Monday, April 15, 2013

Putting the cart before the horse?

I've been a proponent of breweries having nice tasting rooms for years, as evidenced by this post from 2011.  I'm a bit concerned, however, with the current trend of new breweries spending months putting together big, beautiful tasting rooms before ever opening the doors or sampling their beer to the public.  A well equipped tasting room, in my opinion, is a must, but should it be the first thing a new brewery does?  Wouldn't it make more sense to develop a good product, a devoted fan base, and some actual equity in the business before investing borrowed money for a fancy place to sample a new, untested, and untried product?  Then again, what do I know?  I'm just a consumer.

1 comment:

  1. I agree completely. My first thought should be, "Wow, this is a nice beer." Not, "Wow, this is a nice tasting room."

    Recall what the tasting area looked like at Stone's original brewery in San Marcos. It was a portable bar stand in the corner of the brewery (nothing like what currently inhabits that space). That seemed to work out okay for them early on. Several other established local breweries started with tasting areas just like that. Some graduate to something more finished, others stick with the basics, but all started simple.

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