Tag: firkin

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The Firkin for March 2010

Words like green, recycle, envio-friendly are seen alot in the craft beer industry. Primarily because you have to be a bit of a rebel to start a brewery. And, unfortunately, earth awareness, is still a fringe effort.

That is why I am all for ballooning a trend that I have heard about from various beer media sources. Captured by Porches Brewery in Portland charges extra (I believe $1) for their bottles. So you buy their Invasive Species IPA and it costs more. But! You can return the bottle to the brewery (unwashed) and you get your buck back.
The same deal for retailers who buy a bunch of Miskatonic Dark Rye.

Because the bottles cost a bit over a buck, CBP ends up not losing any money on the deal and they help the environment!

I think that any new brewery should be offered a tax incentive to enter this type of program. Or if money is a problem, how about offering speedee service on label approval in exchange for a bottle return program?

Every day we read about new breweries opening. Eagle Rock in California, Revolution in Illinois to name two. Imagine if all the breweries opening in 2010 came on board as a bottle return participant. That is a lot of glass being recycled.

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The Firkin for February 2010

There was an interesting post on Beer Advocate awhile back about buying a spot during the Super Bowl for the “I am a craft brewer” video put together by Greg Koch from Stone Brewing. Some people thought that an opportunity to showcase craft beer to a massive audience was missed since the ad rates were lower this year than last.

Here is my reasoning as to why it would be not an effective use of hypothetical money.

A) You are not targeting the most receptive audience. It is mostly men who are probably not leaving their brand anytime soon. Not exactly the low hanging fruit. I would rather target specific people who could be turned into beer geeks who would then turn the person next to them. Food Network would be logical. NPR as well. Even Sports Illustrated would be a better sell.

B) One time ads don’t register. Unless you follow up with the message, it stands the chance of being trampled. Look at what the Republicans do. Say the same thing over and over, until people believe it. Be it true or not. Say it once and it gets lost.

C) I would rather support local organizations in overturning some of the flat out bizarre liquor laws this country has on the books. As I mentioned in the January rant, there are some outdated ideas that need to be purged.

The main reason why 1 measly 30 second spot no matter how many people view it isn’t enough is because we need to really educate people about beer. 30 seconds does not convey the nuance needed. What about sour beer, the history of Imperial Stouts, proper glassware? Instead of a quick hit, we need sustained informed beer knowledge being passed to receptive minds.

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The Firkin for January 2010

At the end of each month, I will open up the firkin and pour out what I’m thinking about. It may be a rant, it may be a rave, it may be odds and ends. I hope you enjoy…..the First Firkin
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2009 saw Alabama free the hops and raise the ABV limit on beers sold in that state. I say that is about time even more unrational beer distribution and retail laws get phased out if for no other reason than they are economically prohibitive. The City of Los Angeles has 1, that’s right, 1 brewery within city limits. It can’t be a conicidence that there are breweries ringing the outskirts of Los Angeles from El Monte to Torrance. Unfortunately, LA county is not alone in hindering craft beer. Here are some other egregious examples of laws restricting capitalism and our craft beer rights.

In Pennsylvania, no more than two packages of beer at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official “beer distributor”. Great breweries abound in the Quaker state and yet they can’t truly fill a customer’s needs.

There are still some states that ban on off-premises sales of alcohol on Sundays. Tough luck if you want to tailgate and you didn’t buy your beer the day before.

In Kentucky it is illegal to send a bottle of beer, wine, or spirits as a gift to anyone in Kentucky – this can result in a 5-year term in prison. Really? Thanks for ruining Christmas Kentucky Grinch.

It is time to revisit these restrictive laws and find out the true reason they were enacted. What is to gain by restricting sales? or ABV? You are basically telling beer geeks, “nothing to see here, move along”. Is that the slogan you want on your Visit Us in ______
brochures?