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Originally posted by kmweaver
Originally posted by kmweaver
reasonable-enough question.
And just to clarify, I mean "How can we effectively distribute all of these craft breweries?" not "Are there too many craft breweries?"
The latter is just  .
I agree, the idea of reducing the # of beers is simply ass backward. Rework the 3 tier system and laws regarding beer sales and distribution, find better ways to distribute craft beer. And for brewers, don’t go ass-out trying to expand and ship more beer to more places. Stay regional if you have to, its OK!
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a few other thoughts come to mind:
if you have too many craft breweries in your portfolio and you feel you can’t handle them, then don’t pick up for distribution any more until you can properly handle a diverse portfolio of craft beer.
fix the beer shipping laws. they are S.T.U.P.I.D.
allow more online sales by private venders and hey, if the brewery wants to, why not the brewery.
stop whining like a spoiled brat.
EDUCATION. EDUCATION. EDUCATION.
the majority of our drinking public know only of beer what they see on tv thanks in no part to the multibillion dollar adds pumped out like sewage from BMC.
a brewery should have the option to distribute as far or as close to home as they want. as much as the 3 Tier System proffers to do just that, the reality is anything but because they are TIED to using ONLY the 3 Tier System, much like the monopolies of old which the 3 Tier System was originally set up to prevent.
if i can sell, educate, promote, and grow good beer in Vero Beach, FL, home of the Bush family (yes, THAT Bush family) then the thirst and curiosity for good artisanal craft and import beer is there for the distribution, selling, and drinking anywhere in the USofA. it can be done. it just takes time, patience, and a whole lot of love for the beer and belief in the men and women who drink it.
choice is freedom.
i’m not worried about the beer that sucks because they will eventually be their own downfall. we’re still better off then we were in the early 90s when the market was truly awash in more bad or subpar beer than good beer. now the market is awash in lots of good
let us not forget the basics: education. knowing when to say yes and when to say no. good business practices. education. positive promotion. community involvement. education.
beer should always bee FUN no matter how serious we may take it sometimes.
etc etc etc... 
i’m sure i’ll think of more later 
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Originally posted by otakuden
i’m not worried about the beer that sucks because they will eventually be their own downfall. we’re still better off then we were in the early 90s when the market was truly awash in more bad or subpar beer than good beer. now the market is awash in lots of good beer with very little in the way of bad beer (besides the obvious macro swill)
fixed.
my brain got ahead of my fingers, obviously
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Originally posted by OldStyleCubFan
The problem is too many ’craft’ breweries distribute to far from home.
We need more craft brewers that can survive shipping beer less than 200 miles and fewer brewers that think they need to ship 2500 miles.
Could not be any more succinctly put.
There are great brewers out there that are staying close to home. In some states breweries can actually pull this off well. It’s nice when it works. When it doesn’t, more often than not, you get a beer that is anywhere between downright awful and just dissapointing compared to it’s draft counterpart.
There are MANY breweries out there that are shipping their beer WAY farther than there QC departments should allow. I don’t know when it became a necessity for every craft brewer to have a 50 bbl brewhouse, be producing 10k+ bbls/year, and be in 10+ states, but it’s absolutely ridiculous. You can be perfectly profitable at half that. Is it greed, or is it ego? Either way it does a disservice to the industry as a whole.
As far as distributors, I would absolutely like to see MANY more good distributors out there with a strong focus on craft brews.
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Originally posted by erway
As far as distributors, I would absolutely like to see MANY more good distributors out there with a strong focus on craft brews.
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Originally posted by otakuden
if i can sell, educate, promote, and grow good beer in Vero Beach, FL, home of the Busch family (yes, THAT Busch family) then the thirst and curiosity for good artisanal craft and import beer is there for the distribution, selling, and drinking anywhere in the USofA. it can be done. it just takes time, patience, and a whole lot of love for the beer and belief in the men and women who drink it.
’
fixed
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There are good distributers out there, but you can’t be all things to all people. A good distributer will pick breweries that make good beer and that actually have a niche in a given city. Picking up a brewery, pushing them for two months then kicking them to the curb doesn’t do anyone any good... it’s also how most distributers function.
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Originally posted by JoeMcPhee
Picking up a brewery, pushing them for two months then kicking them to the curb doesn’t do anyone any good... it’s also how most distributers function.
Not being able to fire your distributor and being stuck with them until the end of time once you’ve signed with them even if they suck and you don’t like them is equally draconian and anti-free economy.
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Two questions from a relative beer noob: Can someone explain the ’3-Tiered System’ that everyone is referring to?
And, what are examples of beers that distribute too far? On the face of it, I’ve always found it the opposite. I WISH more brewers had better, wider distribution so I could enjoy New Glarus or New Belgium (which I just had for the first time in SC but cannot get where I am in Virginia). Thanks.
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Originally posted by ruyehara88
Two questions from a relative beer noob: Can someone explain the ’3-Tiered System’ that everyone is referring to?
3 tiers: brewers -> distributors -> consumers
Brewers (speaking very generally) aren’t allowed to distribute their own beers outside of brewpubs and such. Whole long post-prohibition history to the matter, if I remember correctly. Distributors end up with a whole lot of power in the deal.
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