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Self-distribution versus using a distributor – off-site draft sales for breweries

posted (updated Jan 18th, 2022) by

The following article was posted on Feb. 18, 2015. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. Footnotes have been included where updated content has been added.

As brewpubs continue to proliferate across the country, many are opting to sell their products through retail accounts to utilize excess capacity and increase revenue. Off-site sales can also increase your walk-in business by creating exposure and interest in your brewpub. As attractive as this may seem, off-site sales entail a great deal of time, resources and effort to successfully achieve these objectives. And in some states, brewpubs are not allowed to sell their products outside the confines of the licensed premise.

Where allowed by state law, the practice of off-site distribution has been employed successfully along a full spectrum of implementation. Some brewpubs have grown into full size production plants with the majority of their sales sold off-site through a far-reaching distribution network. This, however, is the exception rather than the rule. Most brewpubs sell their products in draft only to a handful of local accounts. Whatever the applicable scale, it is important to understand the basics of off-site distribution.

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Seven secrets of brewpub success

posted (updated Jan 15th, 2023) by

The following article was originally published on May 15,, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff .

For related articles on ProBrewer also see; Brewpubs and distribution – Special considerations for brewpubs,  Off-site  sales for brewpubs and on the ProBrewer Discussion Boards “The Brewpub Business Model”

by Teri Fahrendorf
© Teri Fahrendort, reprinted with permission of author

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Seven steps of branding building

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by Tom McCormick

Successful beer brands require a balance of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ in the marketplace. Push is the term used for getting the brand placed on the retail shelf. This involves the many complexities of distribution and distributor management (see Distribution 101). But once the product is placed on the shelf, it must sell – or ‘pull’. If either push or pull are out of balance, you are not achieving optimum potential sales for your brand. For instance, if you have good distribution and many placements, but the product does not sell; those placements will quickly be substituted by the retailer for another brand, and your distributor will quickly become discouraged from placing your brand further. On the other hand, if you have built good brand awareness, but the consumer can’t find the product at retail, you are losing sales opportunity.

Brand building is creating pull for your brand. It is focusing on the “fourth tier” – the consumer. The foundation of good brand building is to provide a sufficient reason for the consumer to buy your product. Most craft beer consumers have a range of 5-10 beer brands that they buy on a consistent and repetitive basis. Two or three of these brands are favorites, which typically capture about 50-60% of their beer purchases. The typical consumer tends to buy beer brands that they know, recognize and are familiar with. Price and positioning also come into play. Very few craft beer consumers today buy a six pack of a beer they have never tried. Most first time sampling is done at on-premise retail or events.

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Hiring the best brewers

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by Teri Fahrendorf
© Teri Fahrendort, reprinted with permission of author

Four Main Points
1. Develop your management skills.
2. Take the time in hiring to avoid the pain of firing.
3. 1 + 10% Hiring: Hire someone 10% smarter or more experienced than you are.
4. Train the people who work for you to do the same.

The Resume & Cover Letter as a Tool
1. Resume = Reports the facts. A snapshot of the candidate’s technical background (left brain).
2. Cover Letter = An opportunity for the candidate to sell him/herself or make his/her case. Or not. A snapshot of the candidate’s personality & interest level (right brain).
3. A great cover letter & resume gives the candidate a competitive edge and gets the first Interview.
4. Shows communication skills. Especially if combined with phone conversations.

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How to go pro in the beer biz

posted (updated Jan 15th, 2023) by

The following article was originally published on May 14, 2014. It has been reviewed and updated as necessary by the ProBrewer editorial staff. 

Additional resources on brewing education in the ProBrewer Discussion Boards here.

by Teri Fahrendorf
© Teri Fahrendort, reprinted with permission of author

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Some Words of Wisdom

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by Jamie Martin, Brewmaster, Dells Brewing Co.

Controlled Experiments – As a brewer you should always be learning and trying to improve your beer. Running a controlled experiment from time to time can give you situational knowledge specific to your equipment that you can’t get from a textbook or article. First and foremost make sure you have the basics of brewing down before you start to change things; you can only learn from experimentation if you understand the process and what normally happens. A few guidelines: Only change one thing per brew. This could be anything like using 2-Row Copeland instead of 2-Row Metcalfe barley, mashing a degree or two higher or lower than normal, or adding your hop addition 10 minutes sooner or later then normal. These incremental changes are small and subtle, usually only you will notice in the final product. If someone has a pint at your brewery and then comes back two months later, they shouldn’t be able to detect a change in the beer, but if they come back a year later, they should find your beer has improved 100%. Those subtle changes may not change the flavor profile much, but our goal should always be improving the overall quality of the entire beer.

Write everything down – Everything that happens in the brewery should be written down; the good the bad and the ugly! First of all it’s the law. We produce alcohol and need to have detailed account of the process and the materials involved in producing our beer. Second, if something goes wrong you’ll need to be able to research that particular batches process and material bill to locate where the problem occurred and correct it. Recording each step also creates a great reference library for you. If you document mistakes and your troubleshooting process, then later, if a similar problem arises, you’ll have a record of the steps and missteps you took previously and you can avoid wasted time and frustration. Your record can also be used as an invaluable training tool for your support staff.

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Brewpubs and distribution – Special considerations for brewpubs

posted by

What’s wrong with this picture?

A loyal customer, one of those regulars who act as goodwill ambassadors, comes into your brewpub with five friends in tow. He adores your pale ale and he introduces his friends as pale ale lovers who have never had your beer. They are here to drink, have dinner and run up a good-sized bill.

Sorry, you have to tell them, but you are out of the pale ale. It will be back on tomorrow, but a sudden run on the beer by outside accounts has left that tap dry. You suggest that they head to the Italian restaurant down the street because you know you just sent them a fresh keg earlier in the day. You watch a sizable ticket and five potential customers head out the door.

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