Tag: firkin opinion

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The Firkin for June 2024

Are building landlords the biggest problem for breweries now and is it more of a problem in higher cost Los Angeles?

When an industry reeling a bit and breweries closing, the first suspects through the door are ingredient and labor costs and / or shrinking customer base.  The former pushes raising the cost of a pint and the latter scares you away from doing that so as not to lose more customers.

But rarely is the cost of the physical space invoked. Is it not an issue?

As I write this, there is an empty apartment in the building next door.  My building has had extended periods without a tenant in one of the four units because my landlord is quite rigorous in her selection process but throughout the fair city of Glendale there is plenty with a capital P office space, plenty of business space in one of the many with a capital M condominiums in town and even quite regular space open at the fancy Americana mall.

It seems a math question of possible future returns vs steady now money.  But the value of a current tenant does not seem to have risen very much if at all while the allure of some dream tenant walking in and paying double as far-fetched as it may or may not be seems to be in vogue.

I do not know how pervasive it is in the Los Angeles rental market for breweries but I have seen it mentioned a fair bit and I saw it play out with the beloved Sunset Beer Co. which was intentionally priced out of their space.  Even though literally across the street was a new and very empty development that was mostly graffiti.  

How does a landlord see that and go, now is the time to look for higher paying tenants? Do they have the cash reserves to pay for a building not getting rented out?  

I know that the stereotype of a landlord is not great even though I have a great one and others do as well.  That perception should lead to landlords differentiating themselves by being really good.  By selecting a business that they can have for the long term and work with so that BOTH succeed.  Why is that not the norm?

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The Firkin for May 2024

What makes a great beer bar in 2024? It is an interesting thought experiment. With the imminent closure of Seattle’s famous Brouwers Cafe, it is something to ponder anew.

Is it number of taps? Neighborhood? Festivals? None or all of the above? Or is it just the economy stupid?

To me, all of that matters, and any wise suggestions can be blown to shit by a generation that drinks less and doesn’t want to drink what their parents did, is to have the past – present – future on draft on any given day.

The past can be a cask ale or slow pour pilsner, the future can be all the IPA you can get in the door and the future, well that is the hardest part of the equation but also the most fun to play with. A few years ago, it may have meant pastry stouts or Brut IPA or sours (remember them?).

Having a retail component is crucial in my book, especially singles. It can be hard to convince someone to spring $20+ bucks for a four-pack but a pair of singles that gets me thinking. And if you can tell a customer that the beer they like is also to-go, you might just double the sale.

For you and other beer fans, other things may take precedence but I can help but think that as sad a closure is, it also means opportunity.

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The Firkin for April 2024

Whenever economic figures for craft beer are powerpointed and then later dissected, it always seems to be in a tone of grimness.

Maybe people thought the high flying double digit days were never going to cool or that another alcoholic beverage would ever possibly have its time in the sun.

But that somber news story is exactly that, a story, one of many. And the side of the story that I wish would be focused on more is that of the sheer amount of breweries in the United States now.

The number is close to 10K. And that is amazing. Who would have thought back on 2000 or 2010 that there would be that many. Remember that back in the 80’s that there were barely any and the regional players were on life support. Even if this is the plateau, that is such a turn around.

Yes, closures may soon outpace openings but even so 10K! I have one taproom that I can walk to and three breweries that are super short drives to.

It may not be confetti in the air but this is still a good time for craft beer fans.

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The Firkin for March 2024

Maybe it should be changed to seller beware.  Cigar City Brewing in Florida famous for Jai Alai IPA and Florida Man beer has had brewing shifted out of state to Brevard, North Carolina.  With a lamentable loss of jobs as Monster Brewing Company shifts production.

As much as I understand the desire to flee that state, this shows yet again that no amount of assurances before an owner signs on the dotted line can be expected.  Owners have to foresee that new owners will do what they want and you have to be ready to either buy back or walk away, both at a moments notice.

It is 2024 and corporations keep telling us they don’t give two shits by raising insurance rates, selling our data or shrinking packaging to barely anything so we simply cannot be surprised when a corporation chucks away people and brewing history.

My suggestion for brewery owners about to sell is to lawyer yourself a way to retaining ownership of the brand name if certain conditions occur such as moving brewing or changing mission statements.

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The Firkin for February 2024

I usually do not venture into the comments in social media because my opinion of humanity is already low enough as it is but when I saw noted home brewing authority Denny Conn posted this in the middle of this month….

….I delved into what people had to say and boy was it an eye opening. There is a lot of bruised feelings and ill will to how the Brewers Association (BA) is handling the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and not just from rank and file homebrewers but from influential beer people whom I know from their writing and speaking. There is also a lot of low opinions of the marquee festival as well.

It is dispiriting to say the least because the BA and AHA really need each other in the way that a Major League Baseball team needs the minor leagues. And GABF needs to get its mojo back as well.

But despite the low ebb, the tide can turn. I would strongly suggest that the AHA be given autonomy on how it runs events so that the leadership of that group can brainstorm how to make HomeBrewCon and other gatherings more attractive to members. Folding a sliver of the event into GABF seems a small gesture at best. Perhaps smaller regional events are the way to go. But the AHA members should be charting the way not dictated at by Denver.

As for GABF, I have been twice (ages ago) and, yes, it is not for the faint of crowds or cup drop culture. But it is also a fantastic way to sample beers that you otherwise would have to take a year off of work and travel the country to taste. Again, maybe regional events would be a solution with a smaller, focused affair in Denver for those that win judging regionally. Sort of a March Madness model.

First off, there needs to be some fence mending and that means people getting together to talk about craft beer and how pros and amateurs can work in concert.

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The Firkin for January 2024

Seems like IP un-aithorization has roared back into use again. For a while, labels that I saw on the interwebs seemed to have actual thought out designs but lately, that whole piggyback on someone else’s work is back like a cold you can’t shake.

I know that punners gonna pun and that not all artistry will be to my particular liking. There are some breweries whose labels just do not speak to me but I am at the very least, on board with breweries who at least try to be original.

But there are soooo many lazy beer labels that look like children’s cereal boxes or sodas or candy bars that I have to believe that they sell enough to make a brewery take that step into outright identity theft. Me, I would looking over my shoulder for a Cease and Desist letter.

This, at a time, when you can probably find many artists to create a look for your new pastry stout or candy sour that actually tells the story of your brand and not a secondhand tale with missing pages that is more attached to the original IP than your beer.

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The Firkin for December 2023

One last kvetch for 2023 before the craft beer world moves into 2024.

Hours of Operation. Why do I have to be Sherlock Holmes or an investigative journalist to find them and once found, why am I wary that they don’t really reflect the actual open hours?

A little backtrack first. My father was an inveterate gambler when it came to going out to a restaurant. He barely checked the address, let alone if the darn place would be open. God forbid he call the establishment.

My genome carried some of that devil may care attitude but it has been slowly and surely burned out of me. In my last road trip, I read and re-read the hours of one spot that I wanted to visit. It seemed clear but it was clearly at odds with the sign on the closed door that said different.

Another brewery that I checked and re-checked was closed for a staff event. No where was that mentioned. Guess it was expected that people would find out when they drove their and saw a darkened taproom. Another brewery was lit up and an employee was inside but that employee was apparently the only one who showed up and so the brewery was staying locked.

If I had called the brewery with the staff event, would the message said that? If I had called the one employee brewery, would the phone have been answered. I suspect no in both instances.

Why can’t hours be easy and clear? Are they changing with such frequency that social media cannot be updated quickly enough? Does no one have that job?

The fix is simple. Check your hours on your website and social media pages. Then fix if needed. If hours for a certain week, like Christmas or New Year’s is different, then post that.

Of the three places where I traveled and met with no welcome, I did not go back to two of them. That should say something.

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The Firkin for November 2023

There has been a wee bit of gnashing of teeth as noteworthy breweries have changed hands. Ecliptic into the Ninkasi portfolio. Many breweries huddled newly under the Tilray banner. Anchor in a weird limbo.

Beer fans can ponder the economics of it all but I would say that we also need to learn how to let go. There was a run on Anchor beers only when supplies became limited. The only other notable press they received was for their design change that no one liked.

My question becomes, if Anchor or Ecliptic or pick a brewery in trouble were to be lifted magically to in the black and not red, would that amount of beer be sold? I doubt it.

As SoCal belatedly settles into fall, we should all understand that seasons change. Your favorite brewery, my favorite beer, that great taproom you traveled to will most likely all be gone and that is OK. Not great. A bummer for sure but it opens the door for a new wave to try their hands at this crazy brewing game.

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The Firkin for October 2023

America has a sweet tooth. And boy, howdy, it is a big one. That craving for sugar is well ensconced in craft beer just like the rest of the U.S. foodways.

Yes, I am calling for at least a moratorium on the hyper sweetened beers. As I have said before and will say again, creativity and boundary pushing is fantastic but we have reached the boundary and it is time to proceed in a new direction.

I am hoping that a new path is already being charted by intrepid brewers and breweries and it will only be a matter of time before that path becomes a clear trend.

But in the meantime, let’s pause it with pancake stouts, stop the sugary seltzers, cancel cacao coffee and eliminate excess eclair beers. We get it. Or at least I do. I want to see what else you can brew.

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The Firkin for September 2023

I do not remember which brewery finally put me over the top but this month, I am officially done with photos and videos of spilled beer.

First is was the glamour shots of beer caught in freeze frame like a reverse waterfall flying up out of a glass, then it was the varied and sundry contests where beer ended up on the floor and lately it has been brewery staff drinking from a can but ending up with more on them and their clothes.

Maybe it is a sign of approaching geezerhood but as craft beer prices rise, wasting beer for a few digital thumbs up seems wrong. As a viewer, I wonder how many takes were needed for these videos. And as someone in a drought zone, I am heavily conscious of the amount of water it takes to brew beer and then add in the water needed to clean up after each Tik Tok stunt.

Then I break out my list of things breweries should do before uploading these videos like have an up to date tap list available, have your opening hours consistent on all platforms, keeping your website updated. Ya’ know, the basics.

I know that stuff is boring admin and doing video shoots is more fun and doesn’t seem so much like work but this beer fan is going to scroll right by spilt beer because that shit is sticky.