Lord Hobo Brewing is expanding

Since when did LHBC's mission have anything to do with price? The mission was to produce HT-quality IPAs in quantities that were readily available both temporally and geographically.

 

I brought a sixer of Citra Hobo Life to a cookout this weekend. Pretty enjoyable brew! Probably the first of their offerings that I could see myself buying again.

 

Agree - anyone who's been to one of Lanigan's bars understands low pricing is definitely not in his differentiation strategy.

 

I was at the brewery last week, they had 6 packs of Hobo Life for $9. Canned the same day I bought it. Delicious.

 

Huh. Looks like they dropped the price sometime in mid-May. It used to be $11 at the brewery as recently as May 8.

News hasn't trickled down to most retailers yet. Even Total Wine is charging $10/6pk (where StC is $9/4 and BS is $10/4).

 

why do they have like 20 taps and 3 beers?

 

I think they connect the same 3 kegs to multiple faucets....

 

sounds like a flashy poverty move

 

Aggressive for a taproom with a temporary pouring license.

 

Why do they have a whole brewery and three beers?

 

I think complete lack of diversity in their lineup is another reason why I find myself being so critical of them. The quality of their IPAs would be a lot less objectionable if they made a stout and a gose and a saison and whatever else of similar quality. But if you're going to spend a year just brewing four or five really similar beers, damn, they better be FANTASTIC. Maybe it's silly to think about it that way because it's not like Boom Sauce is any better or worse for the lack of a coffee stout in their lineup, but it just doesn't give me a lot of faith that they really know what they're doing there.

 

The IPAs weren't good when they opened. The pilot sours they tossed out shortly after they opened gave me no confidence that the ability was there to brew anything outside of bad to okay beers. Hobo Life is thier best beer to my tastes. I've not had a single thing remarkable otherwise after giving them plenty of time to dial everything in. I'm all set at this point. The expansion is great for them. They can continue to expand until everyone in the country isn't drinking thier beers.

 

Yep... right now the beer boom is so strong that even mediocre breweries can ride the wave. There's a lot of expansion going on that surprises me. We'll see what happens when everything starts to settle, but who knows when that will be!

 

The interesting thing is that this approach actually goes against everything that most writers, critics, people see as the best approach to reach the young craft beer consumer market. Local, small, independent breweries focusing on quality, variety, on premise consumption and supporting the local community. While some of this I agree to a small extent(most of the time it's nonsense from some sucky writer) their approach really is the opposite. They brewed 4 beers, were happy with being 75% there, bought a huge facility, pumped out to other markets quickly and have essentially focused on volume as opposed to quality. If in the end, by the numbers they are very successful this year and moving forward then I'd say a lot of people will have to eat their words. And yes, in the case of running a business the money and data are what are going to define success. If you don't believe that, you should probably stick to something outside of investing in and running a business. If they fail, then the market "trends" people speak of are correct. Time will tell, but it's going to take more time. Right now everyone is riding the same wave. But all waves have to crash and drill you into the reef at some point. It's understanding how to negotiate and mitigate that risk and not hit the coral. Because that shit hurts and stings.

 

Maybe they are targeting the middle aged dabblers of craft beer market?

 

Not the way they established the brand, look, image, staff working there. Its actually the exact opposite. (Unfortunately image actually is a thing in this beer world now) I'd say they would at a glance, appeal to people my age or mid to late 30's upwards of low 40's after that it starts to become less relevant. Not to say their aren't some who are into it, but your 45-50+ are not the ones sharing everything electronically. Mid 20's, that's the market they should be targeting. It's exactly the group we used to see at his bar and all the social media and electronic sharing is just free advertising.

BUT as I pointed out before they seem to do the opposite on everything current. So who the hell knows.

 

I've got friends and coworkers alike who's normal "craft beer" order at a bar is Harpoon IPA or possibly Lagunitas who are going crazy for the LHBC beers and are amazed when I tell them I'm not a fan. These are also the same people who wouldn't dream of waiting in line for beer, or even driving 10-minutes out of their way to stop at Trillium. I think LHBC is doing a good job saturating the market with their product, and bartenders / bottle shops seem to be pushing this "new local IPA" on customers who are just looking to try something new but aren't savvy enough to know there are much better options easily available to them.

 

I gotta say I agree and where my post was going. If it work then it's a smart move. And in reality kinda makes the true beer snob look like even more of a prick. Since a good amount of people write off LHBC on principle and less on the beer itself. Very interesting times indeed.

 

What I find interesting is that typically for a person new to craft beer once the hooks are in the "hobby" quickly spirals out of control and one quickly learns. AKA finds out about HF, TH, Trillium, etc etc.