MadTree Brewing Co. in Cincinnati received its brewing permit from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and has inked a distribution deal with Cavalier Distributing, the brewery announced Thursday.

Co-owner Brady Duncan said the brewery has started brewing some test batches and the hope is to have its beer out in the Cincinnati market in mid-February. MadTree also hopes to serve its brews at the Cincy Winter Beerfest.

MadTree will be available on draft only for a couple of months and then the brewery will release its beer in cans. Initially, the brewery will focus on Hamilton, Warren, Clermont and Butler counties for distribution.

Selecting a distributor was a major and difficult decision because distributors represent their brands well in the market, Duncan said. MadTree opted for Cavalier because of its relationship with accounts and craft beer portfolio, he said.

"If we’re going to spend all this time on every ingredient that goes into the beer, and getting really serious about the process and running this business meticulously, hand-selling a beer into an account is really important to us and making sure it’s really represented well. For us, that’s why we chose Cavalier," he said.