Brewery Expansion - Eastern US brewers moving Westward?

Not exactly East Coast, but Fat Heads is opening a location in Portland.

Good question. Perhaps it's a perceived lack of demand, or maybe it's the fact that the markets in CA/OR/CO are already so saturated with good beer and local breweries that none of the big players out east feel it's worth their time and money trying to crack into those markets. Do you think it's a coincidence that breweries from the midwest and east coast that expand westward (like Founders, Bell's, and Brooklyn) almost always hit Arizona and/or Texas while ignoring California, Oregon, and Colorado?

 

My guess would be less population density and higher building costs.

 

Quality responses so far. I'd love to see Founders and Bells move westward. I haven't tried any other breweries from the midwest or east coast that are good enough to compete out west.

 

I posted the "why" in a previous thread on this topic.

Look at a density map of the US and the why becomes obvious.

 

Well, I guess I will get a chance to retort to you, as soon as the two "West Coast Breweries" open up here in town. Then I suppose I can compare Westeers to Easteers.

 

I would think that FFF, New Glarus, and possibly Half Acre would be able to make it out West. Half Acre would have to bring their brewery-only beers, though. I would imagine Surly would do well too, but I haven't had quite enough of their beers to be sure yet.

As to why there isn't a lot of migration westward, I would imagine it's simply because the West Coast is insanely packed with good breweries already, and most other breweries think they'll have better luck in less densely-populated areas (it seems like everyone merges towards the middle, coming to Chicago).

 

Haven't tried any NG or Half Acre. FFF is okay but too expensive to compete imo.

 

Atwater from Detroit is opening a facility in the Austin area, IIRC. TX is not West Coast, but west of the Mississippi River.

 

Hmm, they're definitely a little pricey, but their hype machine makes up for that. Think about how many people on the West Coast would kill to try Zombie Dust, or Dark Lord. I'm not saying they're the be-all and end-all of beers and/or breweries, but there seems to be enough interest throughout the US to support them.

 

It could also come down to Water. Water that is easily sourced, doesn't have a "rights" issue like in some Western States, plus it has to be easily refined into Beerable water. I wouldn't discount this either. How good is L.A. Water? Seriously, I don't know. Now it would seem that Washington or Oregon water should be decent. One of the deciding factors with these Western Beers opening up in Asheville, aside from the desire to hit the East Coast market, is the water. From what the local brewers tell me, all they have to do is take the floride and the chlorine out and that's it.

 

First, there's less people. Second, those people are, in general, less densely populated.

 

I think historically more startup brewers begin out in western states (more societal/cultural reasons) then as they grow, move to the east where it makes more business sense.

 

Also: transportation infrastructure.

 

Dogfish Head seems like a natural fit for the west coast.

 

Hogwash, Yuengling would take the west coast by storm if they wanted to.

 

I don't see many East coast breweries moving out west until they fulfill the east coast market, which will take quite some time.

 

The PNW has water as good or better than Asheville. Central CA has higher minerals but is not too bad. The water in Southern CA can be loaded with minerals, as a good portion comes from the Colorado River. I find the water in parts of San Diego Co. to be bad tasting. That water is one reason they make some good IPAs.

Water can be Reverse Osmosis Filtered to make water that can be blended back with the tap water, or 100% RO water can be used and brewing salts added.

The water in Asheville is nice, but tax breaks, the local town and surroundings, work force quality, land cost, construction costs, and transportation infrastructure would be higher on the criteria list. When the new breweries were announced, I looked and found N-S and E-W interstates along with rail lines. Being about half way between NY and FL would also be a plus.

 

In Sierra Nevada's case they were already selling in every state in the US before they decided to open the NC brewery.

In New Belgium's case they are in pretty much every state except for the North East and the new brewery will probably push them up North.

Victory and Dogfish Head's expansions might allow them to sell their beer in more states West of their current location. Or they might want to just meet local demand.

 

DFH has TX, AZ, WA, OR, and CA already. I would say they are already there.
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