What beer should I buy?

Wine and spirits store? Honestly - I buy 90% of my beers direct from breweries - have been for the last couple of years. I make occasional exceptions for a half dozen breweries. Is it too late for you to change your business plan to a brewery ?

 

I’d check out the competition, and I’d not only look at what they have on the shelf but I’d turn over cans and check the dates. It’s a place to start anyway, but it’s summer so Pils and Lagers are great, ipas are the most popular style out there. With ipas there’s a ton of competition, but you'll have competition from other retailers too, so what’ll set you apart? The market here has significantly changed in the last two years or so, more locals, less beers from Cali and out of state altogether, reduced national brewery influence. A very turbulent market here. Best of luck to you, product vigilance is your best friend and a great relationship with your distributors, let them know your customers date check beers and so will you at delivery time.

 

Probably better than half of your inventory should be local/Georgia brews, and the rest can be Bell's Two Hearted. How's that for a recommendation for me to be supporting my local? (No, I don't work for Bell's.)

 

I'm not in Georgia, but the beer stores in my neck of the woods that seem to be doing well generally have an aisle or three (plus a big wall cooler) with the national macro brews (and typically Yuengling in those same aisles) , another aisle for imports, and two or three aisles for U.S. craft, often organized by region. Lots of local craft as well as West Coast and Midwest stuff, and another big cooler for 4-packs of the harder to find/more expensive craft. A lot of the beer stores around here also have growler fill stations offering 6-10 mostly local or regional brews.

 

First piece of advice, don't ask for advice here on what will sell. I don't believe the bulk of beer is being bought by people that are represented on these forums. That being said there are some people who work or run stores that sell beer on here so if they respond then you might get some great advice, otherwise you'll probably get non representative answers. Given that you are running a store that is mostly focused on wine and spirits you probably won't be getting a lot of beer geeks in (e.g. not your BA crowd).

From what I've read people have given good information but I know I probably wouldn't be a regular in a store that was not directly focused on craft beer when there are so many alternatives or breweries to go directly to.

 

Have you seen the ‘Enjoy By..’ thread?

Tons of experts telling everyone about retailers and distribution alongside a comment or two about the beer. This thread seems a little redundant after that one

 

This.

That said... here's my advice: DON'T stock your shelves 80%+ with IPA's which are all virtually identical. IPA's sell like hotcakes and a disproportionate portion of your inventory will end up being IPA's, if not right away then within a few months when you realize that that's the biggest selling craft beer. Take the time to identify the various sub-styles and get a good mix. Have a knowledgeable friend help you if necessary.

 

There’s so much competition here, I’d be extremely reluctant on the craft beer side of this. With places like Total Wine here, actually two, they offer a lot. We’re a state controlled liquor state, so there’s no spirits involved, but you can’t beat TW prices on wine, and selling AALs I’m sure pays their pills, craft is a pain in the ass for them I’m sure. Asking about beers on this site is far different than asking the paying mainstream what they buy. If the craft beer crowd is a few percent in numbers, perhaps looking at the other 97% of beer buyers is a safer bet? There’s a ton of competition out there and if your the cheapest out there for AALs there’s no reason to think you won’t have success. I’d look at the craft side as bonus money and if you listen to us you’ll have 1000 beers on the shelf. I think some study and prudent buying might be in order, you’d hate to stock beers that don't sell, which is why I mentioned checking not only what but how old. If your seeing 5-6 month old ipas routinely as an example it’s a pretty good indication they don’t turn quickly.

 

Go on a shopping trip to some places that are in a similar market area to the one where you will be located. Check dates, look for out of code beer on the shelves. Avoid those when purchasing for your market. Avoid stocking brands that have no date.

 

Such a volatile craft beer market, national brews are sometimes slow to sell, local beers are mostly of unknown quality, and at higher prices than those national brews. Quite a challenge with a start up, and I agree on the close to out of date beers and those over date, I’d avoid anything close to that like the plague. They’re in that position for a reason... they don’t sell.

 

If the shelves of stores around me are any indication then...Roughly 40% IPAs, 20% lagers, 20% stouts, 10% [premium] imports, 10% everything else (+/- 5% with seasonal changes). The IPAs and lagers lean heavily towards more local brewers. Keep in mind that is only the "craft and imports" sections of the store, about 50% of store is big national American/Mexican/Euro brands (e.g. Bud, Miller, Coors, Heineken, Corona, Becks, Peroni, Molson, etc.), which indicates how true this statement from @matthewp is...

So, feel free to ignore my advice!

Good luck!

 

Just don't let your IPAs sit for 6+ months like most stores seem to.

 

For the love of god, don’t put anything on the shelf that’s anywhere near out of date unless you want these guys to never shop there

 

Or the retailer bought way too much to make the shelves look "pretty".

I'd advise the OP to not fall into THAT trap.

 

I am not being mean in any way but if you opening a store and have no idea what to buy that means your not ready to open a store? If you have been in the industry for 10 years you should be an expert on this by now otherwise your not ready for this and need more time to educate before you invest money. Good luck!
Cheers

 

lol. Absolutely right, who wants to buy old beer? Makes no sense to me , and it’s the quickest way I can think of to help kill your business , unless you decide to split to singles.