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48 Comments
- inactive, on 02/24/2009, -0/+13So this system makes beer more expensive? Destroy it!
- passedoutghost, on 02/24/2009, -0/+11Homer no function beer well without.
- whywait, on 02/24/2009, -0/+9how many tiers is the weed distribution system?
- laser314, on 02/24/2009, -0/+6My 1 tiered beer distribution system.
I make home brew. > I drink home brew. - Otto, on 02/24/2009, -0/+5Google Cache has it:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:vicFGrShlDAJ:w ... - greatfloat, on 02/24/2009, -0/+4Living in a state that still employs this method and having heard stories from professional brewers about the hassles and troubles of the system, I sincerely hate this system.
Because of the costs, the brewers seem to try less "experimental" stuff cause if it doesn't catch on, they're screwed. In the end, the consumers are screwed due to higher costs and in fact less local selection. - mreade, on 02/24/2009, -2/+6Beer = Dugg :)
- omgwtflawl, on 02/24/2009, -0/+4"Distributors argue the system also benefits small producers. They say if direct sales were allowed, a small brewery would be at a disadvantage. Large retailers, like Costco, are used to purchasing goods in very large quantities to get the best price possible. Larger breweries would be able to undercut small brewery prices, and only macro beers would be available. "
That statement makes zero sense. What is preventing that problem from happening anyway with the distributor system? Actually, it almost obviously does happen, as explained later in the article with the A-B distributors and the Miller distributors. Really, its the opposite. Distributors favor larger breweries who can bring their costs down due to economies of scale. Those brewers would need to have distributors, they are too large to ship things themselves to every store that needed their product. But to small breweries with more limited distribution, a wholesaler is just another middleman helping themselves to a slice of their pie. - mmittimm, on 02/24/2009, -1/+4Deer = Bugg?
C'mon, that was so obvious... - SkylarEC, on 02/24/2009, -0/+3Beer = Chugg : )
- guy.gregory, on 02/24/2009, -0/+3KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!
- passedoutghost, on 02/24/2009, -0/+3Your name you live up to, I see.
- clonkid, on 02/24/2009, -0/+3Germany also has the Beer Purity Law, which keeps Bud from being classified as beer.
- rolf, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2A lot of the problems listed in the article what 3-tiered distribution was supposed to solve doesn't make sense. AFAIK, Germany doesn't have this as mandatory and some brewers also own restaurants (many small breweries do) and their is also not a lack of small brewers (or small-time alcohol producers in general).
- AngelBunny, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2sounds the same as "legal drug dealers" aka "distributors"
- kelmaster1, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Wow, a real article. Interesting to see how the beer system works.
- colorme, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Down. Is there a mirror for this anywhere? It's not on Google Cache.
- Vivifyer, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2I get my own brewed at the local BYO micro brewery, tastes as good if not better than most of whats at the bottle-o, and for nearly half the price, avoids the alcohol tax in Australia, and hang overs are minimal since theres no preservatives or nasty stuff in it.
The system for Aust has a huge shovel in it, owned by the government with about 35% in taxes going to them.. yes once again Aust gets fked over in another area of living.. excuse me while I go and buy some xbox games for $120 each :D - TdotFUNK, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Too many
- SPLASTiK, on 02/25/2009, -0/+2In other news, craft beer grew 5.8 percent by volume and 10.5 percent in dollars in 2008! Amazingly craft beer only represents 4% of the US Beer Market.
http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.ht ...
Some microbreweries are starting their own distribution companies (like Stone) so they can have complete control of their product. Stone's is also carrying a lot of other brewery's beers which is really cool. - ninjatech123, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Tastes better to me anyway, I love when people come over and see the taps and think I have them as decoration until i draw off a pint. Its strange though, ever since I did put the taps in I have had a lot more people saying Im their closes friend..
- inajeep, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Stay out of Oregon as they are trying to pass a tax ($50 per barrel) that will kill most small breweries.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/109085_microbr ... - petitveritas, on 02/24/2009, -0/+2Dugg for being extremely well written and informative...
- mrstoneok, on 02/24/2009, -1/+2That article was much much more detailed than I expected, thank you!
- inactive, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1I like the part where the beer industry is "hopping" mad.
- Vektuz, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1You can make your own beer for ridiculously cheap and not much time investment... and if you do it right, its really good.
- inactive, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1shhh consumer cops will get you.
- whywait, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1they'll be plenty of capital to go around after the zombie apocalypse.
- Amshel, on 02/26/2009, -0/+1Additionally, the distributor ranks are a closed market. You can't bribe enough mobsters and politicians to get approval to become a distributor, because the existing distributor is prepared to out-bribe you. It's all very corrupt.
- ryrocker, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1my three-tiered beer distribution system is
bottle
mouth
piss
this works well for me... - deege, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1The link is fixed. It was swamped and I had to turn it off until I could move to a more robust server. Sorry!!
- kelmaster1, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1It sounds like the Distributors trying to keep things the way they are. I agree, The idea that if direct sales were allowed small brewers would be at a disadvantage is *****, because macro and micro beers are two different commodities in my mind. People who buy micro beers knowingly pay extra for higher quality, and the fact macros can undercut them on price means nothing... people are still going to pay extra for the better beer.
What I would imagine, is that direct sales would drive down micro-beer costs to somewhere around macro costs. That's a big issue, as people drinking macro might switch over to micro and pay same price they've been paying. - rolf, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1No, the beer purity law was lifted in 1987 "thanks" to the EU -- although it's a marketing point they list for manufacturers who still adbide by it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot - emmeron, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1Tax free, too!
I'm biased though, I kinda run a homebrew store... ;-) But seriously, it's groceries. Not even local sales tax in my state! - deege, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1My bad. I had to turn off the article because of the Digg effect. The site is moved and everything should be back to normal! Sorry!!
- altgeeky1, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1Sorry guys, don't bury me for pointing out the truth, but I had to click Bury. The link does not work as in the article does not "exist".
I'll undo that if the link gets fixed soon.. :-)
The the tiered system DOES hurt craft brewers.. second only to stupid state laws that discriminate against foreign beers or beers whose alcoholic content is greater than a Bud (but still less than a strong wine).
A good book to read is "Brewing Up A Business". It's about how the 2 guys from Brooklyn Brewery. Because distribution is such a difficult barrier, they started their OWN distribution chain, so their beer could get out on the shelves. It worked. Note: some states forbid this breweries owning distribution... :-/ but anyways Brooklyn transformed the beer market in the US Northeast, often helping other brands (such as Sierra Nevada) as much as their own. - emmeron, on 02/25/2009, -0/+1Stone is a great company, and they're really into beer for the sake of beer. Much respect for them and their art.
- altgeeky1, on 02/26/2009, -0/+1I'll never do that again... I did not know Digg prevents you from un-burying. How absurd.
Great website, BTW.. - bdpf, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1Love links for posts that lead to this!
"You are not authorised to view this resource.
You need to login. "
Not my spelling!
I don't log in on pages i might never vivsit again. Don't need the pain of spam blocking. - skyred, on 02/24/2009, -0/+1If people love beer, they shouldn't miss http://greatbrewers.com
- Jamminn, on 02/24/2009, -1/+1I demand an n-tier approach to my beer distribution!
BLL is, of course, the Beer Lovelyness Layer. And DAL? The Dark Ales Layer. - omgwtflawl, on 02/25/2009, -1/+1Right, except in regular transactions this is not forced by the government. The government forces the three layer system upon the companies, whether they want to use it or not. Occasionally, the government forces the companies to remain with the wholesaler they initially selected and makes it illegal to change companies. This does exactly what you think it would with the price of beer.
- Stuffburger, on 02/24/2009, -0/+0What we need is an impartial middleman to go between the corrupt distributors and the retailers, obviously.
- BigKeeks, on 02/25/2009, -0/+0In Florida (its someting like this): you can't have a license to distribute beer AND a license to make it. So if you are a Microbrewer, you need to find a distributor. If you are a distributor, you need to find a good beer to market. It's a horrible system and totally screws smaller guys trying to get their stuff out there. The supposed intent is to prevent a monopolization by the larger guys of the market, but the truth is it causes exactly that. There are several groups trying to ammend this law, but they've failed so far.
- chriscalifornia, on 03/31/2009, -1/+1How is this complicated? Just like any product, you sell in bulk to a reseller, who gets it out to shops, which in turn gets sold to consumers.
- inactive, on 02/24/2009, -6/+5Steer = Rug :)
- failtrain, on 02/24/2009, -3/+0Yoda, is that you?
- visiblepulse, on 02/24/2009, -6/+1►►Just go ahead ahead and lower the cost of alcohol and make marihuana available. People will stay drunk and stoned while they are unemployed and not give a phuk about the ecomony. ☺
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