Advice for all breweries...

Just because a brewery distributes to a state doesn't mean their beers will be where you're going. There are many, many beers I'll never see because, even though the brewery distributes to NY, the local distributors don't carry that beer.

 

In most cases, the real answer breweries/bars don't like to say is that tasters or flights take a lot of extra server time [and time = money] managing the lists, pouring 3-6 beers instead of 1, extra glass inventory/washing, etc. When things are really busy a few orders for flights can be huge drag the place being responsive to all customers, which is a very real concern. However, if they don't have a flight option, customers are going to ask for free tasters, which tip-dependent servers will be pressured to provide to customers, so it will still take extra time that won't be reimbursed....Lose-Lose.

Personally, I agree flights should be offered, but it's also perfectly fine for the brewery/bar to limit their impact by adding a significant surcharge for the extra time/costs, have pre-set non-customizable flight lists, and if necessary, limit flights during specific busy hours (and explain why).

 

Offer 1/2 pours (6-8oz) in a regular size glass. Enough to feel like actually have a real sized beer experience and give you opportunity for a 2nd sample (or 3rd?) without getting hammered or resorting to flight glasses which takes away from the proper beer drinking experience.

If you a small brewery that distributes, post on your website which of your current rotation of beers you can/bottle and where in local stores you can find them. Would help for poeple traveling in to know what they may find your beers more conveniently at a bottle shop vs. have to go to the brewery to buy or drink on site. Alot of times I've noticed great breweries hold their best stuff for on site only, and put their more lower rated/ pedestrian quality stuff on stores shelves. Gives them bad marketing if shelf beers is all people get opportunity to drink by a certain brewer.

 

Funny you mentioned SARA, because that was the exact brewer I was thinking of when I posted above about brewery that puts their more pedestrian stuff in stores. I was on business travel to Berkeley last summer. Was really going to try to make the 2hr trek (traffic issues would be longer) down to SARA but couldn't squeeze it in my itinerary. I was at Berkeley Bowl grocery and found some 350ml/750ml of SARA beers in the store and about busted a nut out of excitement when I saw them there. When I looked these beers up for ratings, they were kinda surprisingly low despite all the hype about this brewer. Looked up taplist at SARA and most all the beer ratings were significantly higher than what they bottled for the grocery store. Needless to say I didn't buy those options from the grocery store. Grabbed 2 bottles of 3F instead and was more than happy with that decision.

 

I can understand the no flight thing, especially when it’s busy, but it should be absolutely no problem for them to pour a single 8oz or 4oz serving.

 

Fuck taster trays! Off with their heads!

Breweries love them, because they're able to add a significant upcharge, on a per ounce basis, over standard pours.

But, if as a "beer lover" 6-8oz is more than you need to do a review, yet 4-8 3-4oz pours don't confuse your palate? Please.

 

Plus is just looks fuckin dorky sitting with one. From the outside it seems like that person has no idea what they like, and there’s a good chance they wasted a ton of the bartenders time by being indecisive and asking bizarre and nonsensical questions about each beer.

that’s just me though. I’m fine with people ordering them, hell, I serve people flights all the time. And no one should give a fuck what anyone thinks about them, but...god it looks so fuckin dorky to me haha

 

Yup, bout sums it up.

I admit to getting taster trays alot during the brewpub boom of the late 80s-early 90s, but, most styles were new to most of us back then.

Today? It's all about the IG and UT likes.

 

I'm with you... f**k flights. Obstructions to progress.

 

Distributor companies have way more power and influence than consumers might realize. They can apply their own volume and location “standards” that impact what and how much stores can get for supply. Don’t sell enough Goose Island 312? Well, no BCBS for your store. Locally, Certo Brothers is going and out business, and it is creating a veritable fiasco to get the brands they cover reassigned to other distributors, if indeed each brand will even get reassigned.

 

A staggering number of breweries have bare bones limited staff, and most of that staff are wearing a few too many hats over the course of their workweek to respond like how a big faceless corporation can.

 

I got a ton of flights when I was first getting heavily into beer years ago. It was a great way to try a ton of styles and interpretations. Now not so much. I really like when I can choose between a 4/8/16oz pour and mostly will get a few 8ozers. Really kind of depends on what’s on offer. Went to one spot that had a bunch of similar big stouts with different adjuncts and barrel treatments and I liked the 4oz option so I could try like 4 and compare.

recently I went to a new brewery and I am totally blanking on who it was but they offered EIGHT pour flight racks and EVERYONE was getting them, fully customizable, an absolute shitshow. I couldnt help but think that was going to be a short lived policy or it was going to sink them.

 

A business that wants to succeed needs to prioritize what's important. You can't grow unless you have great communication. That might not mean responding to tweets, FB posts, etc like a big faceless corporation can but investing in some form of communication is priceless. There's a brewery I am near about once per week, I don't have a ton of time when I'm near there but knowing what they are offering in growlers that week would mean I would visit there more often. They update their tap list which is great but I'm not going to waste 20 minutes of my time going over there only to find out that they aren't able to fill growlers or at least not one of the beers I would like. I can't just grab a beer while I'm there because I have a long drive home after that so if I go and there's nothing to go in the growler I leave with nothing.

That being said if updating what's available in growlers takes away from something else that's a higher priority then they are doing the right thing. The guys I mentioned do a pretty good job in communicating overall but breweries do need to realize that good information on either a website or some sort of social media is some of the best marketing money they can spend. Going that extra mile makes a difference IF growth matters. Some breweries are happy doing what they are doing and are successful without the need to be the biggest brewery on the block. That's ok as well but it doesn't take much to update the tap list at least every few days.

 

Flights are a great way to experience a variety of a brewery's offerings without ingesting excessive amounts of alcohol* and calories. The roughly 10 to 20 ounce pours** became the cultural standard over time for reasons of refreshment and social engagement, not because that amount is needed to comprehend a beer critically; far less is needed for the latter purpose. Indeed, 4 ounces is more than enough beer to give the imbiber a very good impression of a beer if he's experienced and paying attention. If you want to drink large quantities of the same beer because you enjoy it, you want to save money on a per-ounce basis, or you don't want to look "fuckin dorky" (if you're insecure enough for that to be a factor), that's your prerogative. I will say that I know way more about beer than I otherwise would -- that I've tried far more beers in far more styles and have tried multiple beers from far more breweries -- because I take advantage of the variety that flights provide whenever they're available, and I gladly pay a typically roughly 50% price premium for that knowledge, a premium that surely more than makes up for the mild relative inconvenience to servers in the vast majority of instances.

* Two pints of 7.5% ABV IPAs gives four servings of alcohol (a standard serving of alcohol being 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol, such as in a 12 oz. can of 5% ABV beer, a 5 oz. glass of 12% ABV wine, or a 1.5 oz. shot of 80 proof liquor). It's important to keep that in mind.
** And note that standard size mostly used to assume significantly lower-ABV beers than dominate the craft beer scene today.

 

A local, self-described reliable beer reviewer in my area is able to review a beer based simply on a sip requested from someone else’s glass. I think what is needed are even smaller servings than found in most flights!

 

For instance; I can pick up various Lagunitas beers almost anywhere around here, but you won't find willettized north of the lower Hudson. My beer store can't order any because it's not in their distributor's inventory.

 

By comparing the ratings of the beers in a grocery store and the beers that are exclusively in their taproom, you aren't exactly comparing apples to apples... and I don't mean in terms of beer quality. It’s safe to assume that elements that can influence beer ratings include: the number of reviewers, the exclusivity/rarity of the beer, the price of the beer, and the environments the beer is purchased and consumed in. You should take those rating comparisons with a grain of salt. You are stating your case as if brewers are intentionally putting what they consider to be inferior beers in distribution. I doubt that’s a prevalent feeling from the actual brewers despite what the ratings tell you.

 

I think we tend to underestimate the reliabilty of Beer Advocate reviews (when there are sufficient sample size of ratings. I usually find them pretty reliable. Agree they aren't always reliable for styles like pilsners but for wild fermented sours from a brewering like SARA they are usually pretty reliable as general clueless craft beer consumers are not buying $15-$20 bottles with corks and cages from stores.

An recent example that backs up my confidence in Beer Advocate raters...Oskar Blues/Cigar City Bamburana. 200+ ratings and a 4.48 rating for a shelfie can beer that was found in most retail stores with ease. It's a legit great beer. You'd think a new beer in this day and age stuck in retail stores couldn't possibly get above a 4.25 rating on social media sites. No special relesase, no brewery only, facebook/instagram hype etc. Well we got it right this time. I think the ratings are right most of the time (as long as there is sufficient sample size of raters...1-2 ratings should always be take with grain of sale and ignored unless the reviewers are credible).

 

In most cases, it's not breweries doing the distribution, it's distributors. And many distributors only operate in one state, maybe multiple states, or maybe just a sub-state region. And these distributors get bought out, go out of business, merge, disappear over night, offend the brewery and get summarily dropped, etc etc. For all these reasons it is very difficult to keep a current list of what is available where, as it's constantly changing.

 

That one isn't so easy to accomplish if the state has a strong (and, typically, outdated) franchise law for beer distribution, which often includes clauses like: