Reverse contract brewing?

[howlinowl]

This morning, after church, the wife, daughter and I went to Davy Jones' Locker Room here in Port St. Lucie, FL.

http://www.davyjoneslockerroom.com/

On their list of draught beers, they had the usual suspects, plus one called "Davy Jones' Signature Grog". I asked the waitress what it was, she said that it was a dark beer. I asked if it was brewed on premiise. She said no. I ordered one, but she came back and told me that there was a law that they couldn't sell beer before noon on Sunday. It was 11am, so I just ordered a Coke.

Now that we are home, I started thinking,. Isn't there a law that states that whatever beer on draught you sell, it has to be identified on the tap handle, to prevent someone from selling a budget beer out of a tap marked with a premium handle? So, I assume they aren't selling like a Mich Dark under their own label. Now, a few years back, I had thought about starting a small brewery and brewing a few different styles and selling them to different restaurants to label as their own. In other words, you could have a brewpub without having to invest in a brewer, equipment, ect. I believe that this would not work under the present laws , the present 3 tier system where the brewer has to sell to a distributor, who sells to the retailer, so I never pursued it.

Maybe later today, I'll go have a pint and talk to the bartender and see what's up.

Allan

 

[olllllo]

Hop knot, brewed by Four Peaks, Tempe (a brewpup) is sold to a number of restaurants in the Valley that re-badge it as thier own.

Fairly common.

 

[david_42]

We have a 3-tier system here as well. Since I almost never eat out, except at a brewpub or a pizza joint, hard to know about re-badging. I know of a couple instances where people have brewed using other breweries' gear, because of permitting or construction delays or lack of capacity. Hopworks made their first batches over at Golden Valley.

 

[howlinowl]

"Dey be a sneaky lot, them pirates, Dey be"

Went there this afternoon.... little did I know they are HQ for local Redskins fans (dunno why, you'd think Bucs since this is Florida and they do have a pirate theme....actually, this is the treasure coast, everything is pirate themed here....Harley dealer uses pirates also). Anyway, the place is packed, I get there during the 2nd half of the 'skins game. Bartender is busy as hell, so I order my first "grog". Kinda amber color, some malt, light hops. Not the most impressive, but probably a bit better than what either guy on each side of me is having....pitchers of Bud. Order a second. After I am finished, the game is about over. I settle my tab, and ask the bartender who brews it for them......

"Anheuser Busch........Sssssshhhhhhhh!"

I'm not familiar with Mich Amber Bock, never had it.....but I would guess this is it. If Four Peaks can sell their stuff and let folks relable it, I guess A-B can do the same.

So, am I upset? Not really. The beer wasn't that evil, and was sold for the same price as Bud, ect. At least they were honest when I asked.

However, I did get a whiff of their chicken wings when someone recieved their order....I smelled Curry powder!!!! Dammit!!! Only my wing recipe supposed to have curry powder!!!! Where'd dem sneaky pirates get my wing sauce recipe from????

Allan

 

[HarvInSTL]

"Where'd dem sneaky pirates get my wing sauce recipe from????

My guess would be Anheuser Busch?

 

[the_bird]

That would really piss me off, if I found out the "brewpub" I went to didn't brew their own (even at an off-site premise). False freakin' advertising.

In the end, it probably doesn't matter, but I like to go to brewpubs because I like being able to support the small local brewer. Beer is better when there's lots of people making it close to where it's being served. Even if Bud made a beer just as good as the one I get from the local place, I'd go to the local place because I want to support them.