This is probably the way of the future. Laughing Monk / Faultline Cellarmaker / The Rare Barrel HenHouse / Fort Point It is interesting that upstart young breweries seem to be doing okay, but the established players may be the ones who may be struggling?
I received an email from Fort Point with the news. Makes sense. Craft beer is going through market consolidation. Fort Point is going to move out of their Presidio Production Facility, but look for a R&D Facility in SF. My guess is that they are consolidating production and get some economy of scale while remaining independent. Good luck!
Few months back I talked to someone close to the Henhouse situation. It sounded like the bank was more or less in control at that point due to the owners being really bad at business. I don’t know for sure, but my guess is Fort Point has solid fundamentals and is taking that on. That, or they are also borked with the same financiers and they are hoping consolidation will make a turnaround easier. I have seen some of this in the tech sector. Companies that are in the 300-3000 employee range with solid fundamentals scooping up similarly sized companies at bargain prices because their financial overlords will do anything to avoid taking a total loss. I think we will see more and more of that. It will be well established and diversified and the smaller operations with strong business sense that win big.
Henhouse in Santa Rosa seemed to be mostly a missed opportunity. I do like some of their beers, but the business side was lacking. I hope this works out for them.
Now that you mention it - they did have that expansion to Fairfax that lasted like 3 months, and nothing kills breweries more than trying to expand too fast. Then they did open a Novato tasting room, but I haven't been. I felt like they were in a good position when they were just in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Oh - curious about this comment. How did you as a customer perceive their business side as lacking during your visit?
Random data point. I see Fort Point in Safeway and other box stores in larger quantities than HenHouse (if I even see them). May or may not collate with financial status.
Yeah I think a strong distribution game tends to go with stable financial status. I’ve seen them down here in BevMo, so they have a solid footprint. I’ve seen them in a lot of “normie” contexts like at Cal Academy and other places where they can appeal to a pretty broad audience. hopefully this turns Henhouse around, I’ve always been a fan.
That is interesting. We don’t see Fort Point here in Northern Sonoma County anywhere except our tiny market (that has a great beer selection). I came to love them during lockdown, but have only had their product on tap in Bolinas. Henhouse is everywhere. Restaurants and stores. Easy to find.
