OBF changing in response to declining attendance

That's the quandary breweries face at fests these days; Do we bring some "special", so folks can check it in on Untappd, but doesn't really do anything to drive their brand, or; bring their flagships/seasonals and get folks to try them, and try to drive tap and package sales?

Why bring a Special beer to a fest where it won't help drive folks to your taproom or accounts? I see it when I pour at fests; some folks just walk by, because "oh, you guys have been around so long, I've tried all your beers" even though we might have a new seasonal on; versus "You're not pouring (insert flagship)? I love that beer, I drink it all the time!"

 

That's a bummer. I'm actually a fan of OBF and while I understand and agree with a lot of peoples complaints about it I also think people are often too hard on it. Last year I felt was one of the best in years imo.

Shrinking mug, eliminating the speciality tent and reducing the beers are mistakes I feel. We just got the speciality tent back it feels like! Eliminating Wednesday makes sense to me, they just need more space than anything. I'd love for them to widen the event and take over part of Natio but I know that'll never happen.

 

im a huge fan as well, and the specialty tent is one of the best parts! wednesdays my favourite day as well as is a bit quieter and more space to move around. the article seems to focus more on the economic impact then the decline in attendence, which is strange..

on the specialty tent: “It was hard to manage, and the beers were very expensive,” Larrance said of the tent. “When you’re paying $220 for a one sixth barrel, you should be selling 2 oz. samples for $6 or $7 rather than $2. It just wasn’t economically feasible to do that anymore.”

yes its going to be hard to manage, that comes with having smaller batches of various beers on constantly changing taps.. a sixth barrel is 660oz.. with loss, etc... say 600oz.. if they're buying that for $220, 2oz samples for $2 means $600, so your gross on that is $380. am i missing something in that math?

 

The "net" would be 380 (income - purchase price), "gross" is the raw income. But that doesn't factor in the other overhead: Space rental, cold rental, other fundamentals (tables for brewers to set up on) tents, insurance, permits and licensing, tables and chairs for the public to use, ice, the base cost of the glasses, Wristbands (if applicable), entertainment (if applicable), portapotty's (if applicable), paying someone to spend months on the organizational end, promotional costs,......

 

gross i meant before factoring in all the event expenses as listed above.. i understand there are a ton of costs for running an event like this, but thats a pretty good chunk of revenue from one small keg? or is it not?

 

Yes, charging $3+ per ounce sounds perfectly reasonable...

 

Do they not charge admission fee? That’s what should cover production costs. Beer tokens should really only cover the cost of the beer at an event like this, with perhaps a little room for profit. But $6/7 for a 2oz is laughable.

FWIW: in BC, you can charge a max of $1.75 including tax for 4oz pours at special events. Of any beer, regardless of cost. Some of the import 1/6barrels cost $400+!

 

Pulling in $2000 for each $220 sixtel isn't reasonable?

 

no specialty tent??? damnit man

 

If half the crowd truly is from out of town and OBF has become a destination fest then maybe the answer is to ditch the national invitees as well. Do all NW breweries pouring shelf beers or seasonals. The weekend party crowd would be fine with this approach as well. For that matter you could save money by getting rid of the bands. A specialty tent with wine and cider - but also mead, craft fizzies, kombucha (Portlanders love them some kombucha!) might be appealing as well.

As the article makes clear, there are more than enough fests for beer connoisseurs.

 

You need to purchase a glass ($7) so I assume they make some money on that.. but no admission fee, free to come and go as you please. Just not sure what kinda margin they need on sales to make it work

 

Maybe better to charge a fee..give a different coloured /shaped hand stamp each day ?

 

Even fewer people will want to go with the new belt tightening and so it goes. What is the purpose of beer festivals? To promote beer? Why not write off any excessive expense as advertising? If the business model has to work for a profit and can't, maybe there shouldn't be one. What's the next casualty? The Holiday Festival? Who else benefits drawing all these people downtown? Hotels? Restaurants?

 

No specialty tent and a dollar 3oz pour for a so so beer isn't going to make me want to attend anymore.