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Author Topic: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.  (Read 8512 times)

Offline anthony

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #15 on: January 13, 2013, 10:19:05 pm »
In some ways, I think Colorado has reached a point of super saturation where it is hard to draw parallels to other markets that are still developing. There are a few other places like this that come to mind as well.

You must not have gone to Grand Junction, because it's really nothing like anywhere else in CO (read: the front range).

Yeah, I don't get out to the western slope often. I do have a friend that brews at a pub in Durango and in general it does sound like it has some catching up to do :)

Offline a10t2

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2013, 10:35:15 pm »
Yeah, I don't get out to the western slope often. I do have a friend that brews at a pub in Durango and in general it does sound like it has some catching up to do :)

Say what now? We have four breweries for 18,000 people, plus a fifth one opening this year and a sixth in planning. Per capita, that would be like the Denver metro area having 800 breweries.
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Offline nateo

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #17 on: January 14, 2013, 08:08:21 am »
Durango is an outlier for the west slope. GJ is the biggest city on the west slope. It's been a year or two since I've been back, but there's one brewpub there that's awful, but always busy. There's another that's way better but not nearly as busy. I think they were working on adding another one, but I don't know the story on that.

In Fruita, there have been a few people who tried to start a brewpub, but they went out of business quickly. The beer was pretty good, but I think most people in Fruita go to bars in GJ. I think Palisade brewing is doing OK, but their beer isn't fantastic.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2013, 08:30:47 am by nateo »
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Offline anthony

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #18 on: January 14, 2013, 08:21:19 am »
Yeah, I don't get out to the western slope often. I do have a friend that brews at a pub in Durango and in general it does sound like it has some catching up to do :)

Say what now? We have four breweries for 18,000 people, plus a fifth one opening this year and a sixth in planning. Per capita, that would be like the Denver metro area having 800 breweries.

Wasn't necessarily referring to the number of breweries there.  ;D

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #19 on: January 14, 2013, 08:34:26 am »
I didn't read the articles, but here's my attempt at some quick math:

Half of 14000bbl is 7000bbl.

7000bbl=14,000 kegs

14000/365 = 38 kegs worth of beer a day

That is a LOT of beer being sold at a pub.

My guess is that less than half the beer being made is sold at the pub, but more than half of total sales is made there (food, merchandise, etc.)
1/2 of sales does not equal 1/2 of the beer -- especially when you add food, schwag, etc.
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Offline micsager

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #20 on: January 16, 2013, 04:23:57 pm »
RR just pulled out of WA becasue they needed more beer for the brewpub...

http://seattlebeernews.com/2013/01/russian-river-brewing-company-withdraws-from-washington-market/

(But we still have Fremont.  Their Interurban IPA is quite tasty) 

Offline a10t2

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #21 on: January 16, 2013, 04:37:28 pm »
Durango is an outlier for the west slope.

I think Junction's the outlier, really. It's the only city big enough to support more than a few breweries, and yet it doesn't have them. Every other town of appreciable size has at least one brewpub, and most of them have average or better beer.

Maybe it's the prevailing winds carrying Mormonism across the border. ;)
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Offline nateo

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #22 on: January 16, 2013, 04:54:58 pm »
I don't think Craig or Meeker have breweries. Pretty sure Montrose and Delta do, and Paonia. I haven't been to Cortez in a long time, but I'd bet they have one. Even Alamosa has one, it's not too bad either. But I think it's the only one in the SLV.
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Offline a10t2

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #23 on: January 16, 2013, 05:37:59 pm »
Craig had a brewpub last time I drove through, but that's been almost two years. Montrose has two now, Cortez has three, Ouray two, Telluride two... Hell, *Silverton* had two until recently. Everywhere but GJ. It's definitely weird.
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Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #24 on: January 16, 2013, 05:42:21 pm »
Craig had a brewpub last time I drove through, but that's been almost two years. Montrose has two now, Cortez has three, Ouray two, Telluride two... Hell, *Silverton* had two until recently. Everywhere but GJ. It's definitely weird.
Isn't Colorado Boy in Ridgeway still there?
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Offline nateo

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #25 on: January 16, 2013, 05:59:57 pm »
Yeah, I think a brewpub in Fruita has a lot of potential.

I heard through the grapevine the only reason the last iteration went under was that the building the brewery was renting developed major roof problems, and the owner of the building tried to double the rent on the brewery to fix it. I'm not sure why the brewery signed that kind of lease, or what exactly the deal was. That sounds kinda fishy to me, but I'm not surprised someone might miss a detail like that in the lease, or maybe they knew about the clause but thought the building was in good shape.
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Offline a10t2

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Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.
« Reply #26 on: January 16, 2013, 06:01:04 pm »
Isn't Colorado Boy in Ridgeway still there?

Yep, Tom Hennessey's place. You could do quite the brewery loop driving Durango-Ridgway-Telluride-Cortez-Durango. Even with a DD it would probably take two days.
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