Will Too Many Own-Site Taprooms Stifle Craft Beer Growth?

Will Too Many Own-Site Taprooms Stifle Craft Beer Growth?

by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap

based on article by Chris Furnari on Brewbound (May 22, 2018) and contained video

It’s no secret that I am a fan of on-site craft beer sales. I think taprooms are just the best thing ever – and taprooms at the brewery are even better than that. Pints pushed across the bar to a person who can see the brewhouse and smell the brewer working back there (smell the brewing, not necessarily the brewer) are just about the best way to establish a relationship with the customer and is a great way to build a brewery brand.

It’s also not a secret that I am wary of off site taprooms. They’re not evil by any means, but they do reduce the connection between the beer being made and the patron. Off site taprooms carry many of the pluses that brewery taprooms have, it’s just that the experience seems more memorable to Walter and I if the beer is made on site. This is why we are such fans of good breweries that have small batch breweries in their off site taprooms, like MashCraft-Fishers or Sun King-Fishers (hmm, maybe it’s just a thing in Fishers). We’re perfectly happy with Chapman’s and Upland’s taprooms, but would it hurt to put in a one barrel at some of those sites and make a beer once in a while?

Other people are even more wary of growing craft beer via off site taprooms – just not Bob Pease, CEO of the Brewers Association. In this recent Brewbound article based on talks at CBC this year, Pease is quoted as saying that taprooms are, “Ground zero for bringing new drinkers into the category,” But the article and associated video show that many craft brewery owners and experts are uneasy about relying too much on own-site premises sales, it might work to stifle craft beer growth. See the article and here to check out the pros and cons.

 

 

 

 

 

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