It must have been an easier job thirty years ago. The craft beer retailer had so few choices to put on shelves and sell. A few ESB’s from England, a bock or two from Germany and maybe something really unique from Belgium. Now to be competitive you had better have at least one display (if not more) like the one above. Because the craft beer consumer fueled by growing sophistication and trained to ask for better beers are now the driving force in beer. And that is not just craft beer, but all of beer.
Growing up in Oregon, a state now known far and wide for choice was a different world from where I am now in Los Angeles. My Trader Joe’s across the street carries Hangar 24, The Bruery and Firestone Walker alongside Full Sail and their in-house brands. Even the major grocery chain, Ralphs carries the cans of Los Angeles brewed Golden Road for quick carry out. Back in the day, you could pledge allegiance to Henry Weinhard or Olympia or just by some cheap stubbies from Buckhorn. Beer shopping sure must have been easier than it is now where I have to make hard decisions about how much I can buy and how much will fit in my ‘fridge or cellar. It must seem to store clerks that I am the most indecisive shopper in the world.
So I have to give a tip of the hat to the hard working behind the scenes people who deal in SKU’s. Heck, I didn’t even know about SKU’s before or what the acronym stands for and now I read about them in beer blogs instead of beer reviews!
Not to suck up but there must be people working overtime at every stop of a beer’s journey from brewery to retailer. Born on dates stamped on bottles. New labels being approved and affixed in a rush. Data and prices keyed into computers. Barcodes scanned and inventory tallied. Delivery trucks rumbling down roads near and far.
All in the name of a bustling and growing craft beer market. All so that I could check out with ease and take my craft beer bounty home to drink and enjoy. Granted we are probably still trying to catch up from all the stagnation of previous years but the incredible leaps in variety is hard to keep up with. Each visit to my favorite beer shoppes brings new discoveries. Seasonals galore. New breweries entering the market. A seemingly endless stream of new hops and IPA’s. More beers than I could possibly choose from. And that is a very good thing.
*a writing assignment (with prizes attached) from the 2014 Beer Bloggers conference in San Diego and the National Beer Wholesalers Association