small upstart breweries: no contact information?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014.

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  1. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    In this day and age when everything is online, I guess I have grown to expect that if it is out there, it can be found on the web.

    My sister bought a bomber for me of a local brew that I will take possesion of this evening called Black Paw Stout. Having never heard of it, I googled it and found ZERO results. Zero.

    I asked her if the bottle says who the brewer is and she told me Howler Brewery. I googled them and only found links back to beerAdvocate for a few of their beers; Black Paw not being one of them.

    The more I looked, the more I found nothing about them. No webpage, no facebook/twitter presence. Nada.
    The brewery was added to BA a year ago, so they aren't THAT new.

    So, to bring this topic back to what I wanted to discuss: Why would a brewery, a seemingly small, undiscovered, unpopular, local brewery make zero effort in promoting themselves, or their beer, even in a minimalistic way? If a brewery is selling bombers to be bought/sold in liquor stores, I can't imagine that they have zero marketing, zero web presence, zero contact information, etc.

    Is this something other people have found with small, local breweries near themselves?
    Any ideas as to why this brewery might not have (or want) any web presence or contact information available?
     
    #1 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
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  2. Bitterbill

    Bitterbill Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,036) Sep 14, 2002 Wyoming
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    (413) 247-9510 is their phone number.
     
    #2 Bitterbill, Jul 9, 2014
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  3. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Isn't Howler a nano brewery, thus very limited production capability? If you're that small then your growth has to be tiny until you can profit enough from your current receipts in order to begin the expansion process. Did your sister purchase the bottle in a bottle shop? That may be the only retail outlet for this brewery right now, and all of their capacity goes to this shop.
     
    #3 PapaGoose03, Jul 9, 2014
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  4. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Yes, it was bought in a bottle shop, but it seems they are available at more than one bottle shop.

    I understand they are small. But it still struck me as odd that outside of the address and phone number, the brewery itself maintains ZERO information about itself to the public.

    As far as I know, it is available at more than 1 bottle shop.
     
    #4 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
  5. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    thank you, I found that on here as well. I was more or less explaining that they (the brewery itself) doesn't maintain any contact information or have it's own web presence. Seems odd, even for a "micro" or "nano" brewery these days.
     
    #5 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
  6. dbrauneis

    dbrauneis Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,071) Dec 8, 2007 North Carolina
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    You would be surprised at how many small new breweries are really hard to find information about...whenever someone adds a new place we try to validate all of the information and that can be pretty difficult (sometimes even validating the full address).

    Shameless plug: When adding a new place to BA, provide as much information as possible otherwise the Site Editors/Bros need to search it out, which causes it to take longer to be approved assuming we can find something about said place. I notice that tons of places submitted are missing zip code, phone number, website, and/or twitter accounts.
     
    #6 dbrauneis, Jul 9, 2014
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  7. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Seems like it's not a lack of contact info that's an issue but a lack of a website. Contact info is:

    18 Elm St Hatfield, Massachusetts, 01038-9708
    phone: (413) 247-9510

    As for that lack of website, I agree, it's not a smart move in this day and age. I get upset when beer bars don't keep their tap lists relatively updated, so for an entire brewery not to have a website, it just seems like a bad move. I'm no business man, but I would think having a functioning website is pretty high on the to do list when starting your own operation.
     
    #7 Providence, Jul 9, 2014
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  8. Phocion

    Phocion Maven (1,455) Aug 5, 2005 Minnesota

    It appears that the guy has a combination personal/business Facebook page, but that's it. That's actually a little surprising since according to this page, he runs a 30 bbl system, which is fairly sizable.

    https://m.facebook.com/howlerbrewery.benson
     
    #8 Phocion, Jul 9, 2014
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  9. Fargrow

    Fargrow Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2013 Michigan

    Very strange indeed. Even early on I would guess that, although maybe slightly overwhelming and annoying for the owner, demand being greater than supply would be a really good thing. Facebook and Twitter are absolutely free and a great way to build hype for your products. Even if you're not actively posting and interacting, the basic information about the brewery on social media can be useful to customers.
     
    #9 Fargrow, Jul 9, 2014
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  10. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Correct. I had a case of wanting to type too much as the title of this thread and I realize now it wasn't the contact information, but actual information about the brewery that I intended (and this means a website or twitter/facebook account promoting the website).
     
    #10 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
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  11. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Thank you. My searching skills need improvement. I went to facebook and typed in howler and it found no breweries mentioned, but once I included "brewery", it found it. Still very little information there, and not very updated.

    I really like supporting local breweries, but man, this guy makes it hard to want to support his brewery. Through us customers a bone buddy, update your personal facebook page, get on twitter, or make one of those free template based websites at least...
     
    #11 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
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  12. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    Continuing this thread...
    I went to a sour festival recently and there were a shitload of "breweries" there they don't even have breweries yet. How are these guys operating? I'd assume from a garage somewhere, but I question the legality of it all sometimes.

    In fact some local breweries have expressed their discontent of having what are essentially homebrewers beers on tap, gaining a reputation before having to go through the red tape that they had to.

    As a beer drinker I love it, but I can see where they are coming from.

    To name one specifically: J Wakefield - Turns out this dude is already a millionaire, yet he started a Crowdbrewed campaign to raise money for a brewery. Probably why he has money, I remember reading some book that said the first rule of becoming wealthy is to use OPM, or, other people's money.

    He also has had tap takeovers where they couldn't legally sell the beer, but for a 5 dollar "donation" you would get a pour.
    That kind of rubs me the wrong way but his beer is solid.

    Some other "breweries" that don't have a location, or perhaps I should say tasting room, were:
    Angry Chair
    Wild Oak
    Tangent

    All of them had great sours at the festival yet I was very surprised to learn I can't get their beer anywhere.
     
    #12 jivex5k, Jul 9, 2014
  13. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not sure if these thoughts will apply the brewery OP is talking about, but some random thoughts on the topic. If it's a small Nano being run out of somebody's garage/barn, they're probably still working a day job. Get up in the morning, go to work, come home, brew beer, clean brewery, sell some beer, eat dinner, go to bed. Finding time to create a web presence might be an issue. If you're just selling growlers locally, and selling pretty much all you can brew, you don't really need some huge web presence.

    While I admit that having a FB page should be an automatic, all it really needs is address and hours of operation. If they don't sell on-site, a list of where it's available would save the guy from answering the same question over and over. It's tough getting started in any business, especially if you're doing it low budget/DYI, and time is a huge expenditure. You've gotta stay sane while doing it, and it seems that a web presence can wait until you're a bit more established.
     
    #13 BBThunderbolt, Jul 9, 2014
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  14. markdrinksbeer

    markdrinksbeer Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    I get that. The brewery in quesiton has been around for 2 years. I also was hoping to read more about the brewery itself, what else they offer, where I can find some, history of the brewery/history of the brewer himself, maybe some insight on the ingredients used (name a few hops at least for their pale ales or ipas), what formats are available (bombers only, or growlers/cans/bottles), upcoming releases, etc.

    I completely understand that this might be a small outfit, and done as a "second job". If he is waiting to get a bit more established, perhaps a website would aid him in his quest for doing so.
    I did glance at his facebook page and in the past 9 months there are 3 posts. 2 regarding his children and a picture of a budweiser truck delivering his beer, and his brief commentary on that.
     
    #14 markdrinksbeer, Jul 9, 2014
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  15. Phocion

    Phocion Maven (1,455) Aug 5, 2005 Minnesota

    I agree. Even if you're not completely tech-literate, putting a Facebook page with basic info up is not exactly rocket surgery. Hell, my parents refuse to even try to figure out how to text message, but they're still on FB. Nobody's asking you to learn HTML and create a site, but having something searchable online with your hours, address, etc. is a necessity for being a successful modern business.
     
    #15 Phocion, Jul 9, 2014
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  16. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    re: a recent thread.... it would appear that regulations are no barrier to entry for THIS guy! :wink:
     
    #16 MNAle, Jul 9, 2014
  17. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    I have no idea what your post means.
     
    #17 jivex5k, Jul 9, 2014
  18. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    #18 BBThunderbolt, Jul 9, 2014
  19. PA-Michigander

    PA-Michigander Grand Pooh-Bah (3,372) Nov 10, 2013 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Maybe the guy is perfectly content selling what he does right now? If that is the case he doesn't need to spend additional time trying to get people to try his beer. I have no idea but I'm guessing he is aware he doesn't have an online presence and it is probably for a reason.
     
    #19 PA-Michigander, Jul 9, 2014
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  20. chinochino

    chinochino Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2013 Washington

    Got a quite a few of those around here. IPAs don't get any fresher, especially when you are getting growlers right out of the fermenter. Some people consider bottle shops as their honey holes. The dude with the barrel and half system who makes kick ass beer in his garage is my honey hole.

    Not everyone who makes great beer has aspirations to rule the world.
     
    #20 chinochino, Jul 10, 2014
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