Help! Bottle shop in CT looking to revamp selection

Fantome, it's a Shelton Brothers brand, it probably won't site on the shelves if it's priced correctly.

 

I echo this statement. Give is a $16 price tag and it will fly off the shelves, as will Drie Fontiene.

 

wondering how long it takes for this to get flagged...

 

why would it get flagged?

 

I'm talking with the OP through PM. Not getting into it publicly...

 

It's possible CT is a very different market, but Fantome doesn't exactly fly off shelves in the Boston area at $15/bottle.

 

Really? It flies off the shelf at Julios.

 

Yeah - it's not hard to find around here at all and it definitely takes a while to sell off.

I haven't been to Julio's in a few months, but I've never not seen Fantome there.

 

The seasonal stuff stays there, sure. But regular Fantome, that lasts maybe a week.

 

Any ideas or just disagreeing with the post? Maybe Cantillon or 3F? I think the point is to have it in stock and be readily accessible to people...I think Fantome fits well, not overly hyped up, but a really great brewer.

 

No ideas, because it's kind of a odd question/fit.

Cantillon flies off shelves immediately nowadays, and gets scarcely rationed out to even large accounts. 3F is more available, but not something you could plan on having sit around regularly. I don't think Fantome moves all that fast, relatively speaking. Lots of people are "one and done" with Fantome.

Basically, the stuff people want in high demand is the same stuff that moves quickly and is limited in quantity. Most stores with a top notch Belgian selection seem to just accept the fact that people pick at their Belgian stock like crows and thus keep a wide variety and accept that it will sit around a while. The stores that half-ass it just stock the larger brands and limit selection. I think you pretty much have to go one route or the other - stock it all or only stock the biggies. Trying to pick and choose an assortment of niche brands doesn't strike me as a winning endeavor.

 

Fantome comes here probably as much as Cantillon and many times there are issues with bottles. It would be better to carry trappist brands like Chimay and some other solid breweries like De La Senne and De Dolle instead of some once in a while problematic beers that a customer might ask a refund for.

 

If looking at "imports " I'll be the 1st one to suggest stocking some German brands. A nice mix of lager 12-packs (St Pauli Girl, Paulaner, Hacker -Pschorr, etc) . Then throw in a selection of affordable 16.9 oz bottles of Weihenstephaner (lager, weizenbock, weizen), Ayinger, Schneider, maybe some special rauchbiers. Have a big promotion of German festbiers every late August / September, become the O-Fest HQ for your part of the state.

 

Fatome would do great!
Speaking as someone who divides his time between bottle shops between CT and MA regularly...
With all due respect to the native selections in CT (Thomas Hooker Chocolate Truffle's not bad)...I think any new influx of brands would fly in general.....

 

Is Drie Fonteinen even theoretically available in CT? I know we used to get Cantillon and will occasionally see a Fantôme seasonal, but I've never even heard of anything from 3F in this state.

To the OP - don't bank on being able to get a regular supply of Cantillon, Fantôme, or anything else from Shelton Bros. For a more regular supply of Belgians, I'd just make sure you're well-stocked with the classics. Trappists (Rochefort, Westmalle, etc), abbey-style breweries (e.g. D'Achouffe and De Dolle), the Rodenbach line, and as many traditional Lambics as you can get - Hanssens are my favorite among what's reasonably available here. Most places seem to stock stuff like Petrus, Duchesse, and Monk's Cafe, too.

 

The last 3F I saw on the shelf in CT was 2007 oude kriek...