Is the Brewery era over?
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LincolnWay187
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This is the best fad to ever happen. I hope it lasts forver. New beers and stuff to go see and do when you tour them. I encourage everyone to support the microbreweries.
I happen to work for one and sales were up 13% last year when the rest of the market was slowing down to 5%. There is a camaraderie among quite a few local breweries that helps with purchasing supplies and also business that gets funneled to the tap rooms.
Out here in southern California, microbreweries are still doing really well, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. And craft beer bars are flourishing as well. In fact, I'll be visiting a couple tomorrow. With Uber/Lyft it's so easy to frequent a number of good beer spots.
No, that's silly. I think it's been a bit of a fad the past 10 years with rapid growth and proliferation of new ones popping up everywhere. A lot of them are average. It's now a crowded marketplace with low profit margins, so it's not surprising to see some of them start to run into troubles. New businesses in any industry often go under within a couple of years.
No offense intended, but if you're at the Rock Bottom in Chicago, you're doing it wrong. There are far better options within a 10 min walk, to say nothing of a 10 min cab ride!
No offense intended, but if you're at the Rock Bottom in Chicago, you're doing it wrong. There are far better options within a 10 min walk, to say nothing of a 10 min cab ride!
So what is the "commercial" microbrew of Des Moines/Central Iowa? KC has Boulevard, Twin Cities have Summit/Surly, Chicago has Goose Island.
If I was in Des Moines, what local beer can I get almost anywhere, even sporting events, concerts and movies and stuff like that? Is there a local beer that almost any restaurant should have, like a Boulevard Wheat in KC?
If I was in Des Moines, what local beer can I get almost anywhere, even sporting events, concerts and movies and stuff like that? Is there a local beer that almost any restaurant should have, like a Boulevard Wheat in KC?
All it means is that there is a lot of competition out there, and some are going to go under. It's the nature of it.
Confluence is the closest to that, IMO. Exile is everywhere too, but I think Confluence is a little better.
I'm not sure anyone can be surprised that a brewery in Reinbeck, Iowa can't sustain success. Can't imagine much of a market there, especially with Waterloo/CF having new breweries opening up. Plus, I've had their beer and it was pretty meh.
And hadn't Rock Bottom been open in Res Moines for like 15 years? That's a pretty good run, IMO.
Living in CR, I can safely say the brewery scene is alive and well around here.
And hadn't Rock Bottom been open in Res Moines for like 15 years? That's a pretty good run, IMO.
Living in CR, I can safely say the brewery scene is alive and well around here.
I agree with there being a lot of choices in the CR area. Still like Iowa Brew for the selection and the reasonable prices. Need to try a few of the newer ones in town next summer.
Don't a few local companies in the Des Moines area own most of the local restaurants, bars, and breweries.
I hate to see any restaurant like Rock Bottom to go out. Des Moines really lacks that good middle of the road, step above Applebee's and below $25 steak place.
I hate to see any restaurant like Rock Bottom to go out. Des Moines really lacks that good middle of the road, step above Applebee's and below $25 steak place.
Agreed, confluence has definitely taken the crown there. Almost every bar has them at this point.
I definitely think some restaurants and breweries are noticing there's an advantage to charging a fair price for a pint of beer rather than an inflated premium price. Here in LA the prices are insane, often a bar or restaurant won't have a single beer under $8/9 and $10 is the norm...but just in the past year or so I've notice a lot of restaurants, even some really high end places where the average meal is in the $100 range, taking the prices back around the $5-6 range. There's a rapidly growing brewery near where I work charging $4 for some truly incredible stuff and they are packed constantly with a crowd of around 100 as some of these other places get less busy.
For the record I just pass if I"m somewhere that wants $11-12 for a beer. ;-)
For the record I just pass if I"m somewhere that wants $11-12 for a beer. ;-)
Rock Bottom is a huge chain, I wouldn't put it with the others. The micro-brewery rush is starting to plateau maybe but i dont think itll ever be over or go away.
The country is finally recovering from Prohibition (Only took 100 years) and as with any other type of business, the good ones will survive and the bad ones wont. Americans are finally realizing there is better beer than budweiser and the other huge breweries which is opening up huge possibilites for the microbreweries that are popping up everywhere and providing a much better product on average.
You will continue to see new breweries open all over but that will come with other ones going out of business, which is only natural.
The country is finally recovering from Prohibition (Only took 100 years) and as with any other type of business, the good ones will survive and the bad ones wont. Americans are finally realizing there is better beer than budweiser and the other huge breweries which is opening up huge possibilites for the microbreweries that are popping up everywhere and providing a much better product on average.
You will continue to see new breweries open all over but that will come with other ones going out of business, which is only natural.
Yeah, Rock Bottom was sort of one that got in early, and grew off of being one of a small number of players in the game, but now that there's a lot more players very little stood out about them, especially as small local breweries opened up that in almost every case end up bringing their own unique flair.
I see a similar situation with the Legends chain of sports bars here in des moines. They opened up and spread when there weren't nearly as many bars delivering on that idea. Then sports bars blew up all over the place, offering a better product than they did, and they no longer had a unique offering.
