The slushie machine era must be nearing an end because I see those swirling machines at pretty much every brewery taproom that I visit.
And that gets me to thinking about two things:
A. the slushie machine salesman is getting big checks
B. when are breweries going to stop chasing after trends and get back to being a trend?
I don’t mean to throw too much shade with point B but I do feel that the more hard seltzers and slushies one puts on offer is a lost opportunity to do something innovative in the beer space. Each alternative drink sold cements a customers relationship, not to beer or your brewery, but to sugary, bubbly treats.
Much like coffee shops that sell iced diabetes bombs that contain zero coffee, a brewery that is just selling hard slurpees are stealing from their core brand. I can understand that a group of people may acquiesce to going to a brewery if there are more options but it starts to look like the brewery isn’t the destination. Much like the group of friends who end up at an Olive Garden because it is the least offensive choice.
Time to sell the slushie machine or at least make a fresh hop slushie.