Do small Mass town farm breweries work?

I honestly have no idea whatsoever what the slight you think you're keying on is and I think you're creating a beef out of thin air.

 

Maybe I should have elaborated, I kind of wondered if someone would take my comment in the context you did (who knows maybe I'm just a douche ). Most of the times I've been to a brewery the crowd seems on the younger side. I'm in my 40's with kids in middle school and high school. I usually feel on the older side when I'm at a brewery. If people have kids they are usually infants or toddlers. Lots of young couples on dates or with their dogs. Its usually not a very varied crowd. The crowd at Bog Iron seemed much more varied. It wasn't a crowd full of hipsters there and I didn't feel as out of place

 

White, male, affluent. Beard status varies though.

 

Well... then I’M the douche. My apologies and sorry for reading something into it that wasn’t there. Our customers are like family and I was being way too overprotective and reactionary.

 

I totally have no idea what happened right here.

 

Nah, its good to be protective of your customers. You guys are obviously doing something right.

 

At any rate, back to the OP...

Very. My wife's family is in Mattapoisett out on the neck and my family had a guest house in Onset (way, way, way back) when I was a kid where I spent my summers. So, you may be remote but you're not very remote, and you've got a nice potential mixture of fairly affluent and seasonal folk in easy reach.

Taking you at your word that you just want to run a small, casual operation, I'd think you could brew a few barrels here and there, fill a few kegs for some local bar and restaurant accounts, do a little bottling for farmers' markets, sort of ride the localvore train.

Actually sort of sounds like fun.

 

Go visit Gun Hill Brewing or Bronx Brewery in the Bronx and get back to us.

The crowd is more likely to mirror the community than any pre-set racial breakdown

 

If you have money to burn, i.e. Passive incom, then why not. Personally it sounds great. I think if you make it a destination, like Hill Farmstead, you will do fine. Yes, I know that is shooting high, but why not. Do what you love, make it great, if it don't work, you won't be harmed. Awsum

 

Everett is about 50% minority populated and Chelsea is higher still but you'd never know it by going to any of the breweries there. I'm sure there are exceptions such as those you mentioned, but it doesn't strike me as controversial to say it's a hobby that skews heavily in the direction that oldbean mentioned (the male part does seem to be improving a bit).

Most breweries are like an indy rock show without the band in my experience.

 

Open a Julius. Smell that? That's what you want to be brewing! The world will beat a path to your backyard shed.

 

If you like what u bought, then cool. Otherwise move on.

 

I must have missed how this morphed into a Treehouse thread somehow.

 

Point being you were feeling "scary". If you don't like that feeling, move on to another brewery.

 

Not sure if breweries can sell beer at farmers markets in MA yet.
(Wine is ok for some reason though)
Hoping that someone is working to fix this, along with our still stupid growler laws...

 

Been to many new-ish taprooms around the country the past few years. I’ve concluded that mediocre/bad beer can be overcome by a pleasant taproom & still draw crowds. Think: open space, communal tables, board games (maybe classic arcade or pinball too), food trucks, welcome to kids & dogs —- & voila you’ve got yourself a successful taproom, the beer is nearly secondary (which in some weird way is fine with me). In a small-ish town can be a community gathering spot too.

I’d say do it now while the laws are on your side. There’s a growing anti-taproom sentiment growing from the restaurant lobby, so there could be more barriers in the near future.

 

Correct - they have never had an open to the public tap room, they just put in a can line, and are planning a new facility in an old industrial building in Taunton - Ingell Street, I believe and we'll see how that goes. Not a great neighborhood, but not the worst either. I am pretty sure they still self-distribute at the volumes they produce now. I don't know how that will change if they expand - the new spot may be the same capacity, just a place for people to go. The beers I have tried have all been at least good, but shame on me from the neighboring town I have only tried a couple.

Goodfellow's was a small farm brewery that self-distributed as well. Very good beers, no tap room or sampling on site since it was located on a residential property. Recently closed (well, two years ago or so) - part of the reason was the self-distribution became a nightmare and to take the next step up was going to be quite expensive between equipment and permitting. Here's a case with good to great beer (Townsman Stout was among the best) but no location and not a destination.

Contrast with Buzzard's Bay Brewing where I am convinced the beer is secondary or not even thought over very much. I won't mention the visibly filthy tap lines...oops... The location is gorgeous and a great place for a picnic in suitable weather. I have no idea what you do when it is cold/rainy/snowing, but they do have a serving area indoors. On a good day it truly is a great spot - open farmland. But the beers I have had were, quite frankly, awful and this is the same brewery where Pretty Things brewed. Yet they pack people in (well, it is a huge outdoor space so it never seems packed). Music I think all weekend long and usually a food truck. No place that I know nearby for vittles, so it is the food truck or bring your own. This could work SOOOO much better with good beer, in my opinion.

I think you have to provide good to great beer, or you'd be 100% dependent on locals for support. I think if beer is the only draw, you have to be damned good right out of the gate and that is tough. Shaidzon - beer only, but world class, extremely experienced and innovative head brewer, tiny tasting room that is hard to find yet selling everything they make. Bog Iron - good beer, not great, but solid local following in a smallish serving room with a strong "locals/regulars" vibe that is almost uncomfy to "outsiders", no food - might be bigger than farm scale though. I think you have to provide "something else" if you are not in the world-class wait in line two hours echelon of brewing (Tilted Barn, etc). So great food, great location, or if location is a challenge a great environment for enjoying food, beer, conversation, maybe music. And be visibly involved in the community - that seems to go a long way with folks. And reputation is everything - with social media bad experiences are still shared faster than good ones. You have to give people a reason to visit the first time, get some positive chatter going, then keep some percentage coming back and new folks interested and willing to say "let's take a ride" on a weekend.