You've obviously never pulled a water report in Seattle nor visited many breweries here. Basic filtration and treatment to remove chlorine; that's it. Near distilled water falls on igneous rock and picks up almost nothing in the way of minerals - same story year round.
correct, I have never pulled a Seattle water report. In fact there a far more places that I have not pulled a report from, than there are places I have. I'm a little confused, or maybe you are just really lucky to have pure H2O fall com the sky, that picks up not contamination for pollution in the air,absorbs no minerals or contamination from the ground. It seems kinda silly to add chlorine to pure H2O, I mean what is there to sanitize?
I confess I have not been to a brewery in Washington since I Lived in SF, so not since 1996
Yes, this is an exception and not the rule in most of the country but out here water treatment is about neutralizing chlorine or flavor adjustment and doesn't vary.
more people live outside of Washington than within
Before Prohibition in 1887 the US had 2011 breweries as of June 2014 we already had 3,040 craft breweries with many more opened between now and then and hundreds and hundreds with planning permission and about to open:
http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/craft-beer-boom-production-volume-increase/
like I said I did not have stats in front of me. I concede that I was mistaken
Breweries now produce much larger quantities of beer and much higher alcohol content than in 1887, too.
there are also more people in the country since then. I also seem to remember reading 2 stats, first there are less consumers of alcahol, by percent, than there were in the 1800s, and second, that the average American comsumes less alcahol per year, than in the 1800s. In all fairness, the BiG Beer thing is relatively new (of course barley wine and such has always been around). For centuries, beer has been a safe medium for fluid intake, and a way to "store" grains. These historically have had less ABV
Sure there are parts of the country like say Lakewood, Ohio where there might not be many breweries but there are markets that are beyond saturated.
you totally got me. I see my own clothes, we don't have running water, and i poop in a shed outside. It is a fact we don't have even a single brewery within city limits, we do have one getting the needed permits and such, but it is not yet a brewery. It will be housed in a big old church in the historic part of town.
While there are no breweries in this city, I live within 10 minutes of 10 different breweries, Great Lakes being the biggest. Within 30 minutes there are probably close to 25 breweries.
I prefer to go to the start ups and smaller breweries, as I more closely agree with their business model, and practices. That's just me. I think Great Lakes is overrated, and quite honestly inconsistent.
The cracks are already showing with breweries starting to sue each other for names and mega breweries going after the small brewery market, doing things like buying breweries with owners who have sat on the Brewers Association Board of Directors (Dick Cantwell, Elsian) so they can download his brain and craft brewers' competitive playbook while simultaneously lobbying for laws to be changed that would break the brewpub model in places like Florida- because the brew pub model breaks their control over distribution.
im not sure what you are eluding to here, but I think you are saying that smaller companies are suing each other because it is dog eat dog, and they are trying to preserve their stake.
As well as saying big beer is buying small beer to both retain control of marketshare, while simultaneously entering in to the craft scene.
As for the pub model, I did a lengthy post on this exact thing some months ago, about this. I believe it is a conflict of interest to be both the brewer and the distributor, as far as mass distribution goes, not as far as brew pups go. You should have the right to self distribute on premise. I believe I broke down the math in that post about how ridiculous big beers argument about being able to self distribute in 50(?) locations, while still staying below the cap. It was just silly.
So I think we agree on this point?
Take some lessons from the insanely cut-throat and competitive English market over the past few years and see what happens when you get into an over saturated market, I've seen it first hand there and many of the same behaviors are starting to occur here.
yes, unfortunately this will always exist in a free market economy with a popular/trendy/needed commodity. Things tend to work themselves out, however there are absolutely times when one parties pockets are much deeper than the others, and bullying can occur. That is the time that consumers can show their support both vocally and financially. Look at what just happened between lagunitas and Sierra Nevada and the whole "IPA" dibacle.
You live in one of the most if not the most saturated market, and for the most part the kids play well in the sand box. How long will it be till little Podunk towns like the one I live in realize this saturation? The craft beer "movement" is as much of a cultural shift as it is an increase in quality. Millenials and the like don't want the same thing as their parents, nor do they want the drama or i personalization of big corporation. They will and have demonstrated this with their discretionary spending
Its already a very crowded market nationally but in certain locales it's just insane. (I have 12 craft breweries within 5.5 square miles of my house, for example with 2 or 3 more rumored to open in the new few months.) -We've got a FEW breweries now opened by people who have only been home brewing since 2013 and who brewed only 3 all grain batches before they went "pro". (Because brewing is how you get rich and everyone can become a brewer; brewing will only go up. -It's all typical bubble behavior and language.)
Most brewers going into the industry now are fully aware that it's getting tough and that "all of these breweries won't make it", but they're all convinced that they will be the ones to make it. -IMHO, the % of failed breweries is going to keep going up as the density stays where it is; it's going to get much closer to restaurant failure rates as it has many of the same business issues.
Buying $1 million worth of equipment for a business that can sell $100k worth of beer a year was never a great business; growth prospects were all that made it viable; if that breaks down the already sketchy business model gets sketchier.
Loads of new breweries will make it and will find ways to get capital even once the current relatively easy capital dries up.
this is absolutely true, but it is not a phenomenon exclusive to the brewing industry. There are countless examples of people going in to business that should not. Give a kid a hammer and the next morning he thinks he is a master carpenter. Nothing new here. You will find it in every sector of the economy. These companies will die the death they should. The cream (mostly) rises to the top. Again, free market economies.
That Census data is from 2010 and we've had hockey-stick like growth since then and again that's a national average and doesn't look at some of the localities where the density is MUCH higher. It also doesn't take into account rising production at each brewery, either.
do you have similar statistics/graphs for restaurants/drug stores/coffee shops/bars in your (or any area)? Again, people always jump on the next hot thing. For most of these people, these hot trends are already cooling by the time they hop on the train. Quality places will survive the onslaught, and the fly by night joints will wither and die. Again, happens every time there is a trend.
Adam
