While I'm not intimately familiar with Craft Beer Cellar, I am the product manager for what i imagine is a similar franchise, though we are a bar, not a retail shop (is CBC kind of a hybrid?). We have 38 units across the country.
The number one bullet point on my job description when i was hired was "Approval and Disapproval" of all beer coming through the system. I was excited, albeit quite naive and idealistic. I actually wrote a 5,500-word pseudo-manifesto (at the behest of the CEO) called "Achieving and Maintaining Credibility in the Craft Beer Industry: The Prospects of Sustainability and Growth".
I quickly realized that in the franchised beer bar world, partners hold a much bigger stick than I had ever imagined. I have fought every fight as best as i can to keep "bad" beer out of the stores, and particularly off the draft list. And by "bad" I mean specifically Miller, Coors and Budweiser, along with a couple of their "crafty" brands. Somehow I have managed to keep all Shock Top, and all Blue Moon "one-offs" out of the store, but the screaming for BMC from a couple of the more "powerful" (meaning they own multiple units) has had a profound effect on the higher-ups, who have allowed these as a "test", albeit with zero idea of an exit plan. Meanwhile i have compiled compelling and objective number-based proof that these "bad" beers do not increase sales or drive traffic.
What amazes me about the CBC situation is that (and correct me if i'm wrong) it seems very subjective. Who is making the decisions about what cannot be carried and what are their qualifications? The basic principle I've always adopted is that if it fits the BA's definition of craft (though i have some issues with that as well), then you can absolutely carry it. Hell, above all else we support local breweries. Give everyone a chance. If they suck, or have no QC, then stop carrying them. Simple as that and we leave that up to the partners.
The fact that they specifically called out local Boston breweries Bent Water, Down the Road and Hopsters as "not fit for consumption" is pretty ******* shocking to me. It seems a very narrow view and perhaps a desperate attempt to appeal to snobby-ass "beer geeks", which in all likelihood (though I don't know for sure), make up a very small percentage of their patronage. It seems that it would really backfire in the brewers' community, which is generally still very tight-knit.
As a side note, they have 175 mandated items? Seems excessive, no matter the format of sales. Half of the appeal of the craft industry is its very liquid product management (pun intended). For reference, our bars carry about 200 unique beers; 5 draft lines are mandated, and only 2 of those are specific beers (Weihenstephaner and All Day IPA, if the store is in distro), the other three are just breweries that have to be carried.
Anyways, this story and philosophy is very interesting to me, and i'm in no way shocked to hear that there is backlash from their franchisee community.
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