Why do breweries close so early?

Breweries are for day drinkin', brah.

 

"You mean to tell me that I can't drink any beer over 4% on draught, but I can drink higher ABV beer as long as it's in a bottle"

"Yep"

"OK . . . that makes complete sense"

 

South Carolina and now Georgia laugh at your silly laws.

 

Right, and anyone who has had any part in a commercial brewery knows that the day often starts EARLY for brewers, and the distribution/wholesale game is 9-5 M-F endeavor.

I have always thought, outside of your non-distro "can release" places, which is a new phenomenon, tap rooms were a feather in the cap of a brewery, to build interest and have events....NOT to sell the most beer possible on either front (a) by undercutting your wholesale partners or (b) permitting people to get sloppy and crazy.

If you are a distributed brewery, you are hoping your taproom sales are like <5% of your sales. Getting people to come to you is not a long term strategy unless you have a product people REALLY want, or you are in an extremely heavily populated area. I think in the next 5yrs we will see more breweries fall out of the fray who have miscalculated their capacity (too much debt to buy capacity they don't need) and the amount of their beer that sells (whether out of the tap room or in stores). I'd much rather run it lean, keep demand high and beer fresh, barely making payroll rent and other expenses, over these places who have stretched themselves way too thin with massive capacity that they have no chance of getting rid of in a timely manner (and get backed up and aren't running at full capacity). It's tricker than it seems at face value.

 

Our view from Indy. At Daredevil we are closed Monday, open 3-10 Tuesday to Thursday, open 11-11 on Friday and Saturday and open 11-8 on Sunday.

Our thoughts on hours
1. It's great having a day being totally closed on Monday. It gives our front of house staff a break.
2. We just do not want to be open later. As they say in the industry, nothing good happens late at night. A few times a year we will have someone ask why we close at 11 pm on Friday/Saturday when it is "packed". The answer is always the same -- because we don't want to be open any later, but happy to sell you some beer to go. (Granted laws and regulations differ from state to state but we have it pretty good in Indiana from a brewery perspective for on premise sales & carry out).
3. There are several bars & restaurants walking distance from us or within a short 5 minute Uber that are open to 2 or 3 am. They have all noted that they know when we close as they get a late night rush. That is great for them.

 

They don't want to play the Drunk toss game at 2 AM.

 

In Northern California, most close at 5 pm on weekdays, 8 or 9 on Friday and Saturday. I think they don't want to deal with drunk people there all day, and would rather sell people beer to take home than keep them there a few more hours. They'll make their extra money on growlers and cans to go, and have their own lives after that. I work in the wine industry, and virtually all wineries close at 5 - we generally want to give people a tasting, they buy a bottle or a case, and head on out.

 

Where im from we call them basketball fields okay. Nah just kidding oooops.lol. i guess to each their own and their own opinions right? I think the atmosphere and experience of being at a brewery is different. its the getting it right from the source thing, drinking the beer at the temperature the brewery intended it, and pairing it with the food that the brewery has to offer which atleast here in portland most breweries serve much higher quality food than bars. Also many breweries do a hell of a job bringing their own vibe and theme out with the decor they choose for their taprooms.

 

Yeah I was going to say in NYC some are open until midnight, and then I know greenpoint is open til 2 am, which is the latest i've ever seen for a brewery.