CT Growler Fills

That analogy is about as far off as you can get.

 

The incentive to sell a growler fill at a discount is that it will draw customers in who will inevitably at least have a pint while waiting. Increasing customer base should be the goal of any business. Every place I have been to in NY or other states that allow growler fills do so at some sort of a discount.

 

Short article but some insights on what various establishments are thinking

http://www.connecticutmag.com/Blog/...-Option-in-CT-But-Not-Every-Bar-is-Opting-In/

 

That's pretty cool, I live right next door in Branford (obviously). KC's pub used to be totally different, kinda funny how now it's doing the whole craft beer thing. Last time I was there in June they had Fuzzy and some other local stuff like Ginga Ninja from Black Hog.

 

Yep, chips pub! I grew up in guilford, I'm in branford also now. I think its cool, hopefully they keep up the good work, its a good spot to go for fuzzy or anything that usually brings a crowd.

 

My girlfriend lives in Guilford, driven by this place many times, but we've never stopped in. Maybe I'll convince her to sometime!

 

You are missing the point on pricing...if they sell 10 logs more per week for people that are taking it home, that is just straight profit. 520 logs more than they would have sold the year before. They aren't losing money on a per ounce basis, because it is new and different revenue. If we bought the growlers and sat and took up space for 2 hours in a spot that could have otherwise been used by a paying customer then fine, I get the per ounce pricing. But if I walk in the door, get 2 fills and leave, then you are nuts to charge me a per ounce price. Charge me 2.5 times the pint price and let me leave, you take my money and I take the beer! We are all happy. At the per ounce price, I won't be purchasing. And probably won't be visiting, the same way I don't go to stores that gouge, I won't go to bars that gouge. I would rather the bar just say that they won't do it. And the most frustrating thing of all of this is that other states already follow the 2.5 per pint pricing, so why CT thinks gouging is the way to go is beyond me.

Cheers.

 

Haha yea, Chips! Then it turned to KCs and now I think it has a new owner, hence the upgraded menu and rotating craft beer. Branford is a great little town. I swear there's more breweries now than restaurants that serve craft, haha. We were at Stony Creek and Thimble Island last night. Thimble island's got a great new spot now. Stony Creek is still making "meh" beer as usual.

 

Good to know about KC's. Might have to give it another chance....I also grew up in Guilford and never had a good experience at that place

 

Lol yea, they need some work but they have the right idea. Once ordered a sea hag there, keg kicked so i got a light foamy pour, i told the bartender i would still drink it, assuming it would be on the house but i still got charged. Class of 05 here.

3 breweries in one small town is pretty awesome, just wish they were on nebcos level!

 

No, sorry, you're missing it. Restaurants (not necessarily bars) want to make money on food and beer. If they let SoS or FBD or Gandhi - or any beer - out the door for growlers at a discounted price, they are losing money. Because typically those people would sit down and drink the beer, while also ordering food.

They aren't going to sell 10 more logs per week of standard beer. They would sell 10 more logs per week of rare beer, but we all know most places can't get enough as it is of the rare beers.

This growler thing makes sense for places that need an enticement to bring in more people. It doesn't make sense for places that are already busy and will lose money if the beer walks out the door at a reduced price.

 

Yeah, moving product faster sounds great, but having stuff like SoS on tap actually sells food + other beers (plus enhances reputation). Pushing it out in a day and replacing it with peak organic or something isn't actually going to raise revenue.

And buying shelf beers as a growler is foolish even at a discount; 1) still gonna be more expensive than at package stores and 2) growler is an inferior format so you're getting worse, shorter lasting beer.

 

Most places I other states that already do this simply would not do growler fills of things like SoS or FBD. They restrict those and sell everything else at a discount. I was just at a bar that had Harlan on tap. Would not fill that, but had plenty of other good stuff that you could fill. Draw you in for a pint of rare beer, leave with a full of Hag. Not a bad deal.

 

There's nothing saying that bars have to fill growlers of the limited stuff. They can keep the SoS and FBD to pints. I'm not sure why you're jumping to that conclusion.

Also, growlers is definitely NOT an inferior format. You're getting nearly guaranteed fresh beer, and you're getting it from the tap. The beer has 0% chance of being skunked before it hits your growler.

 

1) i am not jumping to conclusions, i am responding directly to someone who was claiming that selling something like SoS in volume, quicker, means moving more product in total. This would be true if not for the fact that limiting availability (and stretching the keg out further) moves more total product by attracting more people to the bar (both in the short term by attracting people for the tangible beer and in the long term by allowing more people to hear that you have premium beer and raising the bar's profile).

2) www.bonappetit.com/columns/the-foodist/article/why-beer-growlers-are-bad-for-your-brew

+ bars rarely fill with the same level of sophistication as attentive breweries.

 

Most of the bars in CT that are doing it this early on are putting a lot of care into fills and training staff. You may not be getting a counter pressure fill, but you're are getting a proper fill of fresh beer from a clean line. Some will only fill growlers they provide (making sanitation a non issue). Also the idea that the tiniest amount of oxygen instantly kills a beer is among the more stupid things I've seen a brewer say. Same with the assertion that beer in a clear growler will skunk before you even can cross a street in daylight. The hyperbole in that article is ridiculous and I truly wish all of Garret Olivers beer's were good enough to merit that kind of language. They're not.

 

ad hominem against garret oliver from who-are-you? is maybe not the best tack to take.