How should we handle regional opening/closing threads?

This discussion falls under the larger umbrella of how people use and navigate this site.

This debate exploded earlier this year with all the hand wringing about not being able to find anything after a few weeks of a flood of new beer style drinking now threads, which resulted in the creation of “The Bar”. Now that the beer style drinking threads have mostly fizzled out, The Bar is primarily WBAYDN and NBW/NBS activity.

It’s is easy to find things here via the search functionality, but it seems as though either a vocal minority or silent majority may prefer a more granular approach, or perhaps it’s just easier to manage or monetize the site with more granularity.

Not a deal breaker regardless, but I’m less inclined to prepare a more substantial thread that takes periodic updates like a comprehensive opening/closing thread or a city resource thread, knowing that they may be locked despite being useful and abiding by BA rules.

I’m in more of an organic mindset, let the forums develop organically beyond policy violations or issues that cause administrative stress or burden. Don’t see how having a comprehensive state brewery opening / closing thread would be an issue, but perhaps I’m missing something.

 

I have to agree, if it’s not a new thread in the regional forum then I likely won’t see it.

 

I only follow the Pacific and Belgium forums and it generally takes a month or more for a thread to fall off those pages. I guess other regional forums are more active?

 

Adding some additional numbers to this. If you combine those two numbers and divide them by the number of regional forums (11) that’s 83 new threads this year in each forum. That’s if we had dedicated threads for each.

This isn’t a pitch, just putting it into context. This is for the US by the way.

 

I voted for the least popular - one thread for each. My thinking:

• Forums are meant to generate discussion - not be titles used as a news feed (though I do a lot of headline-only reading, so do as I say...)
  
• Most closures are not "locality shattering" and won't have many replies
• Given what I've seen with reviews for most new locals, most openings aren't likely to generate a ton of replies
• Either of the last two points has its exceptions

So, I agree that there should be no hard and fast policy, but... maybe guidelines?

<insert "Pirate Code" meme/video here>

 

I like the idea of a more comprehensive database, like what @ChicagoJ compiled—but that’s a tremendous amount of work.

 

Yeah, I don't think either way is a big deal. I don't even remember the last time a closing was announced in the pacific forum and in the northwest forum I feel like any announcements get mentioned in the various "state news" type threads.

I was simply comparing the two methods, to me it seems like a catch all thread makes this kind of news more visible (or I guess maybe just visible for longer?) than individual new threads.

In general it still seems like something that doesn't benefit from any official policy

 

I think dedicated thread for each opening/closing makes the most sense. Easier to see if there's one you recognize without flipping through a long regional thread.

 

Catch all thread but allow anyone who thinks it warrants a thread to start a thread. For instance in the Pacific you probably don’t need a thread for Longship Brewing, Pacific Islander or 13 Points closing (who???) but you sure as hell are gonna get a lot of discussion over Ballast Point or Modern Times shutting down their largest taprooms. If someone deems it worth a thread, let them start it, but give a location for stuff folks may want to mention but is far from worth a thread.

 

Why not both? Anyway, please unlock our Minnesota openings/closings thread. It’s our only active statewide thread and keeping it locked will essentially kill discussion about our state.

 

Open it before this guy gets Surly...

 

He's a Dangerous Man Indeed when you Blacklist his thread

 

I think the way we were doing it for MN was working fine. Lets keep it like that.

 

This!!

I only come here and check out that thread. If there is nothing new I move on with my life.

Not sure why it needed to change or be locked...seemed to be working fine for us Minnesooooootans.

 

I have created the Minnesota Openings and Closings for the last several years. I keep a spreadsheet of all the breweries in Minnesota which includes a section for potential openings. When I hear or read about a brewery in planning, I post it. Others have done so as well. I then search for a website or Facebook page and follow their progress. Do you really want to have a new thread for a brewery that may or may not be opening in months or a year later? This was a good place to post it.


New openings would generate a few or sometimes no additional comments. Closings usually generate more comments. Breweries outside of the Twin Cities, Duluth or Rochester generate few comments. They are more difficult to find, but we always do.


There are enough posts on the thread to keep it on the first page. The title makes it obvious what it is about.


I find it disturbing that you closed the thread on the same day that you put this poll. The people that follow my thread didn’t have time to vote. Some have expressed their opinions on previous posts on this poll.


There is nothing stopping someone posting a new thread. Will they put something in the title indicating it is opening or closing? If not, I won’t bother to open it. I think that ithers who go to my thread for the sole purpose of finding new breweries will have the same problem. Now I will have to sort through a bunch of titles hoping someone has an appropriate title. I’m not sure I will bother.


I think you are losing something that was beneficial to Minnesota Brewing and beer drinkers. Please reconsider reopening the thread.


RAH-RAH-BEER

 

+1 to this post. I think the approach for openings/closings are best handled organically within the respective regional thread. I think each region has a pretty good handle on approaches which work best for them. I prefer a central thread as it's a good avenue to discuss 'potential' openings/closings as well. But there would not be anything stopping someone from creating a dedicated thread to the specific opening/closing as well.

 

Any google docs whiz kids out there…?

But seriously, folks.

Prior to getting back into my original career path, I was very attuned to the Breweries in Planning aspect of the Craft Beer explosion of the past quarter century.

I collaborated with Brewers Association and others, behind the scenes, to keep track of all of the plans in Minnesota.

I’d say that about 1/3 of the potential plans during this time ever made it to becoming fully realized, before either merging with another plan or being scuttled or later closed.

Someone remind me of how many small Craft Breweries there are nowadays — over 10,000 in the USA? When I stopped actively “tracking*” in about 2014 it was closing in on 8,000, so the over 10,000 now literally tracks.

But sustained increases in service sector (taproom) let alone shelf space (retail) isn’t infinite in its scope for any industry. The closures -like the openings- are a normal part of the business cycle — albeit an unpleasant and sad part.

Here in Minnesota (over 250 breweries and taprooms , whereas in 2014 we had fewer than 100) I’m seeing two closures in the last two weeks, and another rather highly-acclaimed brewery finally struggling its way out of bankruptcy.

I probably should have addressed this in a separate post related to Todd’s OP, but alas, I have to get to work and “make the donuts.”

My overall thought related to this is that it might be best handled through a single per-state thread supervised by a dedicated BA, but other users (many? most?) find that too unwieldy and difficult to sort-out.

Ultimately there will be closures almost on par with the openings, and I wonder whether that will be easier to read through in each regional forum.

Best of luck trying to keep up with it all!

*Let alone trying to visit every single newly-opened brewery in my home state, or even buy their beer in a can… I have other hobbies, and even other friends who have still other hobbies! I’m often amazed at the amount of interest shown in Craft Beer. Other times I’m less than happy, as I know that all of the online/social media generated “heat” involved doesn’t always equate to long term success for the startups. But that’s not 100% on the Craft Beer Fandom (for lack of a better word).

There are plenty of facets of food and beverage (two separate but often inter-related industries, often but not always associated with the service sector) to start up in.

But I digress…