Hill Farmstead expansion - distribution?

I think it's great that they're expanding, but I doubt that we'll see much H-F outside of Vermont when the expansion is done in 2015. When the Alchemist expanded its brewing operations in 2012, they thought they'd be able to start distributing in Boston, but they quickly found that Vermont demand was strong enough to keep their distribution footprint relatively small.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/business/craft-beer-the-very-limited-edition.html
These plans were in NYTimes earlier this year. It's nice to get an update and a timeline of their expansion.

 

What would be HF's motivation to expand their distribution, beyond a desire to be nice and/or to limit the number of people stomping around the brewery grounds? I imagine their expansion won't prevent them from selling pretty much everything they produce without seeking new markets in any significant way.

 

Every once in a blue moon a few bottles will squeak out to a handful of stores in VT (legally).

 

Its been almost a year since Anna was around at stores, that was the last I've seen except for collabs.

Edit: I'll echo everyone else, I doubt HF will ever be on shelves outside VT. Why pay to move beer when people flock up here to buy it?

 

And the State of Vermont and all of the local businesses all benefit from the tourism. And yes, its turning into a big deal.

 

Shaun's hinted on Twitter that one of his expansion goals is to expand keg distribution on a somewhat regular basis to NYC/Boston/Philly. NYC has already received more HF kegs this year than I can remember in the past few years (3 shipments, I believe). He also mentioned a few weeks ago on Twitter that he hoped to be able to sell Edward kegs to the public once again by Summer 2015.

 

Yeah I have a feeling this means draft more than bottles. HF hits Boston on tap maybe twice a year? Maybe slightly more often spread out at a few places. All of the stuff he bottles sells out at the brewery in essentially a week or less. He could double production, but then just double the limits and it would sell out in the same amount of time.

 

I would buy a draft right now if it were available here in good old WMass. I am sure I am not alone in that sentiment. Would love to see a little more distro, even if it were just draft.

 

Just keep in mind Union gets roughly 10-15 (at most) kegs per shipment. Don't expect it to be a regular on the tap list. However, I bet the frequency of a keg here and there at bars will be a bit more consistent than it is currently.

 

He should have been doing this since day one ... there was an excellent opportunity early on for the core beers to be in potential markets like Boston and stay rather than making 101 flavors most of which were used for trading. ;-)

A lot has changed in four years, while their beers will be most welcome in any market there is a lot more going on.

 

This assumes the priority should be on satisfying the largest number of people, as early on as possible. Safe to say, judging by the brewer's various public statements, that wasn't the goal. I would argue Beer Advocate likewise took a very slow growth path (dev time of app, website revision, lack of online magazine content) as well, yet look how successful you guys are because you choose a route that worked best for you, and you were most comfortable with.

That said, safe to say that as a beer consumer, I'm pretty pumped about this expansion.

 

Their beers were sent to Philly pretty early on ... good for them but I never saw the point right away being NE beer geeks that will travel would have consumed it all. Not particularly a larger # but the thirst was there.

Comparing our site to one brewery is a bit off IMHO. Apples to oranges.

 

Agreed this seems like the road to success for most breweries, taken from any MBA syllabus- first you establish your core brand (say 312 and Honker) while you cultivate the brand with specialty limited releases (say BCBS and the sisters), then you get bought by Budweiser, make a ton of money, and Bud takes those boring core beers off your hands, then Bud lets you can concentrate on the specialty brews (to their production volumes and through their distribution chains) and low-and-behold BCBS is sitting collecting dust in every gas station convenience store with a liquor license. (Maybe those last steps aren't in the syllabus, but I'd be happy send you a bottle of outdated BCBS with genuine dust on it if you don't believe me.)
I think the flaw in the logic is that Shaun Hill doesn't follow the rules, and isn't on the road most traveled by.
Not to say he hasn't benefited from establishing a base offering "widely" and regularly available through his distribution territory (Edward), and given greater production capacity and incurred costs in the expansion, I'd expect to see broader keg distribution of Edward. But I sincerely hope that the broader markets aren't shut out of the other large volume releases (eg Anna, Florence etc) just to get the distant markets hooked on Edward.
And if there's a bar offering Biere de Norma in a fifty mile radius, I'm in my car.
I'd love Shaun to pipe in but, didn't he close his BA account?
Shame.

 

This is nothing new or unique ... many brewers over the past decade or have brewed a gazillion flavors already within their first year or so after opening.

 

And HF is four years old (yes?) and still brewing beers that are new and unique. Unless your Shaun Hill, I certainly would not recommend the business strategy. Any bets who's still around in four years' time: Beer Advocate, Night Shift Brewery or Hill Farmstead?

 

Shaun Hill should stop talking to the media.