Tag: retail

Posted on

On Point

Target and craft beer aren’t usually mentioned in the same sentence often but since they pushed into the grocery aisle they have added beer, wine and spirits. To this point, I have not purchased craft beer at a Target since the selection seems just a tiny bit sku’d to the SABInBevMiller distribution side of life with only four or five bombers and some bigger often seen like Sierra Nevada Pale.
th
But now, they seem to be changing things up. Starting with a location in Denver, Target has moved the beer to the front of the store and put it in a walk-in cooler. It is the first of possibly more “beer caves” as the Minnesota company calls them.
Other Target locations in Illinois seem to stock not only the widely available Goose Island but also Two Brothers and Revolution. How deep the stock is and who is doing the buying probably dictate what we see on shelves.

You probably won’t walk out with a rare beer but if they can start stocking local flagship beers it could be a great place to stock up for larger gatherings.

Posted on

My Perfect Bottle Shop

PART 1 – The Layout
store layout

As you can see, a few round tables in front. A standing bar in the middle. Two refridgerated cases. One for seasonals and new releases and one for main inventory stock. There would also be a sales island and an un-cooled section for barleywines and aging beers.

PART 2 – The beer
I would start with (3) taps with a goal of (5). One tap dedicated to a very local beer. In my case, Eagle Rock Brewery. Then there would be a couple of California beers, a foreign beer and a tap from somewhere else in the country that would rotate from Oregon to Florida to Washington state. The seasonal storage would change with the weather (dunkels and alts would be in that case now) and as new releases become available they would start their retail life there and if they sell well, I would add them to the main inventory in the back of the room. I would also sell 3 and 6 packs of mixed 12oz bottles to encourage tasting. I would focus on getting small breweries into the store. Places like Skyscraper and Upright. I would also like to place special orders as well if I could get enough good distribution contacts.

PART 3 – Events
There would be themed tastings every other month much like the quarterly tastings I currently do at my apartment. Canned beer, Christmas beer, beer and desserts and so on.
Also I would have a review program tied into my website. When you buy a pint, you get a review sheet. I make a copy of your review when you are finished and when you have reached 10 reviews, you get to choose a beer from the store for you and the room to try. The reviews will get posted on the store website. I would also like to be the host for charity events in the months where there is not tasting event scheduled.

So that is my dream. One day it will happen and I hope to see you all there.