How do you prefer beer be organized in a store?

Alphabetical by brewery. One of my local shops does by style with a limited (but high end) selection in each style, but the larger selection is by brewery.

 

I think the By Style makes the most sense. If I want an IPA, I can go and check out what's available by IPA. There may be a new one in there that i've never tried before (one of my local bottle shops will put a "new arrival" sign under anything that's just arrived in each section); whereas, if you did it by brewery or by region, I may not know what region a certain beer is from and miss it.

Agreed that International beers should be separate. And I also agree that IPA's etc should be kept in a cooler

 

There are entirely too many styles for one and also so many beers that can arguably fall into any number of styles... How can you find a beer with that system if you aren't sure what style to look under? Styles are too subjective in general.

 

Easy: whalez and not whalez

 

d00d whalez don't make it shelves.. those are shelf turdz.

 

touche

 

I'd just like a store with some oganization. Many that are around me I can't figure out why they place stock where they do. I don't mind looking around but a couple of the places are ridiculous.

 

Dont really care as long as they put the damn IPAs in the cooler. Why leave them on shelves when most breweries state they need to be kept at a cooler temp?

 

This topic that I get involved with so very often. Our store has limited space both in the cooler and shelving for beer. Probably over 70% of the cooler is dedicated to the big names, the 24,30,36pk beers. That along with all the hard lemonades, sweet ciders, etc. They need to be there, because they Sell!

I spend a good amount of time organizing our Wine and Spirit sections. For the spirits, its easy.... Scotch, Single Malts, Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, Ryes, Gins, Vodkas, Rum and more. Same basically holds true for wines, with the exception of French, Spanish and Italian wines. Those I group by country. The rest of the store, I set up by grape type.

Now beers, I have one section of the cooler, I keep as seasonal. So what is big in a given period, I like to put those crafted beers there. (ie Pumpkin Beers, Spring white ales, Summer style and Fall and of course the Stout time frame) Beyond that I like to keep the cooler arranged

• Brewery - All the Green Flash, Founders, Dogfish head, etc together
  
• Region - Since we are from CT, all the Connecticut beers and those surrounding states together
• Specialty - Gluten Free, Fruit beers, etc

But that doesnt always last that long. We always try to bring in new beers. Having limited cooler space, we have to get creative as to where we put the beers. So many times the ideas I had above dont always come into play.

Above everything, we arrange the beers (and wines/spirits) so that it is easier for the customer to find what they are looking for.. And when they cant see it, thats when we come in to help them.

 

Country and then brand. Nothing else.

 

I like them organized by country of origin, then alphabetically by brewery. Special "fail" award to Total Wine; despite several trips in, I have yet to find the Rosetta Stone that will decipher their organization scheme... I always wind up just asking an employee if they have a certain beer and where it is.

 

At least by brewery, but I would actually prefer style with alphabetically by brewery although that would likely be a major PITA for the workers. One small shop I go to does this religiously, but their section is on the small side so much easier to manage. But by brewery isn't bad...the individual beers can then be grouped together. Almost anything is better than random if you are looking for something specific.

 

Why alphabetical? I don't get it.

 

I have 1 main problem with set by style: when I travel I always hunt for bottle shops and look for locals first. if set by style I will have no idea what is local (outside of the bigger brands)

 

By Country of origin and then Alphabetically by Brewery name within that.

 

I'd say region (as basic as East, West, Central, Europe, Asia, etc.) then alpha. Definitely not style. More often than not, when I'm in a new state, I'm saying to myself "I need to find beers from _______ Brewing" not "I want an IPA".

 

By brewery and organized by region, with extra attention spent on the homestate.

 

And there's your answer!
/thread

 

I guess I meant to say alph. by brewer.

 

Hello charlzm,

I work for TW and, since I created the beer set, I can share with you the "Rosetta Stone" for TW. You can buy in cases, packs, and singles. Here's how the packs and singles break out:

PACKS
-- Import 4/6-packs: arranged by country, with country signs visible on the shelves
-- Domestic Craft 4/6-packs: arranged alphabetically by brewery

SINGLES
-- Import singles: arranged by country with country signs visible on shelves
-- Domestic Craft singles: arranged in beer style groupings with style signs visible on shelves. Style groupings as follows:

• American Lager [all craft-brewed lagers of all lager styles]
• Wheat [Witbier, all Weiss/Weizen varieties, American Pale Wheat]
• Pale, Blond & Golden Ale [Pale Ale, Blonde Ale, ESB, Kolsch]
• India Pale Ale (IPA) [English/American IPA and DIPA]
• Amber & Red Ale [American Amber/Red Ale, Irish Red, Altbier]
• Strong Ale & Barley Wine [English/Amer. Strong Ale, Barleywine, Old Ale, Scotch Ale, American Black Ale]
• Brown Ale [all Brown Ale varieties, Dark Mild]
• Porter [all Porter varieties including Baltic Porter]
• Stout [all Stout varieties]
• American Belgian-Style [Belgian styles, including Belgian IPA]
• Specialty, Hybrid & Other [Fruit Beer, Black & Tan, Cream Ale, Herbed/Spiced, Rye Beer, Wild Ale, other Specialty beers]
• Gluten Free Beer [GF and low gluten]
• Cider & Perry [apple, pear, and other ciders]

-- Seasonal Beers have their own section of packs and singles
-- Special Release Beers have their own seciotn of singles and packs

The practical reasoning for the above is explained in detail here for those interested in a little reading: http://blog.totalwine.com/2013/03/19/a-wholistic-view-of-craft-beer-retailing-part-one-of-a-three-part-series/

I have read the Brewers Association article written last year on this subject (shared via link in a prior post). I agree that for most retailers, attempting a style set is not appropriate, mostly because it should NEVER be attempted with 4/6-packs as it was in the examples given; it should only be done with singles, and then only when an alpha by brewery 4/6-pack section is also part of the offering. In my opinion, the tests conducted in the other stores were doomed to fail from the start.

TW was not contacted as an information/research resource for that article, yet TW had operated a successful style set for several years already at that point. But it wasn't an objective research article; examples were provided to support the already-established position of the BA. Fair enough. That's their opinion.

This subject has come up multiple times over the last several years in BA forums. I find it interesting and notable that in each successive survey here on Beer Advocate (albeit non-scientific), there are more and more people each time indicating a preference for a style arrangement.

Remember, the vast majority of beer consumers are not here on BA and they don't have BA-level knowledge. Like fine wine, Craft Beer is all about FLAVOR (Brewers Association touts this all the time on their various websites, and craft brewers tout this too). For most people, when they are introduced to craft beer in this manner it makes sense and it's attractive. They are not looking for XYZ Brewing Co's latest whale, they are looking to explore this new-found world of flavor.

This has been our approach and it has worked very well for us at TW. As I state in my detailed explanation (link above), not everyone's going to like it, but then there's no one correct way to merchandise beer that will please everybody.

Here's to beer advocacy.

Rob