Il était une brasserie’s Post

"American breweries are currently at about half their capacity. That’s not good! But it’s actually worse that in looks because growth has been dead flat for three years. Were the industry growing, it would need headspace, so to speak, for future expansion. Here’s Bart: “When you’re growing rapidly, excess capacity is a good thing so you can keep up with that growth. Athletic has a lot of excess capacity right now with the purchase of that former Ballast Point facility, but no one thinks that’s an issue. So the ratio in the mid-2010s was different because brewers were rapidly growing into it. As I pointed out in 2015, the 2012 and 2014 ratios look the same, but 2014 production was actually bigger than 2012 total capacity. “So you need to understand the capacity number in the context of its time. If we were growing 18% again right now, even 51% might not be that bad (at 18% you’d use up all that excess capacity in 4 years), but at static or negative growth, it’s a lot worse, because it represents investments that aren’t being utilized.” I don’t have a lot more to add to this, except to say that if you want to open a brewery in the next few years, you might consider starting a contract brewery or alternating proprietorship. Not only would it save you a ton of money at the outset, but you might be doing another brewery a favor in helping them fill up those tanks." https://lnkd.in/eyaEsTDA

Once beer leaves the brewery, it’s in a distributor’s or retailer’s hands. However, that doesn’t mean breweries can’t monitor how it’s being stored, handled, and poured. Self-distributing breweries have more visibility and control over this, of course, but even those with wholesaler contracts should make it a priority to evaluate their beer’s quality in the market and flag any issues. For the Brewing Industry Guide, I dug into the complicated but critical issue of field quality: what small breweries can do, and why it matters. Big thanks to Jessie Polin, Julie Smith, Sean Lawson, Neil Witte, and Stoup Brewing's Jason Bass for speaking with me:

TailGate Brewery distributes in Tennessee only. Why? Since 2014, we've *only* distributed in Tennessee. The "*only*" is because we used to have a really neat niche of distribution in the UK of all places. But that was pretty small potatoes, and was really just too cool to pass up. We enjoyed a cult following for some of our core beers, and we were able to participate with the Brewers Association's export and development program. These days, it's all Tennessee. On the topic of craft beer distribution, I like the saying: "a mile wide and an inch deep." Since we opened in West Nashville in 2014, a lot of breweries were able to grow by opening new distribution markets in a nearby state. But what's interesting is, everyone was opening new markets. So what happened was: a brewery would send a truck of beer, enjoy the bump in sales...and never get a reorder. That beer would sit, go out of code, have to get bought back....all sorts of nightmares. But the brewery could launch another state to help smooth the bumps. Right? Eventually, your distribution footprint becomes huge. It's spread all over, but has no depth. The distribution footprint becomes....a mile wide and an inch deep. We had no crystal ball in 2014, but we could see which way the wind was blowing. Other states have other laws. The distributor end of the three tier system can be about as fair as robber barons in the early 19th century. And trying to manage all sorts of operations 4-10 hrs away? Forget about it. We chose home. All things change. All things evolve. But sitting here today, we're Tennessee only. And we have no real designs on other states. Yes we get asked a lot to expand. Yes we have opportunities to expand. But there's not real measurement when that time will be. But for now? We're here to continue our business plan of: Be the The Best Brewery in Tennessee. From there? We'll see.

You have to know your brand's value and assert it through your team's daily actions. Consistent communication and accountability from a supplier always conveyed to me that they likely had their act together across the board. If you don't actively demand your brand's value in everything you do, how can you expect anyone else to? The values you demonstrate through your daily operations shape how distributors and retailers perceive and treat your brand. Ensuring quality control and maintaining high standards, even after your product leaves the brewery, shows a commitment to excellence. By consistently upholding your brand's value, you not only protect its integrity but also build strong, respectful relationships with your distribution and retail partners.

In the brewing industry, margins are under attack. No longer is growing revenue and volume enough to succeed. There’s a new game: increasing profitability and maximising margin. As Luca Lorenzoni wrote in his popular series on The Future of Craft Beer, breweries must analyse their margin pool and ensure their pricing strategy is right across their various routes to market. Sellar exists to put breweries back in control. Where breweries can sell direct to anyone, keep all of their margin, all while reducing the admin that typically comes with direct sales channels. We've whacked out the spreadsheet, and the numbers don't lie... 👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/eMjERYvE

CAMRA Condemns Meantime Brewery Closure Commenting on the news that Asahi will close its Greenwich brewery and move all production to Fuller’s Griffin Brewery, CAMRA’s Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Director, Gillian Hough said: “Having first moved production of Dark Star from Sussex to the Meantime brewery in Greenwich, it’s a further blow for British brewing to hear that Asahi will now move production of both Dark Star and Meantime to a single site in Chiswick. “Multinationals constantly seek out the authenticity of smaller brands, whose integrity is tied to their founding, their place of production, and the love and care that comes from a team of skilled brewers. Buying up and consolidating these brands in the name of profit not only strips communities of their brewing heritage, and creates redundancies for the brewers themselves, it often fundamentally destroys what made that beer special in the first place and reduces consumer choice to a meaningless selection between products owned by a single brand. “CAMRA believes that consumers deserve real choice at the bar, and that small independent breweries should be able to retain their unique character. “We condemn Asahi’s choice to further consolidate its brands in the strongest possible terms, as well as their decision to announce this while all eyes are on the Spring Budget announcement. With so much at stake for brewers across the UK, Westminster will rightly be where much of the trade’s focus lies today.” Read More:

Biz New Orleans Magazine Louisiana's craft beer industry faces a dynamic landscape, with nearly 50 brewers contending with slowed growth and fierce competition. From transformed industrial spaces to innovative business strategies, breweries are adapting to thrive in a changing market.

Adding a distillery to a brewing business can be a big leap—but there are synergies that can help the cost and effort pay off. Here’s how getting into craft spirits can add value to your brewery while leveraging costs. https://lnkd.in/gd8jNah9

The recent collapse of multiple breweries is a sad day for craft beer lovers like myself. The Australian craft beer industry was booming just a few years ago, but has been hit hard by the economic downturn, rising excise taxes, and overhead costs. These factors have made it difficult for small breweries to compete with large companies that can produce beer more cheaply. Consumers are also cutting back on spending, and some are choosing cheaper generic brands. Even though I love craft beer, there's no denying the economic realities that these breweries are facing. I hope that some of these businesses can find a way to weather the storm, but it's going to be tough. #craftbeer #australianbusiness #economics #beerlover https://lnkd.in/gDTG5iPP

In today's CBD: Two of the largest Black-owned breweries, California's Crowns & Hops Brewing Co. and Full Circle Brewing Co., have struck a watershed alliance to leverage its members’ strengths and show up at market in a much bigger way. The new shared resources platform is dubbed “Circle of Crowns Beverage Group” (CCBG). The alliance “combines two leading Black-owned brands and centralizes production, sales and marketing between the two companies,” per announcement. Production will be centralized at Full Circle. Currently, the brands produce about 10,000 barrels collectively. It’s about “unlocking untapped opportunities” in the craft market, by "leveraging retail and venue diversity programs." Historically, Black suppliers have lacked the infrastructure to address these opportunities on a wide scale. CCBG also includes the historic Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brand, one of the oldest in San Francisco, and Sonoma Cider. "As you know, there's 9,000-plus breweries out there, and there's only 1% that are Black-owned," Arthur Moye, Full Circle founder, told CBD. "And I think, during a good period of the last half a decade or so, people have wanted to support Black-owned businesses. So you have major retailers reaching out to those 1%; you have distributors reaching out to those 1%; but then there hasn't been a structure by which they could significantly respond, because that 1% is mostly represented by people that don't have production facilities and can't create the margins and the economies of scale to sit on the shelves throughout the distribution networks of the chains." This starts to solve that. More here, we left the story open to all. https://lnkd.in/gsHErbeK