The Bruery: explain how they've done it.

I'm pretty sure that their success is all about capital. I remember reading that Rue tapped his trust fund to start it, which is a pretty good start compared to most breweries. The RS is also a stroke of genius, since it's basically an interest-free loan (or even money-making, depending on how you look at it, but it's hard to know), and interest-free loans are pretty hard to come by. Think about this year, >1000 members at $300 each, that's a pretty good chunk of change for basically nothing. This allows them to do things like massively ramp up production (and barrel aging) in a very short time, which is the key to success in this business right now (along with building a brand, which they've also done really well). Say what you will about their beer, but I don't think that there's anyone in the brewing business right now that manages their money better than Rue.

If you want to go into other factors, they've clearly gone all-in on barrel aging (similar to 50-50), which I think is a winning move if you can manage it. Like most people I think that their regular offers are pretty uninspiring, but I think their unique look and the brand they've built from the limited stuff does enough to sell it.

 

RS wasn't introduced until year two IIRC though, before which they obviously had their hands on plenty of barrels and space capacity to age a great variety of brews already.

Personally, their customer service and outreach into the beer geek scene goes a long way IMO towards explaining some of their early success, and much of their positive image. (Unfortunately, while not shabby by any means it does feel like that aspect has been on a modest decline since year three of RS began, which is understandable given their growth but still a bit disappointing)

 

I hate pumpkin beers, but love Autumn maple, esp BA version

 

I'd like to see it in a rum barrel...

as far as their popularity they make some quality beers and are arguably the best brewery in the LA/OC area. I'd rather head to SD though and hit up some of the places down there instead though. I found the experience at The Bruery to be a bit underwhelming.

 

Agreed IMO, their business model is more similar to California wineries than it is breweries. You buy a membership in order to buy allotments, special bottles or vintages are available to members occaisionally, you charge a premium price for a 750ml, and some of their regulars are distributed. And of course, the product is very good too. The only major difference is that they can't ship out of state. Looking forward to that law changing one day.

 

I haven't bought a Bruery beer off the shelf since Bigger, Faster, Stronger or whatever it's called, and that was awhile ago. That said, I consider a lot of the beers out of the Provisions store to be worth searching out.

 

Black Tuesday put them on the map. Chocolate Rain, Papier, Melange No. 3, Oude Tart and others helped augment the hype. The Partridge in a Pear Tree craziness boosted it even more.

They're also a highly visible brewery. They distribute across the entire country, and in almost half the states in the Union. Which would make you think they have incredibly high production numbers...which they don't. They've come up with the business model of producing large-format, relatively pricey beers, and then distributing a small quantity of those beers to a large number of areas.

Honestly, The Bruery should almost be considered two different breweries: the one that distributes everywhere, and then the Reserve Society. The one that distributes everywhere is good but unremarkable. The Reserve Society is excellent, with a number of world class beers.

 

I have never had a beer from them, I pass by them all the time, just never been compelled. Is their run of the mill shelf stuff any good? I can't for the life of me remember which ones I have available, though Trade Winds and Saison Rue sound familiar.

 

Most of their easy shelf stuff is okay. Trade Winds is probably my favorite of the bunch. Now, when you get into basically everything else (i.e. Provisions, Reserve Society), that's stellar stuff. Their sour program is insanely good right now. I hope they keep pumping them out!

 

The shelf stuff I have tried (Saison Rue, Saison de Lente and Rugbrod) have all been good, but nothing mind blowing. I have never tried any of the limited releases so I cant comment on those. The Autumn Maple (brewed with yams not pumpkin), which I was super excited to get my hands on and try, was a massive disappointment IMO. It was so sweet and syrupy that myself, my wife and two buddies could not get through half a 750.

 

It's decent. Nothing special.

 

I definitely think marketing and uniqueness play a hand. I know when I was a newbie their bottles really stood out to me, and I still love the look of thei labels and bottles. I will admit that their year round stuff isn't necessarily fantastic, but they ate solid brews, especially Saison Rue and Rugbrod.

Their limited stuff has mostly been great, especially their anniversary ales

It just sounds like they have done everything right, from the business plan, to marketing, to their beers and to embracing the nerd culture. It may be annoying, but there is something cool about a brewery that only releases 750s and doesn't have an IPA.

 

To me their bottles look expensive, so I just passed them by (as they didn't have the name of any of the beers you guys talk about here).

 

The fact is that they make beer that people want to get their hands on. Limited quantities, BA versions, brett versions, etc. all contribute to the "Gotta Have It" factor. They make beers that people want to collect.

They have excellent marketing, sexy bottles and labels, and generally make consistently good beers. Sure, not as good as other breweries, but better than others.

 

Yeah but it takes great customer service, a keen attention to the demand of their consumer base, and continuing achievement to stay on the map...

 

They took all the gimmicks of the time that built hype for other breweries, and combined them into one big hype generating brewery...
Reserve Society -> Sinners & Saints
12 Days of Christmas -> Stone VE
Black Tuesday -> Dark Lord, Darkness, KtG

There's no real in between when it comes to beers that cost $15-$30, either they're great or I seriously feel like I've been had. With The Bruery you get a little of both.

 

The Bruery is an interesting place. They learned a lot quickly, mostly to do the opposite of what Lost Abbey did, which gained them a ton of popularity as people abandoned the LA club to join the RS club. They're close to the beer wasteland that was LA (as it slowly grows) and I think a lot of their tap handles make their way to the OC and LA as they sure as hell don't have a presence in SD.

To keep the RS going they're a total tickerfactory. Some good, some bad, but paying $300 for the right to buy beer is..well, I don't have those deep pockets or interest in driving 1.5hrs up there. I think the Bruery is the first great "LA" brewery and thus all the beer geeks up there went bonkers.

Location, hype (I did really enjoy BT), constant new beers from different treatments/yeasts/bugs, an inoffensive label that allows for quick turnaround in approval. The east coast version is Cigar City.

The Christmas beers have been a lot of suck, I have no idea why PiaPT was so popular, I had it multiple times and it's just a gross mess of a beer. Their fests have been hit or miss, I went to several of the early ones and said "Fuck this, not worth it" and pretty much from then out it's been a 'pass' when it comes to their product.

 

Not only is this just your opinion, it's also wrong.

 

Wineries generally don't charge you to join their wine club.

 

Except they make jai alai and maduro and other flagships that are actually good and pretty available. The Bruery has absolutely nothing thats worth my money on shelves. I've only bought one beer from them on a shelf that I've liked and CCB was involved in making it.