Russian River Rant

Cause, you know, those penny pinchers count each of the bretts.

 

As a homebrewer, I think they are living their dream. If I started a brewery, I'd still like to be on the floor day to day making beer. Expansion would inhibit that and if they are making enough money while still being able to do what they love, more power to them.

 

I disagree SA is tier 2 its as good as any other beer there, beer taste is subject, while You can rank it for YOURSELF, its only for you that rank is Valid..............

granted the rare whales get their hype but that does NOT make them all great..in fact many once all the BS dies out, MANY are just decent beers...

 

I'm starting to hope that ABInBev takes over RRBC somehow.

 

Welcome to the craft beer boom. Just plan on getting their much earlier from now on would be my solution.

 

People can do whatever they wish with their business (Uncle Sam overreaching aside). Expand, keep it small and simple, sell it to InBev (or even Walmart). I might want to be lying in a hammock on the veranda of my house on Tahiti rather then sweating over a mash tun- or you might be the kind of person that would rather sweat over a mush tun.

As far as getting into Russian River, my motto has always been "arrive early, leave early."

 

I hope all the craft brewers read these threads. There are so many beeradvocates on here that know more about running their business then they do.

Just think of all the free advice they are missing if they don't.

 

So you complain about, in a very long post?

You complain in caps about the how they may be ruing the future of craft beer and then to add insult to injury you question the owners passion for their brewery.

You are then challenged on your assumptions and state "I'd probably manage the growth the same way they are"

Very strange posts

 

I love this rant. I wake up each morning with similar rants going through my head. It drives me crazy. Last week - when all stores in my area went to a 2 bottle PtE limit - I was close to creating a kick-starter fund on their behalf.

Vinnie and Natalie have a product that sells 10 cases at a single store (240 bottles) in less than 15 minutes. How long does it take to sell 10 cases of other beer?

 

After visiting RRBC for the past three years, as you mentioned you had, and you learned nothing....

Never visit in the middle of the day on a Saturday or Sunday, and never arrive after 3:30pm any other day.

You could have avoided all you mentioned with better planning.

 

In fairness to the original poster, at what point does a brewery become so popular w/o expansion that it's really a pain in the ass for their customers to even enjoy it on a basic level?

In other words, when I go there now, I get there at opening (11am) on weekends. I can get a seat immediately and all is good, pretty painless. However, as their popularity continues to expand and their production remains static, my strategy might not work in the future. If there is a perpetual line at the brewpub and they have pretty much pulled all distro (which isn't really out of the question), is that an okay time to say, "hey, they really need to expand. It's showing a disregard for their customers"? Or is that always whiny entitlement? I found their gawking/laughing at the PTY line to be pretty tasteless.

 

To me, this was the point of his whole post. People love to praise small breweries like New Glarus and Hill Farmstead for staying "local" and helping the local economy by not distributing or expanding. To me, it's the opposite. By refusing to grow, you are hurting the local economy by A) not creating more jobs (whether directly: at the brewery itself or indirectly: at local stores, restaurants, or distributors) and B) not being able to supply these locales with more product to sell which ties right back into point A. I'm not suggesting every brewery can grow into Victory, Sierra, or Lagunitas nor that they should. By why is increasing production such a faux pas? Sierra Nevada has virtually no quality issues with 50 state distro. Why is being able to properly service your customer frowned upon? People are dying for the chance to throw their money at them and they turn their nose up.

 

Its not a faux pas to increase production, but above a certain level it becomes a life style choice decision. There is a big difference between running your own business in a hands on fashion and becoming the CEO of a larger business where one manages others who do the hands on work. We all make such life style decisions and live with the results.

 

Goes to Russian River on a weekend...expects no one to be there. Let's assume no one shows up to the Alchemist Truck Sales either

OP rants are best kept off BA, these men/women on here are like lions. You can't bring that weak stuff to the playground.

 

Everyone has a choice in how much time and money they want to invest in pursuing a particular beer or pub. If you've reached the point where it isn't worth it to you anymore then stop chasing it.

 

Vinnie and Natalie have stated in interviews that expansion requires borrowing money and they do not wish to do so. Seems legit to me, running your business in a way that makes you happy as long as you don't break the law.

 

Wow. I'm impressed.

 

Which is exactly why I stated that I was not suggesting that all breweries turn into Sierra Nevada, Victory, or Lagunitas. But in here, people like to frown upon breweries who venture into another market. Quality and finished product should always remain paramount. But what I don't understand is when breweries clearly have the ability to control quality above their current production levels and have the demand and capitol to support it, yet they don't. The refusal to do so is a slap in the face to the customer in my eyes. There is nothing wrong with having more than 1 market to sell your product in.

EDIT: I should say I take no issue with how RR is run or their business model. This is directed at other breweries but the discussion is pertinent to this thread.

 

The "good old days" of craft breweries being your local secret are over and done - through no fault of the brewers, imo. Sites like this and the "other one" have popularized small batch beers to the point where local work-arounds and extra effort have become essential if you want to continue drinking them. There seems to be no turning back, and for every loyal customer that gives up on a brewery due to no longer enjoying the consumer relationship they used to, there are 50 new ones willing & able to take their place. It's "survival of the fastest" now. Good beer is good business, and everyone wants to be a part of it now, for a variety of personal and commercial reasons.

 

Perhaps RR would be better served by decreasing their distro reach? Pull back from Philly/Denver/Oregon, and put that product into their local markets? It seems to work very well for New Glarus. If they're comfortable with the size of the business where it is, why not just sell it locally/regionally?