Brewery, Retail Store, or Both?

Yes, I guess I should stipulate that this is mainly for smaller guys. If your a large brewery selling across USA and elsewhere then you have to play ball with retail or your done. Sorry, that is a great point, so my above is "Small" breweries.

 

Agreed. My view was based on smaller guys selling mostly local. If your large then yes you need retail or you will not survive.

 

It just sounds to me like a case of having your cake and eating it too. A brewery (generally) is going to be able to sell for lower than retail. But if they go ahead and do that, it's sort of a case of being like "hey guys I'm looking for you to buy X of my beer month in and month out to sell at your store which is necessary for me to stay in business, but just FYI I'm going to sell the same beer for less direct at my brewery because that's best for me. Cool?". Doesn't sound like a sustainable set up.

Again I don't own a brewery or a store - I imagine it's a balancing act. And there are probably lots of variables (i.e. matters a lot more for a store a few blocks away than one a hundred miles away).

It seems like you're thinking about this from the perspective of a brewery that has a goal of selling all their beer from the brewery direct - if so I guess you/they would have a plan in place to achieve that and lose the reliance on retail. But any brewery that has an ongoing need to sell the bulk of their beer via (local) retail, is going to have to tread a fine line. And re: your point above about your beer being a draw for the store - I doubt any beer geeks are going to be lining up at the retail store for your highly sought after beer if they can go buy it direct from you at the brewery for less.

You're also making the assumption that a brewery serves food - many (at least where I live) don't. But if you do, then surely that's something that attracts people to your brewery (assuming it tastes good), where they'll also consume beer on premise, and then buy some slightly higher priced packaged beer to go. Retail doesn't have those options to attract people - they're going to be even more cost-driven than you are.

 

Mixture here - I'd guess 75% stores, 25% breweries. I don't like waiting in lines, so some breweries are out by default. While New England has a lot of stellar breweries, they are not near where I live. Field trips simply to buy beer would not go well on the home front most of the time.

That said, a brewery where we can visit, eat, chat, sample some fresh as they get beers, and take cans/bottles to go is always enjoyable. So that will get us to a brewery where it can be more of an "event" than just picking up some beers. Good beer will get me to go back. Poor beer and a crappy, untidy, and poorly maintained brewhouse will make me stay away (can't help it - food engineer). Food I can be a little more tolerant of - it's big bonus points for great food. Jack's Abby or Stoneface are prime examples. Allagash - will go out of our way to visit. Beer is always top notch, usually a food truck, and the vibe is positive with great staff even when swamped. It is especially pleasant with the new policy with the different pour sizes.

Stores - what keeps me coming back is clean and well-lit, organized and well-curated stock, mix-a-six from anywhere on the shelf, and reasonably friendly staff. I'm a BA - pointing me and the missus in the general direction is usually good enough. But if you want to chat, at least be friendly and don't treat us like it is an imposition for us to be in your store paying your bills. Unkempt stores - well, we've walked right from the in to the out door more than once. Uncurated - mostly would mostly refer to old beer on shelf, but also the organization and presentation.

 

I'm a retail store guy for sure - I've always had about three I shop regularly and a few fringe stores I hit if I'm in the area. I've only purchased at a brewery twice.

The obvious benefit to the brewery purchase is to get beers that aren't distributed outside the brewery; catch being, it may require a wait in line, which I'm not fond of doing.

Biggest benefits to the retail store are the greater breadth and depth of selection and the relationship I establish with the owner. I guess if you are regular enough at a brewery, they hook you up, too, but I don't know. But I do know that my regular stores hold stuff for me, offer me things they don't offer everyone, throw me something for free every now and then, and even discount some purchases here and there.

But as a few folks have said, convenience is a factor - I'm closer to Total Wine and a coupla good stores than to any breweries, so that definitely plays a role.

 

Retail 95%, line standing NEIPA/Pastry Stout makers <5%. Other locals...just to visit and sample flights and occasional pints but more for entertainment purposes. Beer from 90%+ of small locals is mediocre. Higher quality and cheaper options in retail stores (and more convenient to buy as well).

 

Retail stores, both at home and on the road. I'm willing to trade a little freshness for a better selection, lower prices, and more convenience.

If they ever open a Binny's or a TW around here, I'm screwed.

 

What do you mean by small? 500 barrels, 1000 barrels ect,

 

I am basing my view off guys who sell mostly at the brewery or to a very limited group of local retail shops and nothing out of state. So that was the factor I used. Not so much on how much beer they make, if they are not using a lot of retail to move it, it would not matter.
Like others mentioned, if they are large in size and sell all over their home state and out of state then they have to play a new game to make sure retail sells their beer.
I feel a lot has to do with many factors and its a fine dance to make sure everyone makes cash and stays in the public eye, etc.

 

Welcome to the BA site, Joe.

Retail store for me. My one local brewery does not bottle, and I don't buy growlers. When I had another brewery in town that bottled their beers, I only occasionally bought bottles there. But I also drank a lot of beer in the place and usually didn't want the same beers at home. So I'll say that I was not loyal to them. I visit a lot of breweries when I travel, and I'll occasionally buy bottled beer to-go from some of them.

 

Yeah, I feel like you're getting beat up here, but the business model you're describing seems sustainable. In fact, maybe @honkey can chime in here, as I believe that basically IS his business model. Tombstone beer (in cans, at least) is cheaper at the brewery than it will be at retail. Retailers still carry it, so I guess it is working.

 

LOL that is one of the guys I was using for reference, along with AZ Wild and others. Weedy sells at his brewery one price, then about 20-30% more when at retail. His beer lasts 1-2 days at retail and is gone. He seems to have this dialed in and works great. Also the retail that gets his beer sees a lot of people come in that day and buy, they probably buy other beer as well so Tombstone is actually helping them sell more. AZ Wild is another, you can go to brewery and pay one price and then someone like GCM is a few bucks more. Again they both profit and it is working.
I cannot speak for other states and other guys who are large, I am not familiar with them or their process just local guys.
Cheers and thanks for seeing where I was coming from.

 

In addition to what others have said about not undercutting retailers.... Breweries [should] have the advantage of freshness over retailers, and, in my opinion, freshness has value. If I pay market price at a brewery and get fresher beer, I am still ahead as a consumer, regardless of the brewer's profit margin on it. EDIT: If the brewer wants to give me a discount too I certainly will not argue with them, but I have no expectations for a discount.


That said, to the OP's question... the vast majority of my beer purchases are retail due to convenience (closer to my home) and variety of options.

However, the OP's question of whether to buy beer from a local brewery vs retailer rests on an unspoken assumption that any beer distributed at retail has a suitable locally-made alternative. I would never agree with that assumption. There will always be a place for distributed retail beer, particularly if you like any beer styles under-represented by the popular/trendy beer scene.

 

But, if folks come to your brewery to eat, and drink non-packaged stuff, you have the chance to sell them packaged stuff, at full retail or above, and keep that markup for yourself.

Where is the motivation for a store or bar to carry a breweries beer, if consumers can get it cheaper at the brewery?

It's common around here to see both draft and packaged cheaper all over town than at the 13 breweries we have.

 

Every time I make plans to go to a brewery life gets in the way and I end up back at one of five packys that I visit on a rotating basis. That could change, maybe this weekend?

 

I would say a mix, most of the breweries around here are heavy on the (D)IPA, mostly haze stuff, Which works with me, since they add up to about 35-40% of beer styles I drink.

But for the 60% left/variety I buy from retail stores. This also gives me the opportunity to try stuff from other region/states or try beer styles way below the hype level.

I decide which brewery to hit based on the beers being released and the time it takes me to get there, I avoid lines, and look for hop/malt profiles I prefer over others.

Time is also a factor, since I can't always go to the brewery and the store is a 5' walk from home..on my way back from work.

The thing is that, with the huge number of beer available/being released weekly Is impossible to keep the pace so, willing to try as many as I can (within reasonable limits), I must make a choice, so I almost never buy more than a 4-pack for each kind of beer, or if retail I buy singles, unless is something I really like or want to go back to.

 

I buy almost exclusively from retail stores. My wife isn't a big fan of trips to breweries, so I don't get to go much. Also, on the occasions that I do go to a brewery, I just drink my fill on the premises. Plus, just at my local Wegmans, they have a hundred or more different rotating singles. Hard to beat that at a brewery.

 

LOL