18 | PALESTINE MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY EDITION 2024
FEATURE | BEER
The new brewery
CHRIS
Tuesday is beer order day at the pub . It ’ s the day I take an assessment of the beer cooler and make a list of styles we ’ re going to be needing to get us through the next week . Anyone who ’ s frequented the Pint knows that our taps are constantly changing . We keep a rather specific array of styles , however . So if you are an amber drinker , you know to get whatever is on tap six . IPA ? Tap eight . You want an imperial stout ? That ’ s tap fifteen . Ten years ago when we opened , Tuesdays were easy and fun . I would easily have several versions of each style to choose from . Tuesdays are now a lot harder . Prices are going up and selection is going down . You ’ ll notice this at stores as well . A store that used to have hundreds of options might be down to fifty or less now . Are there fewer breweries ? No . The number of breweries in the United States have doubled from just under 5,000 to almost 10,000 in the last ten years . So where do you get the beer these breweries are brewing ? You have to go to the brewery to get it , and these breweries are making it well worth your while to do it .
When I got into the beer business 18 years ago , production breweries were designed to produce large amounts of beer to be sold through distribution to stores , bars , and restaurants . A startup brewery would do their own distribution until they had enough sales for a distributor to take notice . Self distribution comes with better margins , but also requires extra space , people , trucks , time , and money . All of which could be spent making more beer . More beer is growth , and in this business it ’ s grow or die . Once a distributor decides to do business with a brewery , the brewery now sells their beer to the distributor . The distributor in turn sells and grows the brand with their warehouse space , trucks , sales and service teams , and , of course , their reach . A good partnership with a distributor is great . They tell you how much beer they need , you make it , and they buy it . Support your brand with promotional
KELLER
materials and a sales staff of your own and the sky ’ s the limit .
This system worked great until it didn ’ t . The market certainly changed . Inbev , a Belgian / Brazilian beer conglomerate , bought Anheuser Busch , Miller-Coors , and a slew of regional craft breweries giving them ample opportunity for market manipulation . The growing popularity of seltzers , ciders , and canned cocktails kept production on its toes . Gen Z , as they come of age , are drinking less than their parents and grandparents . Distributors also grew weary of the influx of new brands and new varieties from each brand , they named the crunch SKUmageddon and they have collectively backed off . Distributors are now operating with less variety and less inventory . Breweries that made distribution deals during and after this transition have found their share of the market shrunk or removed entirely . There are distributors who have exclusive rights to brands they never intend to sell . This forces breweries to either shrink , shut down , or make their own market . The ones winning this war are the ones that have cut out the middle man . Many are doing their own limited distribution , but for the most part they ’ re selling their own beer directly to the customers . If you want to bring home their beer , you buy it at the brewery . If you want to try their beer on draft , you go to their taproom . Breweries have always been fun places to visit . You get to see where the magic happens . Now we ’ re being encouraged to visit and stick around . Taprooms are just as much or more of a focus for startup breweries as the actual brewhouse . Fifteen years ago a craft beer enthusiast ’ s trip down the aisle of a high selection package store is now being replaced with a brewery pub crawl .
Selling your beer directly to customers as opposed to a distributor does mean that you won ’ t reach as many customers as a warehouse distributor . It can slow the production growth , but it vastly increases your margins . Being the retailer of your own beer
18 | PALESTINE MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY EDITION 2024