This may be something of a case of preaching to the converted, but it’s still something that might be a cathartic exercise for me. Fresh from a weekend of traipsing along the Bermondsey Beer Mile, picking up a few bottles for home and then reading Tony Naylor’s latest foray into the Guardian’s Beer articles (along with the hilariously uninformed masses that seem to flock to post below the line on what ‘beer should be’), I felt somewhat compelled to put my (admittedly, mixed) feelings and views down into black and white. [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/12/pub-drinkers-craft-beers-small-breweries-supermarket#comments] It has been pointed out frequently, not just by myself, but many other industry experts, writers both professional and through to more amateur levels, that we are in a very good place for beer halfway through 2017. Not just in terms of quality, quantity and scope of styles, but brewery numbers and even choice at the supermarkets where we do our domestic shopping. Picking up something above what is a cooking lager (so to speak), with a full hop compliment and ‘craft sensibility’ whilst picking up bathroom cleaner, frozen fish fingers and toilet rolls is now an easy score. Just a few weeks before writing this, Northern Monk and Atom Beers announced their presence in Morrisons and ASDA respectively; this is good thing in the main. Good for the brewery to have a steady income stream and good to have a potentially massive market reach. These deals on the face of it are for core range-easy to find beers only, which is fine for customers; getting good barbeque beers will be much easier for everyone. However, this leads onto two negative routes for the beer market (and for our beloved smaller brewers/independent bottle shops).
It’s a desperately complex and tricky situation to negotiate and for anyone who is just getting into ‘craft beer’/real ale and wants to support smaller businesses, it can be pretty confusing and there is no real right or wrong answer. The waters are as muddy as they have ever been, especially where there have been a plethora of blogs, articles, musings and essays on how to adequately define what ‘craft beer’ really is. The truth is, every set of strictures that has been espoused has its omissions, its gaps and exceptions to the rules. It is a thankless and probably impossible task. Although that isn’t stopping SIBA wading into the matter with its proposed quality mark (which on first viewing also appears to have its flaws and fudges).
The tricky path from all of the considerations are the tangents that spin off from each facet, there are so many individual arguments and those who care about their beers each have a slightly different opinion spanning all the way across the spectra. One sure fire way to get your beers from a source that is either desirable from the viewpoints discussed above, is to buy direct from the brewer, either from their premises or online. Buying from a specialist bottle shop is another way to get your hands on the one-off beers and to support a local business. For me, going in to see what new beers they have on the shelves and chatting at length about them is a proper treat. There is something irreplaceable in going into a shop and having the palpable tangibility on display; it’s the same for buying records, having the sleeve notes and the physical item there in front of you, something feels lost in translation looking at pictures on a computer screen and clicking to buy, before sitting and waiting for a box to be delivered. Don’t get me wrong, the enterprise of many online retailers, I find admirable, not to mention the selections they accrue for their customers. But I much prefer the weight of bottles in my arms, walking back to a car happy that these are now mine, ready to be taste, consumed, shared and written about. I have also frequented supermarkets for beers, I too am a consumer and as such, price sometimes governs where I will shop for my ‘go to’ type beers, beers for barbeques and for guests that visit and beer we’ll consume in quantity. I make no bones about this and am aware that there is some level of hypocrisy in not buying from independent retails, whilst singing their virtues and touting for support. But there are some that stock great beers at a very affordable price, making ignoring the value very difficult (for example, buying Mikkeller, Magic Rock and Roosters beers at Booths or buying Wild Beer Ninkasi 750ml and Fuller Vintage ales in Waitrose). Alas the purchase of beers direct from breweries, direct from the premises or online, is not without its drawbacks for retailers down the line. When consumers ordering online from the breweries direct, that's money bottle shops are missing out on. When less money comes into a specialist shop, there is invariably less money for investment in stock; to buy a good spread of beers to offer to their customers. If every brewery offered off-sales from premises or inline, then it is a real possibility that many bottle shops would eventually close. There just wouldn't be the same need for them. With something that's already happening to wholesalers and for those people who are loyal to bottle shops, is because breweries are selling their one-off beers online or as part of a pack, there is inevitably less of that given beer available for trade, so bottle shops customers may have to scramble to buy the rationed beer due to the hype surrounding any launch.
Any customers after such a rare brew were thus forced to buy from the brewer direct or online rather than from the specialist shop. Potentially this could create a vicious feedback on breweries, who in future may not have bottle shops to buy their beers anymore for onward trade. Nothing is certain, but it is potentially a bleak future for specialist bottle shops (and brewers and consumers) if the conditions all turn in favour of the above scenario.
Depending on the set up of your local (or nearest) bottle shop, some will hold organised tastings, whilst others can even provide keg or cask services to fill bottles, growlers or crowlers for takeaway purposes to make that session beer a decent one and provide a quantity to sustain most party goers for their evening of fun. It’s this flexibility of service, a large range of styles and breweries (especially if the manager is a passionate one about their stock) and often a fair pricing structure for beers that would otherwise be impossible to get outside of a specialist bar which is often much more expensive (due to overheads etc). The old adage of use it, or lose it has never rung truer. Whilst we have local bottle shops, they are really worth supporting; it’s a sure fire way of getting your hands on beers you’ll have never tried before, getting good recommendations and in some cases, as mine if you are lucky enough, making some great friends and acquaintances. Pedro.
1 Comment
John Mooney
8/4/2017 01:37:57 am
A tricky situation it is indeed!
Reply
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