How do you prefer beer be organized in a store?

I think this is roughly how Binny's does it, works pretty well.

 

Coolers = pricey real estate

distributers are not only battling one another over cooler space, but there are contractual agreements with brewers that you've got to have so much cooler space in your accounts dedicated to this brand or that brand, in this part of the cooler, on the side near the handle, at eye level, etc... complying with these contract agreements is what keeps the distributers in business.

 

I have never been in a Total Wine that did their singles like that (was in 2 different ones just last week...)
they are all alphabetical by brewery, as they should be.

 

If I need to take a chart with me to find a beer, I'd rather ask an employee. If I have to walk up and down a 50 foot aisle to find three beers from the same brewery, I'll take my money somewhere else.

For the record; I don't dislike TW as a business and their employees are very helpful. The section-by-style approach just doesn't work for me, especially when I did try to find beers by style and looked for things like pumpkin ales and white IPAs and gave up after walking back and forth, up and down. You can't please everyone, of course, so no matter what you do, someone won't like it. In this case, I happen to be in the "don't like it" category.

This sort of set-up favors browsers, I guess, and not people who buy by brewery or who are looking for a specific beer.

Also, the particular store I have shopped several times seems to be sticking random bottles in certain sections to face up the shelves. Having done time in retail, I know that there is a corporate desire to present 100% faced shelves. As a consumer, I hate finding a sign for something and the wrong product.

 

I agree. When I saw the first line of RobH's reply though, I had to laugh. took me by surprise.

 

I hear ya, and I really appreciate your response. You are absolutely correct that the beer singles section is ideal for people who are in experimentation and discovery mode. The packs are most conducive for those who are shopping for specific brands to go in and pull packs of their favorites.

When we did the style set in test stores, we were selling MORE beer from there than before. Turns out we were selling more of the already top sellers, but we were also selling more of other SKUs that did not have as much movement prior. People were discovering more beers that they hadn't seen before.

And yes, there unfortunately will always be some beers that are on the shelves in the wrong place. This is and will always be the case no matter what order in which the beers are set. Sometimes customers pick bottles and then put them back in the wrong place, sometimes our store staff put them in wrong, and sometimes distributor personnel do it. This is the nature of the beast, especially in high-volume stores with lots of turn of beer inventory.

Anyway, glad to hear you've had good experiences with the employees in the TW's you been in.

FWIW, pumpkin ales will naturally be in the Seasonal Beers section since they are fall seasonal beers. And "White IPAs" are really a form of Belgian IPA. Just as you won't find a White IPA style listed in the style section here on BeerAdvocate, nor does the Brewers Association yet recognize it as a stand-alone style. We separate out the "Belgian IPAs and so-called "Black IPAs" so that people new to the IPA realm aren't inadvertently mislead by what the industry-recognized IPA style is about. Some folks are turned off by Belgian yeast, while others may not understand how an India PALE ale can be dark, and they may not like dark beers and will then be turned off or even more confused.

Unfortunately, it seems you are one of the folks we aren't pleasing with this arrangement. I am sorry to hear that. Again, I do appreciate you opinions, preferences, and comments.

Sincerely,
Rob

 

Fairgrounds?

 

Ugh, no.

I much prefer grouping by brewery than by type. Wine does that, and brands lose meaning.

As far as the OP's question, I dont care. By state seems kind of weird though, as I dont think "I would like a Michigan beer today!"

I guess I do understand at least the want to group by type, as sometimes you are in an IPA mood and want to comparison shop them. So maybe I take back my ugh and just leave it at no.

 

I think it's pretty standard to keep the macros separate from the craft brews, then I like a local/regional section of craft, then the rest of craft by brewery, ciders, import section by country, and then singles/large format can have their own section. I do enjoy browsing so I'm not real picky beyond just those main sections.

 

I'd like them to be organized by those I have had, and those I haven't had.

If that's not doable, then maybe from wettest to dryest.

 

How does the brand name lose meaning when beers are grouped by type? We can still clearly read the label to determine who it was brewed by, no? And isn't the taste of the beer more important than the brand name (in the same way that the quality of an article of clothing is more important than the label on the inside)? Isn't craft beer supposed to be a movement away from that brand ***** mentality?

 

The dryest being the empty bottles in the 'those Stugotzo has had' section.

 

I never put much thought into this question until I shop I frequent recently changed from "alphabetically by brewery" to "by style". I think it takes longer to find what i'm looking for now. I always know what beers i'm looking for going in, and it was just easier to to find them by name. Probably doesn't help that the styles aren't clearly marked, so I have to look at all the beers to see where the styles change.

I do like that they have separate aisles/displays for all the local and regional beers.

 

you don't happen to work at coastal do you?

 

By STYLE first and foremost...

 

Even with a few mistakes here and there, I still prefer such a system.

 

what do you do with beers that transcend multiple styles or don't fit neatly into a style?

 

I don't ever recall seeing a store arranged by beer style.

 

Hi ncaudle

We do have a few of our smaller stores in VA in the tidewater area that have not been changed. 1 or two small ones in NJ as well. These stores are much smaller than our other stores nationally, and have much less shelf space for beer and a smaller beer selection.

 

Make a judgement call. I trust that a store focused on craft beer will be able to make a close enough approximation. If they label as something I would, no big deal, I may see it in another category that has beers I like anyway. Like I said, there's bound to be some mistakes or misjudgments, but in general, I still prefer it organized this way than by brewery.