Maine Beer Company Moving?

Heard about this last weekend while at Rising Tide. While I haven't been to MBC yet I'm not surprised - from all the pictures and accounts I've heard, it seems like it's been getting a little cramped in there.

 

Not a big enough expansion (3000bbl --> 5000bbl annual production) to make a dent in the price, probably. :-(

 

Haven't been inside, but from the outside, that place looks tiny. Not surprising.

 

It is tiny. I'm only a 10 minute drive from their current location so I wish they were staying in the Portland area.

 

Blanchard's has been getting much more regular supply of their stuff lately. I think we currently have all of their offerings except King Titus, which I'm sure was a trial sized batch. That includes both Mo and Lunch at the same time for the first time in...forever?

 

YES! More Freeport Route 1 traffic, I cannot wait!!!

But seriously. With family in Durham I'll be much more likely to visit them in this new location during my yearly trip home. I am pleased.

 

Picked up lunch last night...havent had this in like 18 months pretty pumped to drink it tonight. I heard this was a good batch.

 

One would think it would be significantly cheaper rent though. Between that assumption and increased production, hopefully they could get costs down $1 or $2 per bottle.

Otherwise, I hope they have short term plans for expanded distribution, because their beers are really starting to linger in MA due to the high prices.

 

let's be realistic, prices aren't coming down, ever.

 

Between the Industrial Park near 95 in Portland and Route 1 Freeport? I highly, highly doubt that.
My assumption is they want to take advantage of the foot-traffic / tourism that frequents Freeport.

 

I did hear this through the grape vine, but wasn't sure it was true.
One more reason to shop at LL Bean.
Good luck!!

 

OK, in the story it says: Maine Beer now sells beer in nine East Coast states, from New England to Washington, D.C.

When did New England become a state? ... It's also sad commentary on Connecticut that D.C. can buy MBC but we can't here!

 

IIRC, any DC retailer can "import" out-of-District beer, so there is no need for MBC to find and vet a wholesaler to sell there.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/maine-beer-co-coming-to-ct.51961/

 

I'm pretty sure the company has purchased land and is currently building a new facility, so rent's not going to be an issue. Their capacity will probably be close to 10,000BBL in a few years, but I doubt that the MBC pricepoint will come down. Maybe for Peeper, but not the other beers. So long as demand remains the same (or grows), and the brewery is able to control the supply of their beer, what business owner in his or her mind would lower prices?

 

I think you're looking at it a bit too simplistically. Consumer behavior around new breweries is not the same thing as consumer behavior around established breweries.

In fact, I don't think they have much of a choice in the long run. Demand has already plummeted for their beers around Boston - I can walk into most any store nowadays and find months old bottles collecting dust - not a great sign when you're dealing with hoppy stuff. Their beers are simply overpriced for what they are, and that only works when it's "new and exciting". You hear the same thing over and over from people "great beer but I've had it, and $7 for a 500ml of an IPA is just too much to buy regularly".

The alternative is they start spreading out distro to find new markets that are willing to pay the premium for new stuff. That will work for a while, but not forever.

I love MBC's beers, and I really want this company to succeed. It's going to struggle though if it doesn't manage to lock in a bigger group of regular consumers, and that's only going to happen with lower prices.

 

I agree, but aren't you just supporting what I said? My conditional statement assumes demand stays the same, but the inverse of that is if demand decreases then they will no longer be able to command that high price point.

MBC will most definitely be breaking into new markets, and have already done so in Philadelphia, New York, and D.C. in the past year. If they lose in the Boston market, it doesn't really matter in the long run. You are obviously not willing to pay the prices for their beer, but there are people elsewhere who are more than willing.

 

I don't think we're disagreeing tremendously, but you assume there is some kind of sustainable demand for their beer. I'm saying that the recent demand levels are more temporary because of their "hot new brewery" status in the last two years. Beer geeks are not monogamous, they love the latest and greatest, and they have proven long-term price sensitivities.

Whatever happens in Boston is precisely what is going to happen in Philly, NY, DC, and every other market that drinks a lot of craft beer. It will be hot shit, hard to get, and selling at a premium. Slowly, as more people are able to get the beer, interest will wane. Eventually the bottles will sit collecting dust. The only way to recapture that lost interest is with lower prices.

There is just no other IPA/Pale/Red that has seen long-term success at the price point of MBC beers. They're very good, but good enough to completely buck the market? I really doubt that.

 

Sweet closer to my in-laws. Perfect the wife can go to LL Bean for hours and I can drink at MBC!!!