Slippery local slopes

I appreciate the sentiment behind "buy local." If the locals all were of the calibre of a Russian River or an Allagash, they would have no worries. Nor would they if the "invaders" were on a par with Mountain Crest or Keystone. But this isn't the case. If Allagash, MBC or The Alchemist were to open a new brewery in St. Paul, I'd be first in line at the door waiting for the tap room to open. Sierra Nevada, Victory or O'Dell, on the other hand, while nice, are already available in bottles and on tap. Appreciate what is coming. The more tasty beer available, the better, for everyone!

 

The profit eventually goes to shareholders, who are distributed worldwide. Maybe there are even shareholders that are in America?

 

There is some financial advantage for a Brewpub to having no distributor to pay or shipping costs to bear, but IMHO this is more than offset by the loss of economies of scale that happens with smaller production. Note that just two companies (AB-InBev and and MillerCoors) have an absurdly large percentage of the US market, yet employ a very tiny percentage of US Brewing Industry employees. I would also suggest that there are far more advantages for local beer than just "economic." In the end it is for the consumer to decide what the advantages are and if they are worth it.

Actually if you had read my earlier post in this thread you'd know that I already agree that many of the benefits of the Local Food movement don't really fit with most craft beer. But some do. You can meet the people who actually made your beer. You can have a shot at their freshest stuff when it first hits the taps. You can ask questions about ingredients and processes. You can see the actual livelihoods that your patronage is supporting. Again, it is your choice as a consumer if these benefits are worth the cost to you.

 

Companies like Target and Toyota have stockholders around the world. Yes, some of their profits go to Minnesota and Japan, but some also goes to North Carolina and Oklahoma, I'm reasonably certain. With a privately held brewery, the store or bar profits from the sale to the customer, the distributor profits from the sale to the store or bar and the brewery profits from the sale to the distributor. Some stays here, some goes elsewhere.

 

The only truly "local" product is one grown and sold locally, like ears of corn at the roadside stand. With multiple ingredients, who's to say that every one of them were grown within what is considered "local". If you are just referring to where the brewery or other place of business is located, being in a location doesn't automatically qualify you as "local", as many of the other posts have pointed out.

So, by my reasoning, the only brewery that is local is one that gets all of its ingredients within a specified distance, sells all of its beer within the same distance, whose employees all live within the same distance and whose owners and employees spend all of their earnings/profit within the same distance. Criticize me if you wish, but that's my take on "local".

 

Are Stone Tap handles already present? Or will local places add some? Or will that "pay for play" type activities come into play and the local options are ousted for the Stone alternative. If they can offer some unique tap offerings, it may be hard for a bar to say no.

You reap what you sow. I wish that area the best.

 

I'm pretty sure Stone is going to attempt to be on their best behavior and actively try to not step on anyones toes. That's pretty much how Lagunitas tried to land here in Chicago. But, of course. I can't say the staffing situations at your local breweries will bear that reality out because some of them might just be shitty places to work for. Keep up on what local breweries are bleeding the most staff when Stone begins hiring because this is where the rubber meets the road for breweries worth supporting and ones who should be kicked to the curb.

 

It wont be "local" But Stone has promised some collabs with local breweries. I see this as the natural expansion of craft beer. Some companies have done things right quality and access over a number of years. It makes sense to expand and to expand beyond ones previous comfort zone. This will better the craft brewers in the area in many ways IMHO. Will it have the "local homer" effect, probably not.

 

A lot of good points in this thread, figured I'd throw my hat into the ring..

Stone Culture:
First and foremost; make good beer, drink good beer
Second; support good local brews/breweries
Third; farm-to-table. Greg Koch imagines a world without plastic pre-wrapped cheese slices.

There's more to it than that, of course, but that's my takeaway of the Stone culture. So how does this affect Richmondites (Richmondians?)..

Will Stone be the best 'local' brew in Richmand - erm.. not yet, they're totally San Diegan, dude!
Will Stone have the best brews in Richmond - maybe (..if it is, drink it!)
Will Stone support 'local' breweries - heck yah!
Will Stone support 'local' farming - you know it!

Now the last question I have.. will Stone produce locally influenced brews? I'd imagine so, check out the collaboration work they've done. I'm sure local influences will rub off onto the creative process, as long as the brew is one Stone would want their name on. Ultimately, Stone is a business, I'm sure the brewery will have exclusives along the way.

Final note about Stone.. and this is a bit conflicting.. while they're a huge 'local' supporter, they do believe in capitalism. It ties into the first rule - as a result of making good beer, you get rewarded for it. I'm not really a fan of how they went about finding the location of the new brewery, lots of free publicity, lots of folks let down by all the potential, though I think folks on the net are also guilty of over-hyping the situation.

I'm a San Diegan, so my views are understandably biased, but the culture of Stone is inline with many 'local', 'craft', 'micro' breweries out there. Stone may be the great uniter, they wanted a good distribution of local beers, they got into distribution. As a result, if anything, it may put more (100%-by-definition) 'local' breweries on the map.

Cheers!

 

Not a San Diegan here, but this is exactly the end result I expect based on several factors, some of which you mentioned in the full verson of your post.

 

Disclaimer: I will never begrudge any person spending their money in the ways that are important to them. That is paramount to the entire idea of capitalism. And I understand the idea that you may want to tend to support locally-based businesses, rather than corporate businesses that simply have a local brick and mortar.

However, I do think that sometimes, the Buy Local movement fails to see the forest for the trees--or in this case, the local infrastructure for the revenue that supports it. You point out that no matter what, Stone will always be the "visiting team", and I know exactly what you mean. But I also can't help but wonder if the headquarters of a given business is as important as the benefits the satellite brick and mortar brings to its new location. The Stone facility in Richmond will employ local Richmondites (Richmondians? Richmondonians?), will contribute to the Richmond tax base (presumably--I don't know how VA property/sales tax laws work), and will generate local tourism and interest. Sure, some of their profits will go back to San Diego, in the form of shareholders (who may or may not actually live in San Diego), but the bulk of the benefits that come with a locally-operated business will still exist, in spite of Stone's headquarters being in San Diego.

Except, of course, for the benefit of the money/success of their operation going directly to friends/family of yours because you are local to the area. And without a doubt, wanting to support people you know is a good cause. Case in point: I drink at a locally-owned tap house/bottle shop rather than going to Flying Saucer because all else being equal, I want them to succeed because I know and like them as people.

I've already prattled on for a bit, but this post got me to thinking about the recent Boulevard/Duvel transaction and how it's a pretty good example of the fact that the "local" distinction isn't as important as it maybe once was, specifically as it relates to where the profit ultimately lands.

Until earlier this year, Boulevard was a local business by any definition of the word. After the sale to Duvel, it is technically no longer local, because the ownership group now resides in Belgium. However, all the important elements of Boulevard's Kansas City locale still exist--they employ local Kansas Citians, they pay local taxes, they bring attention and pride to the city, and they pour money into the local economy in the form of charities/events/benefits/etc.

The only appreciable difference is that once all the revenue has been reinvested in the local business in employees, facilities, events, marketing, etc. the leftover profits go to the Moortgat family in Belgium, rather than the McDonald family in Kansas City. And to me, this distinction is marginal because I expect that the additional infusion of money into the Boulevard operation (and the ways in which that will benefit Kansas City) from the Duvel ownership will exceed any loss of local investment that may or may not come from the fact that the McDonald family is no longer reaping 100% of the profits.

 

Because it's not going to
Happen. New England could never grow enough hops or grain to brew even one batch of craft beer.

 

I can see an argument for "Sustainability...Food Security; Support Local Economies and Protect Local Farms and Farmland" however, there's nothing inherent in buying local that improves "food safety, health, or nutrition." That's a bunch of marketing no better than you would get from any large food producer of the "Global Industrial Food System" [why is that capitalized? Is that a proper noun? ]

One could just as easily say that when consumers spend their limited money on cheaper goods they have more money remaining in their budgets for spending other things that could benefit them and the local economy better...like owning a home, saving for retirement, or discrentionary spending in local restaurants, entertainment, charities...or better beer.

I actually do buy a lot of local goods when the price/quality is reasonable because I like keeping my dollars a little closer to home, but I'm not fooling myself that there's anything inherent about something being local that makes the actual food or good better.

 

Well, there's this one, and this one, and this one!

 

How many e-coli or salmonella outbreaks do you remember from 30-40 years ago?

Artistic license. :-)

 

I suspect it's improved reporting and feeding larger populations with prepared foods that make the apparent increase in outbreaks seem more significant over time..

http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foodborne-illness

 

I don't stick up for AB-InBev very often but they do operate 12 breweries in the US and employ well over 6,000 people at those breweries alone.

 

How often were people bothering to report outbreaks or could even connect the dots to try to report it? A lot of today's public health "problems" are directly due to a higher level of media and public awareness today that didn't exist 30+ years ago. But just because no one reported it doesn't mean food contamination and illness didn't happen.

 

Great for them, but it takes a tremendous amount of grain and hops to make beer. Plus with the growing season three or four months these are just not New England crops. How big of runs were your three examples? Stoneman says he makes wine using grapes from "the vine" and beer from grain "from the field", but I notice he does not say whose vines and fields. Any example of New England hops I've had are pretty bland- which is why this region always was big on apples.

http://growbeer.com/about/

 

Living in Asheville there was a lot of worry and negativity about the larger breweries moving here. This is a very local oriented town, and has been hard on many industries trying to move in. Thirsty Monk got shit when they first opened up as a Belgian Bar with no local options. That was part of the reason for opening a mainly local bar as well connected to it.

From what I have heard they have embraced the larger breweries now that the larger breweries have been helping the smaller ones by getting supplies/ingredients for less while starting to create an entire Asheville based beer industry. All of the breweries are working in tandem to create a full on beer industry here with people specialized in construction, repair, transportation, etc. This was discussed with Cigar City while they contemplate a potential move to Asheville. The infrastructure of train and highway transportation compounded with the good water here is a recipe for success that people are realizing.

Make no doubt these larger breweries were not well received at first, but I think the local economy has realized that they are here to help and not to destroy what makes Asheville beer scene special.