Crowded Craft Alcohol

[fizzix]

Kräftig Brewery is Closing .
Outside of Missouri and Illinois, Kräftig and Kräftig Light beers are mostly unknown. Founded by William Busch (great grandson of Adolphus Busch) in 2011 to a limited
market share due to an extremely swarming field of breweries, his business model of award-winning beers was to sell at meager profit and make up in quantity sales
what it lost in low pricing. After 8 years of sales figures falling short of expectations, the decision was made to close the doors.

Kräftig was a very good beer and I often chose the full-bodied version over other brands. The beers won two gold medals at the U.S. Open Beer Championship if that tells you anything.
I will miss it, and sad to see it go.

But what grabs me is how hard it must be to open a new brewery these days, whether traditional or craft brews. I mean if a Busch family member had a hard time with it,
what chance does the average Joe have? You gotta be a real standout if you're going to succeed, but how many standouts can the market withstand?

Since 2008, the amount of craft breweries grew from 12 to 52 in just the St. Louis area alone. That translates from 31,000 barrels annually to now more than 143,000. (*Source)

--------------------
So, what about distilleries? There are at least 45 distilleries in my home state of Missouri, and I'm quick to bring that up whenever someone suggests I open a distillery.
I can't imagine the stress of investing into such a teeming field.

So my hat's off to those noble folks who are in the craft liquor & beer industry. And even more so to those who are just getting started! I think the emotional and financial strains
would kill me. It's crowded out there, folks!

[seamusm53]

I think the facts are clear. If WE can make a damn fine brew without a huge investment what often distinguishes one liquor from another is either one is crap (Popcorn Sutton Moonshine) or one has a huge investment/advantage in advertisement to build a clientele (think George Clooney's tequila). The lure of selling out to a major brand for millions draws a lot of hopefuls and drives the experimentation like banana tequila. (okay I made that one up - but I claim the idea first!) I think we're going to end up like Germany where yes there are national brands but local markets are often dominated by regional spirits. When I travel I ALWAYS ask to try local stuff - and I only rarely strike out.

[SwollenGoat23]

C'mon lets split the banana tequila idea!

[fizzix]

C'mon lets split the banana tequila idea!

!!!!!!

[SwollenGoat23]

.......see what I did there.....

[still_stirrin]

Wow fizzix what a thread starter you’ve created here. I’m sure there are many opinions just waiting to chime in. But let me start.

Back in the 90’s when the craft beer trend swept across the USA, I often sought out the many microbreweries in the “mecca”...Pacific NW...Seattle/Portland. They were springing up everywhere. Homebrewers who had made beers that their friends enjoyed sharing were inspiring the brewers to go commercial. Many small “mom & pop” breweries began to populate the cities and towns.

Variety was the “name of the game”, but “quality” and “consistency” were the drivers of success. Consistency of the products encouraged expansion as the marketshare grew. At first, these small breweries didn’t threaten the majors. But as the phenomenon developed, the majors began to pay attention. I’m sure you’ll remember when your neighborhood major (AB) joined the craft product line with their own variety of offerings (which no longer exist). That was the craft brew revolution, a revolution indeed.

Again, the dreams of many homebrewers stimulated the commercial market, to the extent that their neighborhoods could support and tolerate. Competition for the marketshare became brutal. Again, novelty gave way to consistency and quality as the true marketshare relied on this.

As time went on, those micros who produced a product which had developed a market, either local or national, drew the attention of the majors. And those microbrewers often have been acquired in mergers simply because their sales appealed the to capital potential of the major. They simply had the money to market and expand beyond the microbrewery’s capability.

Still, many towns and regions still have local markets that are “tuned” to their respective mom & pop producer. They continue to operate within that business model and as long as “consistency” and “quality” prevail, so will the businesses. But competition from other regional startups will always challenge this market. This is likely the doom of your local brewery, even in light of the namesake heritage.

Now, expand this discussion to include the micro distillery wave that is sweeping the nation. It is indeed an exact parallel. Micros will open...some will sink and others will be acquired. We’ve seen this exact process a mere 25 years ago. Deja vu!

Spurred by variety, many will spring onto the shelf. But quality and consistency will determine who sustains going forward. Looking at the “media swell” over the Moonshiners series, I’d say that to some degree “marketing” will determine sustainability. If you can get a network television to promote your product, then success is easier to grasp regardless of the “quality” of the product.

But fortunately for me, I still make my own beer. And I have my own bourbon. And I don’t buy gin either anymore because I make my own. As a hobbiest, I can now produce my own products...the way that I like them. I don’t compete with the craft (commercial) producers because I don’t have to.

This hobby is GREAT! It allows me to make what I want...how I want. And I don’t have to share it with anyone...except I do, because my close friends know that my focus is on quality and consistency, not profit.

OK....I’m stepping off of the soapbox. Sorry it’s such a long thread. But you started it fizzix.
ss

[fizzix]

............Sorry it’s such a long thread. But you started it fizzix. ss

I savored every word, still_stirrin.

Consistency is when friends ask for "that stuff you gave me last time."
Quality is when I catch myself investigating yeasts and processes well unto 1:00AM
You nailed it!

[seamusm53]

And I will be quick to admit that consistency is the hardest endpoint. One of my first whiskeys was unbelievably and surprisingly good - but it was just beginners luck. It was followed by batches of swill but I was encouraged by remembering once I HAD done it right. My poker buds have been willing guinea pigs and gratefully not too critical though admittedly 'free' was probably why. Being ably to play around is instructive when I remember to take good notes -- I haven't always. But part of the good news of our hobby is that most of the time all I've done is to waste a few dollars of corn and electricity - and if I've truly botched it I can just throw it back and re-distill. Consistency like good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement.

[glenlyon]

No matter the conditions alcohol will sell. When the industry is tightly regulated then the big guys flourish in a protected market environment. When de-regulation sets in, as it has in these modern times - then the market conditions change to a competitive boom bust cycle, which they have. Smart operators will succeed and poor ones will fail - it is the capitalist way.

[HDNB]

............Sorry it’s such a long thread. But you started it fizzix. ss

I savored every word, still_stirrin.

Consistency is when friends ask for "that stuff you gave me last time."
Quality is when I catch myself investigating yeasts and processes well unto 1:00AM
You nailed it!

the consistency your friends look for is "free" the key words in that sentence is "gave me"

it's the name and the package that wins the race...the liquid is secondary, but to be successful it has to be at least palatable. the rest is smoke and mirrors of marketing.
i mean really, who doesn't want a bottle of Jimbo's red headed stepdaughter's ginger infused vodka...if you could only get the breastages featured on the label past the TTB, you'd have a winner.

[fizzix]

Thanks, HDNB!! Makes sense, but I was hoping for a little credit!
Maybe I should settle for "Worthy Enabler!"