Other Half (August 2018)

I dont take it as selling out, I just look at it as the next step in expanding their business without actually selling out. They have expanded their brewing capacity immensely recently and it will get even bigger when the new tank system is completed. The lining up at 6 am and beer selling out by 1030 am days are over, and they make enough beer to have something available all week now basically, so there is not much more they can do locally to grow IMO (unless they bought a brand new facility and moved so they could support a larger taproom/brewpub type situation).

Just curious on your thoughts (not asking to be a dick), if the new other half opened up an hour or so north of the city (like Canton/Fort Point) instead of in Rochester or DC, would that be better? I still think it would be the same overall thing, except that they are already hitting that outside the city market here in BK, so going further away makes more sense to me.

And just think, its going to be very exciting to try that OH BK x OH ROC x OH DC collab.

 

I definitely think that remaining within the region would be a far more preferable way to expand, from a customer perspective. As opposed to sniffing out prime markets where they know they can make more $ they'd be continuing to invest in an NYC beer scene, which (lest we forget) has not always been as healthy as it is now.

 

I just hope they dont start doing special releases that are only upstate. I dont see it as selling out at all. Other Half is still one of the few local breweries that you have to physically visit to get cans or bottles, they're expanding to try and change that. A day will come when we will be able to buy OH alongside Interboro or KCBC at bottle shops and places like Whole Foods.

 

But what would opening a brewery, lets say up by Hudson Valley, actually do to help the NYC beer scene?

 

No doubt this will be the case but I expect Brooklyn to get the bulk if not all collabs.

 

I'd be really surprised if OH started to distribute. We now all know the difference between distro'd Grimm and straight from the brewery Grimm, I do not trust distributors or retailers whatsoever to keep beer fresh / cold / free of heat damage (WF in particular).

Also, I think on-premises only sales for OH is a feature not a bug. It's by far the cheapest way to sell their stock, and it maintains a much higher quality product than they could offer through distro.

 

It would provide yet another high quality beer destination to visit in the region, and it would allow them to expand while still keeping a strong local presence. I don't personally care about availability as much now that they're able to keep a consistent supply of cans around, but it'd make OH much more accessible to folks in the HV area at minimum. Not to mention that the profits would presumably be retained within the region and invested in some way, also jobs.

 

I guess some people prefer heat damaged, overpriced beer you have to chase trucks for?

 

I can't tell you how many bars I go to in this city where Lagunitas is the only IPA option.

 

That's true... a lot of this was completely dependent on the retailer. My local spot was literally selling 4 packs for $40 and they were in the "special beer" area of the shop, which was for some reason not refrigerated lol

 

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree because I am not following how opening an Other Half location in an area like Beacon, outside of NYC, helps to support the NYC beer scene. They don't need a local presence, they have that in spades. To me, 60-90 minutes away or 5 hours away is the same to the people engaging in said NYC beer scene, and are both likely too far away to visit anyway when I can go to BK.

 

OH has lots of supporters that are not local, makes no sense to open another brewery 30 minutes or an hour away when they can serve a new craft beer hungry segment elsewhere. TBH, they owe no one anything! This is a business. Period.

I wish them tons of success and will definitely visit DC when I visit family.

 

I saw that Monkish released a bootshaped drinking glass a month or so ago, and i just want the lurking Other Half employees to know that I would buy an OH branded boot.

 

Where is the DC announcement?

 

I don't think they have a local presence "in spades" really, some fancier BK places have them on tap but that's about it. It'd make a huge difference to be able to make significant inroads in the draft scene in this city alone, much less throughout Westchester / LI / HV / NNJ or even CT.

I think it's odd to say that breweries like EQ / HV / Suarez don't contribute to the NYC beer scene when they're in the metro area, distribute kegs exclusively (with only a few exceptions) to this region and participate in NYC events quite often. Definitely don't agree that 60-90 minutes is the same as 5 hours to most people, and in this hypothetical presumably it'd be much closer to many folks who don't live in the 5 boroughs.

 

While I’ve got no problem with them opening in DC, I do wish they had first focused on getting their beer out in kegs to areas outside immediate NYC. It is insanely rare for a keg of Other Half to wind up on tap at a bar/restaurant on Long Island. If I want OH, I have to drive 2 hrs on the fucking belt parkway or take a train into the City (and then find a bar that actually has them on tap; it is not as widespread as one would think).

A lot of people in NJ/Westchester/LI support OH but have to travel to the brewery to acquire/taste their beer. I think it would be more beneficial to send their beer out to accounts in these areas before establishing a brewery in a whole new market, IMO.

 

From a purely personal/selfish standpoint I’d prefer they didn’t open other locations.

Even with an epic level of attention to detail it’s going to be hard not to water down the brand. With the single location they could have kept themselves cutting edge for longer - while capping their upside in the process.

But if i owned OH I would absolutely do what they’re doing