What's the silliest advice from a brewery ever?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by RaulMondesi, Oct 21, 2021.

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  1. SierraTerence

    SierraTerence Zealot (637) Mar 14, 2007 California


    Not to mention, a lot of small, local brewers will continue to self distribute to increase profitability.

    We try our hardest to work with our distributor to preach the importance of freshness... The reality, there is just not enough people within the brewery sales team and the distributor teams to monitor date codes on every shelf, so some responsibility should be placed on the retail accounts. For that matter, when you see an out of code dates, do you say something to the retail account... Some might care, some might not. I do this when I'm buying dairy.
     
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  2. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Yes, there are three main parts of the supply chain for distributed beer: Brewery -> Wholesale Distributor -> Retailer. And as I discussed above it seems to be 'popular' for each of those three to 'point fingers' at the other(s). I recognize that each party needs to take their individual responsibility. But who will be the 'mature person in the room' and take it upon themselves to initiate a fix to a broken system. The distributing beer system just is not working properly here. Each part of the system can continue to just blame the other(s) or some meaningful changes can take place. I am not naive here, I know this is not problem that will be easy to fix. But if the status quo continues all parts of the distributing beer system will see lesser amounts of money coming in (i.e., the money that will instead go to the small, local breweries).

    Cheers!
     
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  3. SierraTerence

    SierraTerence Zealot (637) Mar 14, 2007 California

    Old running industry joke, brewers blame the maltster... :sunglasses:
     
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  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Ah, an even bigger system.

    Cheers!
     
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  5. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Some BAs may be interested in knowing that at the Anheuser-Busch they have a Research Pilot Brewery (RPB). In the press they will often run stories about the 'interesting' one-off beers that are produced there. But another function (principle function?) of the RPB is the test/checkout lots of ingredients. For example when AB receives a new lot of malt the RPB will test (e.g., brew with it) to learn more about the malt's properties and thereby advise their production breweries on how to 'tweak' things there to create consistent beer. I am personally not a fan of a beer like Budweiser but I do appreciate that AB takes extraordinary steps to ensure product consistency.

    Cheers!
     
  6. GoBearsWalter34

    GoBearsWalter34 Pooh-Bah (2,746) Aug 1, 2014 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    I am with you. I pass.
     
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  7. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,088) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    They also sell (or at least used to, haven't been there in awhile) a Spiegelau IPA glass at the brewery. I know because I own one.
     
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  8. BillAfromSoCal

    BillAfromSoCal Pooh-Bah (1,841) Aug 24, 2020 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I'm a huge fan of the ever-changing selections of beer carried by Trader Joe's near me, and especially of the fact that they sell anything you want one can at a time, if you wish. However, I have sometimes found interesting beers with old dates and I do point out to the staff that while I am impressed with their offerings, some of the IPAs are on the old side. I think I need to elevate my comments to management though because I am not sure the staff I have talked to have any influence over what gets stocked/unstocked.
     
  9. BillAfromSoCal

    BillAfromSoCal Pooh-Bah (1,841) Aug 24, 2020 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    My guess is that it will be the retailer, although I defer to BA members who have direct beer retail experience. I say that because it is most likely the retailer who gets the direct comments from the consumer about the unacceptability of "old" beer, and who sees the changes in beer purchasing trends first. Of course, if the consumer never speaks up to the retailer, the changes are likely to be a lot slower because the changes will depend upon the retailer actually looking for changing purchasing trends and guessing the reasons behind them. If everyone who sees undated or old beers says something, you can bet the retailer will react and push that ball uphill to the rest of the supply chain.
     
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  10. Immortale25

    Immortale25 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,549) May 13, 2011 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    After reading through this entire thread and seeing the usual complaints about the 3-tier system and how things are just getting worse and worse, I don't understand how anyone in their right mind would want to open a brewery right now with the intention of expanding beyond their self-distribution limits. The only exceptions are if their intention is to grow the brand to the point of being bought by a larger entity or, of course, if their state does not allow self-distribution.
    Not only that, but with 8000 breweries in the US and counting, and with hard Seltzer taking up more shelf space (I know Seltzer just took a nose-dive in the market, but it seems it'll still remain decently popular) there's only so much real estate in grocery stores and package stores. It might not be as dramatic or instantaneous as a "bubble" popping, but something's gotta give sometime. Therefore, it seems to me that, if you're trying to open a brewery, the move should be to stay small or go big. Anything in between would be a nightmare. This is all based on the premise that the owner/brewer(s) actually care about their customers getting fresh product
     
  11. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,862) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    A local brewery up here used to have the tag line "be natural, drink naked ". That's pretty silly advice to give out generally every time someone opens one of your beers
     
  12. officerbill

    officerbill Pooh-Bah (2,228) Feb 9, 2019 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    NYS permits self distribution up to 75,000 barrels so there is that. Unfortunately, due to logistical reasons, most of the self distributors don't go out more than an hour or two from the brewery.
     
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  13. kodt

    kodt Pooh-Bah (2,262) Mar 6, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Hill Farmstead dates some of their IPAs at 28 days. Susan for example.

    I thought it was ridiculous, but to be honest I had a can at around 20 days and then another at around 39 days and the 39 day can was noticeably worse (fridge stored the entire time from the same 4 pack).... not sure what it is about that beer but I guess you really do need to drink it in under 30 days from packaging.
     
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  14. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I've been told that and the beer was a year old.
     
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  15. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,088) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Tree House brewery in MA has the third highest production in the state behind Sam Adams and Harpoon. They sell EVERYTHING direct from the brewery.

    Instead of distributing to more stores/states, they just keep building new locations to sell beer from...seems to be working.
     
  16. jageraholic

    jageraholic Maven (1,378) Sep 16, 2009 Massachusetts
    Trader

    "You can't pour it into a glass but don't pour the last sip, or you can roll the can before opening and enjoy." Bleh!!!
     
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  17. Rug

    Rug Grand Pooh-Bah (3,300) Aug 20, 2018 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That business model is definitely working for them. There's a few people high up in the company who wanna get distro but there's pushback from majority owners so things will likely stay as they are for quite some time. Fine by me, driving to TH is a ritual at this point
     
  18. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    And the truth is that very few wholesalers have full refrigerated capacity. Maybe something like a walk-in cooler for really "special" goods. Back in the early 00s 4 pallets of Green Flash WCIPA would go out to the market in a day. I think this dynamic is a bit different in the current market.
     
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  19. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    It also helps that they make very good beer.
     
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  20. IPAExpert69

    IPAExpert69 Savant (1,065) Aug 2, 2017 Pennsylvania

    I'm a big fan of the "keep cold" or "best kept refrigerated" label that is ignored by certain less reputable beer distributors/liquor stores. How am I supposed to keep it cold when it's been sitting out here for a month?
     
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