A week or more back, the NAGBW broached the three-tiered topic of distribution. The speakers were Kimberly Clements of Pints LLC and Lester Jones of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
Here are my nuggets of wisdom from the Q&A…
- California is a whole market on its own
- lots of merger and acquisitions, but the consolidation game isn’t over and despite barriers to entry, smaller, boutique outfits are not to be written off
- the role of the distributor is essentially the same though the world around is different
- where beer is being distributed has grown
- coverage of distributors seems more negative, though most days it works just fine in the background
- you have to take what the market gives you, if cans get too expensive, then draft may grow
- on premise and off premise lines are blurring when you can drink a beer at a grocery store