Brewery with no taproom?

There is a new brewery that is planning on opening shortly and they are brand new but don't plan on having a taproom. This seems very odd to me. Owner said you can try a small sample of the beer but there isn't a taproom. It just seems very hard for a new brewery to take off when all they sell is growlers and 6 pks.

Maybe they don't want the expense, licensing issues and labor demands of a taproom.

Up until recently breweries here in AL weren't allowed to have taprooms. No on sight sales were allowed due to some ridiculous law. Now there are several and they are all thriving. Seems like you'd be leaving a ton of money on the table by not having one.

timrox1212 said:

There is a new brewery that is planning on opening shortly and they are brand new but don't plan on having a taproom. This seems very odd to me. Owner said you can try a small sample of the beer but there isn't a taproom. It just seems very hard for a new brewery to take off when all they sell is growlers and 6 pks.

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If their business plan is primarily distribution only then it makes sense but the successful breweries I know are incorporating tap rooms. Some start without them and gradually grow to have them.

Half Acre in Chicago did not have a tap room for their first year or so iIRC

Philadelphia Brewing Company does not have a taproom. I would love if they did but they don't. They have tours on Saturdays where you are able to sample their beers. Aside from that you can get their stuff by the case or six pack on location or at a distributor. There is a local spot that exclusively has their beers on tap (plenty if others in bottles/cans). They are one of the few I've seen like this though.

Yea this is in Michigan where every brewery I have ever seen or been to has a tap room. I just thought it was odd. It would just be so hard I get you name out there I would believe.

timrox1212 said:

Yea this is in Michigan where every brewery I have ever seen or been to has a tap room. I just thought it was odd. It would just be so hard I get you name out there I would believe.

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I agree it is odd, there is a lot of money to be had in a tap room set up as the beer really doesn't have to travel far to make you money as well as all the swag you can sell!

It is definitely more profitable to sell your beer retail ($5/pint = ~$550/keg vs $150/keg to a bar or even less to a distributor), but if the owners have real jobs and can't work outside of brewing hours, I guess I could see it. Also, they may be restricted based on their location. Ballast Point Brewing (big and popular) has a location where they can only sell tasters and growlers, but no pints, because of their close proximity to residences, schools, and churches.

My buddy's 3bbl brewery distributes 51 products to 28 bars, but makes over 60% of his profit off the 600 SF, 20 tap tasting room hidden in an office park that is only advertised by word of mouth and Facebook invites.

The margins in distribution are pretty low for small scale breweries once you factor in the 3-Tier system. You almost HAVE to have a tasting room if you want to be a profitable microbrewery.

O'fallon Brewing in Misery does not currently have a taproom. My dad and I traveled down there to buy beer we can't get in Iowa and decided to stop by the brewery only to discover we couldn't drink their beer! They're expanding to a bigger location in a year or two though...thought that was really odd - a brewery without a taproom.

Its all licensing issues and depending on how big of a pain your state makes it to get licensed to have a tap room. We have several small breweries in pittsburgh that are growlers only.

I went up to KC one weekend and wanted to purchase a boulevard beer from the brewery. The guy I spoke with made me feel like an idiot for not making reservations for their brewery tour, which is apparently the only way to get to their tap room. I explained that I didn't have any interest in staring at conicals for an hour just to get a free sample when I was willing to pay good money for a pint. He stared blankly and I left.

However, the people who actually know what the h is going on at Boulevard are quite nice. It just didn't leave the best impression in my mind.

Fairly stupid IMO. The beer is literally being sold feet from where it is being made. It is easy profit.

Xantus954 said:

Its all licensing issues and depending on how big of a pain your state makes it to get licensed to have a tap room. We have several small breweries in pittsburgh that are growlers only.

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In The Great Beer State, it's included in the Micro License.

But, as stated they may have regular jobs to tend to. Who knows, maybe they will expand later. Also in Michigan, we have a three tier distribution system. They may have an in, and not need a tap room for profits yet. If one of their buddies own a distribution company, they may have signed them on. Could be a million different reason. But in Michigan, this may be the first that I know of.


Edit:

Oops, forgot to add a link to law summery: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cis_lcc_brewdetail_57148_7.pdf

LOL....who declared Michigan "The Great Beer State?" I suspect only people from Michigan call it that? :smack:

TopherM said:

LOL....who declared Michigan "The Great Beer State?" I suspect only people from Michigan call it that? :smack:

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Could very well be. - Michigan Brewers Guild - http://www.mibeer.com/


http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/16/michigan_the_great_beer_state/

I also suspect that most all public nicknames started as a self declaration. I have no idea exactly why it's called that, just know it is. Sorry if it offended you.