruit flavor and aroma to beer or wine. HACCP-compliant and FDA-audited facility.
• Malt Products Base malts, caramel malts, and roasted malts sourced from global premium maltsters including Avangard, Briess, Montana Craft Malt, Warminster, The Swaen, and Raven.
• Yeast Products Premium yeast strains for beer, wine, and spirit fermentation, sourced from suppliers including White Labs, Fermentis, Lallemand, and Apex Cultures.
• Hops Products Premium hops for craft brewing from top producers including Yakima Chief Hops.
• Wine Supplies Wine making ingredients and supplies including fruit wines, varietal wines, and juice concentrates from Winexpert and other suppliers.
• Racking & Bottling Equipment Equipment for racking and bottling beer and wine.
• Brewing & Winemaking Equipment General brewing and winemaking equipment for craft breweries, wineries, and homebrewers.
• Beer & Wine Additives Additives for enhancing beer and wine production.
• Chemicals Chemicals for brewing and winemaking processes, including cleaning and sanitizing products from Five Star.
• Brewing & Winemaking Books Books and educational resources for beer and wine making.
• Pro-Series Bases Professional-grade brewing bases for commercial operations.
• Aging Barrels Barrels for aging beer and spirits, supplied by The Barrel Mill.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered trusted supplier.

• Avangardtrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationAvangard operates four plants in Germany with a capacity of 340,000 mt/a, making it the biggest malting company in the country. They supply malt products to LD Carlson.
• Briesstrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationSince 1876, Briess has been supplying the brewing community with the highest quality malts, including the most extensive line of specialty malts produced by any malting company in the world.
• Montana Craft Malttrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationHeadquartered in Butte, MT, Montana Craft Malt crafts classic and artisanal malts near the world's best barley-growing region, surrounded by snow-fed rivers.
• Warminster Maltingstrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationWarminster Maltings has adopted and adapted techniques from the early 20th century when 'floor malting' was at its peak, producing malts of consistent quality.
• The Swaentrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationThe Swaen is experts in sourcing the best quality barley, wheat and rye, using bespoke, advanced germination and kilning with environmentally sensitive roasting systems.
• Raventrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationSince 2005, Raven produces their own floor and specialty malts in their malthouse in Záhlinice near Kroměříž, Czech Republic.
• Winexperttrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationWinexpert is the world's foremost supplier of premium wine kits, committed to excellence with careful sourcing, state-of-the-art processing facilities, and stringent quality control.
• Yakima Chief Hopstrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationAs a 100% grower-owned network of family hop farms, Yakima Chief Hops establishes strong relationships between growers and brewing customers.
• Apex Culturestrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationApex Cultures is a leading manufacturer of high-quality brewing yeast strains, enzymes, nutrients, and additives for brewers worldwide.
• White Labstrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationWhite Labs supplies yeast and related products to the brewing industry.
• Fermentistrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationFermentis supplies fermentation products to the brewing and winemaking industry.
• Lallemandtrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationLallemand supplies yeast and bacteria products for fermentation applications.
• Oregon Fruittrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationOregon Fruit supplies fruit products for brewing and winemaking.
• Five Startrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationFive Star supplies cleaning and sanitizing products for the brewing industry.
• Barrel Milltrusted supplierTechnology or IntegrationBarrel Mill supplies barrels for aging beer and spirits.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BSG Craftbrewing: BSG Craftbrewing is one of the largest US wholesale distributors of craft brewing ingredients - malt, hops, yeast, and adjuncts. It is the most directly comparable competitor to LD Carlson for the craft brewery channel, with similar SKU breadth and customer type.
• Country Malt Group: Country Malt Group is a wholesale distributor specializing in malt, hops, and brewing ingredients for craft breweries across North America. It directly competes with LD Carlson in the craft brewery ingredient segment with similar B2B wholesale economics.
• Northern Brewer: Northern Brewer is one of the largest US homebrewing retailers with both direct-to-consumer e-commerce and wholesale distribution to homebrew shops. It overlaps directly with LD Carlson's homebrew retail shop channel on product range and end-customer type.
• MoreBeer!: MoreBeer! is a major homebrewing superstore operating online retail and wholesale distribution for beer and wine making equipment, ingredients, and kits. It competes with LD Carlson in serving homebrew retail shops and hobbyist brewers with overlapping SKU categories.
• Adventures in Homebrewing: Adventures in Homebrewing is a Midwest homebrewing retailer and wholesale distributor of ingredients, equipment, and kits to hobbyists. It is a regional comparable in the same homebrew wholesale channel as LD Carlson.
• Crosby Hops: Crosby Hops is an independent hop grower and merchant supplying breweries and homebrewers with pelletized and whole-leaf hops. It competes with LD Carlson's hop offering at the craft brewery ingredient end of the value chain.

Others

• Yakima Chief Hops: Yakima Chief Hops is the world's largest grower-owned hop supplier and is a current trusted-supplier partner of LD Carlson rather than a direct competitor. It is the upstream input source in the same craft beverage supply chain.
• Winexpert: Winexpert is one of the largest global suppliers of premium wine kits and concentrates. It is a current trusted-supplier partner of LD Carlson, supplying wine base ingredients that LD Carlson distributes to wineries and homebrew shops.
• White Labs: White Labs is a leading pure yeast and fermentation products supplier serving the craft brewing and distilling industry. It is a current trusted-supplier partner of LD Carlson providing yeast strains that flow through LD Carlson's distribution.
• Lallemand: Lallemand is a major global supplier of yeasts, bacteria, and fermentation ingredients for brewing, wine, and distilled spirits. It is a current trusted-supplier partner of LD Carlson providing fermentation inputs the company distributes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LD Carlson