Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Last Year’s Sales

The Brewers Association released the sales numbers for last year, and normally I would post about it from the standpoint of California brewers or breweries entering or leaving the top 10 but this year, the numbers will need to be viewed against the 2020 numbers as well as the 2021 numbers before you can truly glean some insights.

I expect to see some churn in companies and quite possibly more CANarchy like groupings when we hit the post virus phase. I wrongly expected to see closures aplenty by now but the loans and financial measures seemed to have postponed those, though I still think fallout is coming. Unemployment numbers are going to really start to hurt, really soon. Unless Biden gets elected come November, I do not think there will be much long-term help for small business and especially a small business in California.

I sorely wish that I could do a pro forma, boring post about who is in the lead though.

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Netflix & Beer

I have never seen The League and was only mildly amused by That 70’s Show so my hopes are a bit low for this new Netflix comedy, Brews Brothers that starts today. Also lowering my expectation is that the title is Brews Brothers. Not much of reach on the ol’ title tree for that one. Who knows though, maybe the creators had a better title and Netflix marketing chose to go the easy route. Anyway, I will give it a go and if it is worth the time, I will write more about it.

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Aftermath – Part 3

The American shipping and distribution system is amazing. You can get something in under an hour. But as we have seen with the run on toilet paper, it doesn’t take much to hobble that system.

This will extend to breweries, and not just with ingredients but with items like the beer container. Kegs are not in vogue. But boy, the amount of Crowlers and sixteen ounce cans needed are rising higher.

But that means that a system built for just in time delivery and expecting only a certain quantity of sales now has to pivot to new market conditions and then will have to change again when this is all over.

Meanwhile, the growler, which has completely lost favor, has had a tiny renaissance as breweries have opened up the taps to any container that they can put beer in.

Supply and demand is in cans already and it will soon be hitting other ingredients too.

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YeastTube

White Labs supplies yeast to breweries practically everywhere but they are also known for their education. Their tasting room and same beer, different yeast trials are well known and now they are “launching an online education portal”. Mostly for brewers these “videos are released every month and cover a range of topics.” But maybe the casual beer fan might enjoy while hunkered down at home. Check out the videos HERE.

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Aftermath – Part 2

Part of me can fully understand why this might be true but another part asks the question of “if buying beer is hard then how is buying beer ingredients any easier?”

Will that ingredient access is difficult that could offset the cost savings of brewing your own? Also, in my opinion, quality has risen, so brewing a Belgian Wit could be cheaper but if Allagash White is around, why do it. You might have to wait in a line at Trader Joe’s but that pales in comparison to trying to emulate that beer or an IPA from El Segundo or a dark mild that matches Eagle Rock’s Solidarity.

Maybe price will win out and it will be interesting to see if it continues because if breweries close, a new generation of aspirational home brewers will be needed.

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All Together

Other Half Brewing Co is taking a page from the Resilience handbook with their new All Together, worldwide beer collaboration. It was “created to raise funds & awareness for the industry we love so much. Regardless of location or circumstances, when one member of the hospitality industry struggles, the rest of the group (including brewers, servers, bartenders, bussers, dishwashers, GMs, buyers, chefs & owners) steps in to help and lend a hand”

More info, “How does the project work? #AllTogetherBeer invites any brewer, from any corner of the planet, to participate by providing the tools needed to make the beer at the lowest possible cost, including an open-source recipe, artwork, and name. In exchange, the collective asks that a portion of the proceeds go to supporting hospitality professionals in each brewery’s own community. The rest should be donated to keeping the brewery in business to weather this storm.”

Go to the website to find out if there will be togetherness near you. I know that Long Beach Beer Lab and Bodega did a version.

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Great Beer Names / Labels for April 2020

First up for April is a special sour release from New Belgium, UK Spring Break. This ale combines Earl Grey Tea and red currants and I like the playful tone of the label and the name is just a touch funny too.

The second beer is from right here in L.A.. Mumford Brewing brings Sunnyness in the form of Motueka hops in this NEIPA. It also sports my college colors too.

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Beer Buyers Club

The Beer Connoisseur magazine with great 20/20 2020 vision launched a new Beer Buyers Club, a partnership with beer delivery service, Tavour. Breweries are shutting taprooms and sales are limited so a good way to support craft beer might just be to have it delivered to you. I have a friend who has used the service and it worked well.

Head HERE to start checking out the details. Use promo code “BC2020” at the Tavour check-out.

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The Firkin for March 2020

This has been a shitty month. No sugarcoating it. But part of human nature is to make lemonade out of lemons and memes out of Michael Jordan crying, so it is no surprise that quarantine named beers have started popping up.

I get it and some are quite clever but part of me thinks that this may be a thing to stay away from or now. Granted, I have thought that a brewery should Barrel-age a beer they normally would have sold immediately and name it Newsom’s Private Reserve or Mayor Garcetti’s Non-Essential ale.

But neither would get the joke and would just fall back on their safe public safety arguments while we who are left feel the brunt of the economic fallout zone they pushed us into.

So, instead, I think it would be great for breweries in Los Angeles to collaborate on a beer or two to honor the breweries that did not make it through this crisis. Not something bitter or sour, but maybe a golden ale. The Sun is Out Again rings true to me.

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Aftermath – Part 1

As I write this, the rain is outside my office. Yes, the times are so strange that Los Angeles is wet.

And it may be too soon yet to look to the future, what with the daily really everywhere around us. But I want to tackle what the craft beer world will look like after this crisis passes.

Instead of diving into the whole picture, let’s look at those breweries with extensive barrel-aging programs. This has stuck with me over many days as bans and stay-at-homes have proliferated.

Because, what type of inventory that a brewery had could well dictate how they look on the other side of it. Logistics of brewing are hard enough. Trying to time ingredient ordering and to have staff on hand and then juggling tank space is pretty close to an art form.

Now, you add uncertainty of selling your finished product. I would not sleep a wink with all these variables swirling in my brain. I would assume that production would slacken until, taprooms can reopen safely. When that blessed time comes, taps will not be at full strength.

But if you have beers aging and ready, well, now you are not only open but open with a bang, with something special. Maybe that higher end product can be the first lifeline to a brewery that is in need of an infusion of cash

IPA may be king but it may not be the beer that will come to the rescue. If rain can dampen SoCal, other minor miracles can happen too.