Summit To Cease Distribution To 6 States

I wonder what that is saying behind the euphemisms and PR-speak.

 

'Our sales are low and we're not competitive in those markets'

 

Yup. Summit does really well in Minnesota and the adjoining states. Keep the beer there.

 

The same can be said for states in which a brewery is present but cannot claim the state as its home state or home market.

What are there now, about 5,000 Craft Breweries in the U.S.? Some with crusty old-school Three Tier hobbles, others with self-distribution of their NE IPA, peanut butter porter, Sour beerz in growlers and Crowlers and 4-pack 12oz cans (oh my!) Yep, the times they have a-changed.

As such it's not surprising that Summit would make the decision to draw back for the time being. Other highly-regarded* breweries have made similar moves in the past, only to return to (select) markets in a stronger position.

(*Who would've thought Dogfish Head would ever have come back to Minnesota, much less with as much buzz as they still have? That's just one example in the broader Minnesota market.)

 

I didn't know DFH was back in Minnesota.

That said, I beer shop in Wisconsin as often as I do Minnesota, and I can't think of the last time I actually bought one of their beers. I doubt that will change. The few I like are never fresh, and the rest are just weird.

 

This is Dogfish Head's third try in this market and I hope it works out for them. IMO, breweries of this size who were growing 10 to 15 years ago should have stayed the course in the Twin Cities like Bell's before leaving. I understand DFH may have not been able to do so but I would have privately suggested to them stay the course. From my conversations with Sam he is no dummy but in this example Larry made the right decision staying. Last I heard his brewery sold over 100,000 equivalent cases of Bell's Beer in Minnesota.

 

I believe Minnesota has remained Bell's second largest market (after Michigan, naturally) since maybe about 2004? That's a lot of Two Hearted Ale.

It's a very pleasant surprise (for many) to see that Dogfish is back in the market. I recall that other breweries (Avery off the top of my head) have survived a similar here-then-gone market presence, and I still see Avery around (I think? )

Note:

5,300 and projected to be nearly double that by 2022:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...-as-craft-beer-makers-ride-double-digit-gains

 

The Minnesota market loves Two Hearted Ale and maybe some people don't know this but at one time it was a seasonal for Bell's. Even then Two Hearted Ale out sold everything else in their portfolio combined in MN so Bell's decided to make it all year around only for the Twin Cities. I remember stores loading up to get through the four to six months of not having it before the re-release of Two Hearted came back. Larry didn't like stores loading up because he wanted to make sure the beer was fresh at all times. 99% of the stores made it through.

 

It's an unprofitable business in a really competitive market, probably a good call by Summit to dial back and focus on areas where they have a strong following.

 

I've been drinking the shit out of that Boundary Waters pack. Keep it up Summit!
As to DFH, either my palate has changed or the beer has but I have had 60 minute a couple of times recently and it seems like a shadow of its former self.

 

Haven't seen much of their beer in Kansas for several years. We used to get new releases from them on a regular basis.

 

I think we've all just gotten so accustomed to fresh IPAs that something brewed on the other side of the country and run through normal distribution channels just isn't going to hold up to fresher, more local options. I've come to the same conclusion with Ballast Point and other west coast IPAs.

I rarely drink hoppy beer that comes from outside a day's drive of me, unless I got it in a trade and know it's fresh.

 

Hah! I remember once sending a palate of Two Hearted.

It was momentarily situated in the East Side area while we were re-arranging palates. The sales rep saw it and complained. Five minutes later Jim's hollering 'get that out of the warehouse!' Good times.

 

That's too bad. Most of their beer is average but I hate seeing these older breweries not be successful. Their kellerbier and pils we're both excellent and everything they make is priced well. At least they're still available in Iowa.

 

using another old-school brewer that just showed up in the twin cities last year, harpoon doesn't distribute to illinois or michigan either (or iowa for that matter) but they do sell in wisconsin and minnesota. on the other hand, brooklyn sells to michigan and illinois but not nebraska.

so maybe it's market saturation or lower demand for classic offerings, but it also might be exactly what they put on their website. some states are just shitty for certain types of businesses.

 

Everything is getting more local in the state of Minnesota. We are finding better local alternatives everyday and it's weeding out "major" craft breweries like the Harpoon's of the world.