Should breweries offer seasonal releases only?

Not too keen on the idea as there are some beers I like having around to consume year round. Shelf life is not an issue around here since I only buy dated beer and always know how fresh it is before I buy it. Also there are enough alternatives that if my first choice isn't to be found fresh, usually my next choice is available fresh. And usually the difference between first and second choice is a matter of mood rather than quality.

That said, I do appreciate being able to buy seasonals and have that type of variety to pick from. Indeed, in some years what I'm drinking most is seasonals and it often differs from year to year because there is so much to choose from.

Edit: To address the brewery part of your question, from talking with brewers, etc. I don't have the sense that it would be a viable business model to try and do only seasonals as they believe they have many customers who have brand loyalty to a particular beer and they'd lose those folks (e.g., Victory's Hop Devil is year round and one of their best sellers.)

 

It's not a dumb idea by any means, I would just think from an economical standpoint it may not work for the business. Those year round, flagship beers usually bring in most of the revenue and have the highest profit margins. This and brand recognition. For new breweries it doesn't make sense to not have year rounds while they try and establish their brand. Those are just a few obvious concerns I would have, playing devils advocate.

 

As long as there is a happy medium with seasonals and year round releases, I will be happy.

 

I just deleted a couple lines because I was going to delineate how I disagreed with you. Nothing that I wrote actually convinced me that you were wrong. So yes, I would like to see most beers become seasonal. Although breweries should maintain year-round production on their high runners, I do wonder what the result of increased seasonality would be on the market as a whole. I can't see flagship beers (SNPA, SABL, 60 Minute, etc) becoming seasonal.

 

I suspect seasonal and limited releases are a big revenue stream and most breweries would not want to rock the boat.

 

I think a lot of us here would be happy to drink beers seasonally, as we know what's what when we go to a bar or the store. For the newer craft beer drinker, that could be more overwhelming. Didn't we all start out on some ubiquitous flagship beers that are still available everyday?

There are plenty of breweries who have a hard enough time keeping up with demand, even with year round beers. Because of quality, not just marketing.

 

With stores' philosophies nowadays (to wit: huge selection over any amount of sense), something tells me there'd still be plenty of old seasonals on the shelf in such a world (at least in larger markets), thus not changing much of anything.

 

Can you imagine all the questions at the store? "Where's this beer?" "When's this coming out?" "I got x beer last month..."

While not feasible, I do think it's an interesting idea to think about.

 

Here in NC, Mystery Brewing is already doing this exact thing. They offer a set of four different beers quarterly and don't brew anything year-round. I see two big things wrong with this: First, if someone really likes one of the beers but, after a few months of drinking it steadily, they then can't get any more until next year, it causes them to lose their faith in the brand. I'm not talking about us beer freaks who understand the nature of seasonal releases but rather the average drinker. You tell them they can't have their new favorite beer until next year and they get irritated. Yeah the next quarter might offer some cool beers too "BUT WHAT ABOUT MY FAVORITE?!" Flagships exist for a reason: to provide constantly available solid offerings to the brewery's clientele so they can grow their fanbase. Having only limited offerings just excludes the casual drinkers. Second problem: There are already enough "(insert seasonal beer) was so much better last year" threads. Making all releases seasonal will make the amount quadruple. It's not wise to make it so that every single beer you produce is only tasted one season a year because then people will scrutinize each one without realizing their palates are changing and not the beers, thus excluding more casual drinkers.

 

very interesting idea, and certainly in-line with what the consumer wants these days (seasonals are the #1 SKU behind IPAs)

that being said, its almost impossible for a brewery to run a stable business model this way. Breweries need to have some core items that bring in a consistent amount of cash flow in order to cover their fixed costs. The seasonals add an extra dynamic to the business model, but in no way can it supplant or replace having some year round beers.

 

IMO, Shane (@Sixpoint) has the proper view here: "Breweries need to have some core items that bring in a consistent amount of cash flow in order to cover their fixed costs."

It sounds like Mystery Brewing is running an interesting experiment; I suppose we will have to follow them to see what shakes out. It would not surprise me to see Mystery Brewing make a change to their business model sometime downstream and start introducing a few year round beers to their product portfolio.

Cheers!

 

Pipeworks out of Chicago is another example. They have built a business model out of never brewing the same beer twice. Everything is always new...

Is this sustainable? Well, you have to give these innovators credit for taking a risk. But I can tell you that if I had dozens of employees and staff members who created a livelihood out of working at a brewery (that goes to the people washing kegs to the sales reps to the operations to the admin staff to the managers and executives - everyone) who was dependent upon stable cash flows to pay salaries, benefits, and fund their retirements - there is no way that I would want to base that upon the whims of the public's acceptance of the latest, greatest beer release.

At some point in time you realize that customers are not buying your beer because they like it, they are buying it simply because its the shiny new toy. In other words, they are buying the novelty, not the liquid itself.

 

“At some point in time you realize that customers are not buying your beer because they like it, they are buying it simply because it’s the shiny new toy. In other words, they are buying the novelty, not the liquid itself.”

Shane, does the above apply to Sixpoint? It seems to me that folks purchase your core beers like Crisp, Bengali, Sweet Action, and Resin because they do indeed enjoy the ‘liquid’ of those beers.

Cheers!

 

Hi Jack,

I think I might not have been clear enough. What I meant to say is IF you run a business model that is predicated upon selling a new beer every time, then your customers are not purchasing your beers because they like the liquid (because they have never tasted it). Instead, they are purchasing the novelty (meaning they want to purchase it because they never tried it before).

This is exactly the opposite of a repeat customer who always buys the same beers over and over again because the love the liquid, love the brand, and don't mind drinking the same beer from the same brewery.

It gives the brewery a more stable outlook on its business prospects, instead of always trying to sell the shiny new toy.

As far as how this relates to Sixpoint, the majority of our sales are our core beers like Crisp, Sweet Action, Resin, Bengali. The Cycliquids are a growing part of our business but they are not the main driver of our brewery. That being said, we have a great time brewing them and we appreciate our fans' interest in them. We look forward to releasing a KILLER Cycliquids calendar in 2015!

cheers

 

That just doesn't sound very economically feasible for exactly what Sixpoint lays out as the very real and also expensive costs of keeping a brewery operational, nor does it sound like something that in terms of staffing needs and their actual wants for employability and to have a life; sustainable.
It sounds more like a hobby project and one that would require some seriously deep pockets and just skip the willingness to lose a lot of money and go straight to wanting to lose a LOT of money before it becomes profitable.

 

For right now, flagship brews are needed especially by the restaurants trying to attract those with craft beer taste buds. Often their taps are monopolized by crap that the big breweries make them carry and if the business wants to try some craft brews they are sold product that the big breweries say is “craft” and market as craft, but it doesn’t even compare. Customers need to know that they can count on some solid selections EVERY TIME they go there to eat and sometimes be pleasantly surprised by a seasonal or two. Of course, this argument gets much weaker if every restaurant had a website and updated their offerings every morning but it just won’t happen.

 

While I understand and agree with everything you said, I think there is a bit more to the shiny new toy analogy, and to attempt to extend it, a brewery does have to produce *quality* shiny toys, because I think most (here at least) won't continue buying a brewery's one offs if they are no good, no matter how new or shiny. Which I believe plays into the sustainability part of the argument. I think a smaller brewery could pull it off, but that's about it.

 

I'd much prefer to be able to get CW BRBBS and BBBWA year round.