Like several people tonight, I also got a press release from Greg Koch of Stone Brewing. Stone Brewing has “made a video called ‘Craft Beer Profitability’ that lays out the business case for selling craft beer. [They] believe, and early feedback affirms, that it will be a valuable tool in educating restaurant and bar owners about the benefits of selling craft beer.” Their goal “is to help restaurant and bar owners understand why it is in their best interest to offer great beer choices.”
The video is below, but can also be found at Selling Craft Beer. And you can also download it from there, too, along with a few companion videos that expand on the information in the main one.
If you’re already a beer geek, you’ll probably know and agree with much of the video, but it’s aimed at bar owners who may not yet understand what all the fuss is about craft beer and hits them where they live: profitability. I think it’s a great idea, and hope many bar owners will watch it. The time is right. The numbers definitely bear that out. In some better beer communities, people get it — Philly’s a good example of a place that gets it — but in my experience most do not. In many cities, even in San Francisco, there is a good number of better beer bars, but a majority still don’t carry much, if any craft beer. And that, I believe, needs to change. What’s your take? What would you do differently?
From the website:
This video explains why craft beer can be a better, more profitable choice for bars and restaurants. From higher margins to more loyal customers, craft beer is the best use of valuable draught real estate and bottle lists. Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch explains why switching from mediocre brands — which can sometimes rely on illegal giveaways and unethical incentives — and switching to quality craft beer will improve the bottom line.
With wine prices going through the roof, where some restaurants are charging $10 a glass for swill and up to $18 for something decent, the opportunity to sell a $5-6 glass of top notch craft beer is ripe for the taking.
In addition to promoting the benefits of carrying craft beers, perhaps some effort needs to be undertaken to find out what is causing the resistance to trying it. Is it lack of brand awareness? Is it a lack of knowledge? Is it a fear of buying some obscure beer — then having to eat it after it sits around for months because nobody has ever heard of it?
You know darn well restaurateurs are reading Wine Spectator to find out what the latest fad wines are for them to push — but are they reading craft beer publications? Is there the equivalent of a Robert Parker — someone with the “name” that stands out from the crowd? I doubt it on both counts. So why aren’t craft brewers and distributors creating materials of their own and spoon feeding it to people to jump start the process?
Finally, where’s the effort to create opportunities to sell your product? A 750ml bottle of wine offers six servings. Why isn’t someone making a concerted effort to get a restaurant to try carrying a beer by the glass and beer by the bottle menu — with 24 or 32 oz or 1 liter bottles for the table? A steak joint could do something like that pretty easy — yet nobody’s even trying it.
Food for thought.