Yet another Berlin Trip

I didn't say anything about not doing marketing and I certainly didn't say because a brewery doesn't do marketing or TV advertising their beer must be good. Don't twist what I said.

For the cost of a yearly national TV campaign a brewery could invest in more fermenters, allowing for longer lagering or purchase higher quality ingredients. Or do lots of other things to improve the beer.

If you take the retail price of a typical industrial beer the cost of ingredients plus production is a small piece of that. Transportation, distribution, marketing and advertising take far larger chunks.

The only time I drink a beer that has major TV advertising is when I don't have a choice of anything better. And before somebody picks nits, I said major -- I don't fault a brewery doing a local cable TV ad.

 

That's not what I was trying to say. Their beer CAN be good, doesn't have to be. Fact of the matter is that Oettinger beers are not bad and because they sell so well, they're usually VERY fresh. They may be missing certain nuances, but almost all their beers are all very presentable. The price difference vs German macro is substantial, but the quality is generally on par, so it's no wonder they sell a lot of beer.

I understand the idea of investing resources rather than spending money on sales force or marketing. Creating "better" beer is different than creating beer that most people like to drink - our US macro scene speaks volumes about this.