About that Special Growler Fill Deal...

The growler craze sometimes leaves me mystified when it comes to pricing. The range of prices for the same beer at different retailers is confusing. And then you have the nutty policies that come into play at places that offer special growler fill days. Whimsical.

Newest in my collection

First off, I'm not a huge fan of growlers. I've had far too many marginal experiences with under-fills and poor carbonation and, more recently, nasty broken glass. But I still get the occasional growler fill, usually the smaller 32 oz grenade so I can actually drink the beer before it goes flat.

The grenade is probably where the problem starts when it comes to special fill days. Pricing is what is it is for standard growlers. Grenades are another matter entirely. They seem to draw the ire of pub owners and managers. Which brings wacky pricing.

My first stop on this virtual tour is Alameda Brewing on NE Fremont. They offer $5 growler fills of most beers on Saturdays. That's a heck of a deal. Up until recently, you could get two grenades filled for the same price. Again, great deal.

When I visited Alameda last Saturday, the gal behind the bar told me she could not honor the special price for two grenades. Instead, it would cost me $5 per container...the same price as a standard growler.

"The owner changed the policy, but it's still a great deal," she offered.

I contacted Alameda owner Matt Schumacher about the policy. He gave me a brief rundown of the $5 growler program. It started as a summer promo for the neighborhood last year, set to end on Labor Day. When customers expressed dismay about the end date, he extended it through the Super Bowl. After the big game, he left it in place with no set end date. But there were problems.

"Word got out and we started seeing containers in every size and variety imaginable," Schumacher said. "Then a few people wanted to haggle with my staff on price depending on the size of their container. It got out of hand. I had to think of my staff. So I told them all growlers (64 oz and smaller) are $5. That's it."

The effect of the policy for me was simple. If I wanted to get two grenades instead of a single growler, it would cost me double for the same amount of beer. Even though I understand the reason for the decision and realize $10 isn't a bad deal, I don't like it.

It turns out Alameda isn't alone. McMenamins offers $7 growler fills on Mondays. Their approach is a little different. They choose the special beer each week and the beer varies from pub to pub. They make no allowance for smaller growlers. If you show up with a grenade or two grenades, each will cost $7. No exceptions or satisfaction there.

Migration Brewing on NE Glisan has a slightly different view. They offer special growler fill pricing on Sundays...most beers for $8. It turns out they don't have a policy on small growlers. However, what you actually find when you get there may depend on who's behind the bar.

"We have no specific policy on grenades," the gent on the phone said. "If you bring in two grenades and want a growler fill, I wouldn't have a problem giving you the special price. Someone else might see it differently. A single grenade on Sunday would be full price." Okie dokie.

This is all slightly perplexing. The pricing issues I keep running into are mostly the result of wanting to use grenades to slow down my consumption. I guess it's time to toss that strategy, move up to standard size growlers and start drinking faster. Or forget about growlers completely.

Fremont Ridge Surfs the Craft Wave

There may be no better way to appreciate to growing influence of craft beer than to make a stop at a local dive bar. There are plenty to choose from...just pick one. You can use creative and non-creative ways to make a selection. In my case, I just traveled up to the road to Fremont.

The expanded patio looks inviting

A little background. The last time I visited Fremont Ridge was about 15 years ago. It was a total dive...in the parlance of those times, as the Dude might say. Smokey, stinky, dark, grubby and grimy...with a shitty beer selection to match the decor. I remember it well.

Fast forward to present day. Things have been looking up on Northeast Fremont. Alameda Brewing is celebrating 16 years in business this week. Bottles NW is just down the street. Fire on the Mountain (3Mont) and McPeet's Portland Pub are bookends on this stretch of Fremont.

A cleaned up street view is part of the package

Fremont Ridge is located a hop and a skip to the east of Bottles. Promotional signage on the building suggested it might be a good time to stop in. There were other indications that changes were in the works, including the fact that the business was closed for a while.

First things first. If you know this area, you'll note the name has changed. This place was known as Fremont Ridge Inn for many years. When it was sold a few months ago, the new owners opted to simplify the name to Fremont Ridge. That's what you'll see on the liquor license renewal application here and on updated signage.

The big board...a little thin on a Monday

Stepping back in time for just a moment, this space originally opened in 1940, as the Mirror Cafe. They have a picture of the old place near the bar and there's some brief information the menu. Very quaint. A tip of the hat to history is a nice touch.

They spent some serious money remodeling the space. The women's bathroom was moved to allow for a more functional kitchen and bar. Floors were redone. The classic wood bar was refinished. A small outdoor area was expanded and improved. The furnishings and menu were updated. Oh...and additional beer taps were added.

Tap handles on the back bar

Of the 15 or so taps here, the bulk are reserved for a rotating list of craft beers. It was a nice selection when I stopped by...Boneyard RPM, Laurelwood Free Range Red, 21st Amendment Back in Black IPA and more. PBR is the lone macro...and the barkeep said it sells nicely at times. They have a bit of Coors Light and Corona in bottles, as well as full bar. But Fremont Ridge is focused on craft beer in a big way.

This is a popular trend. More and more former dive bars are being bought and transformed into pubs that ride the wave of craft beer's popularity. McPeet's Portland Pub has undergone a similar transformation within the last couple of months. Both places hope to build their clientele by catering to people who have turned against industrial lager.

These changes are part of an evolving beer culture in Portland. Craft beer has gained a strong following thanks to the brewpubs and breweries. Self-respecting bars and taverns can no longer look the other way. If they don't have craft beer, customers will go elsewhere. The days of macro dominance are history here.

As I've alluded to before, this emerging reality presents both an opportunity and a risk for brewpubs. With taverns, bars and many restaurants moving to craft beer, there are growing opportunities to sell more beer. The risk is that customers may not frequent brewpubs if they can get good beer wherever they go.

These factoids surely explain why several Portland brewpubs have or will soon open production breweries: they want the capacity to brew beer to sell in outside channels. It also explains the growing efforts to create limited edition, specialty beers that are available only in brewpubs...or at select bottleshops and pubs. 

Fremont Fest Suggests Growing Power of Craft

The  26th annual Fremont Fest is on tap this weekend. Sponsored by Beaumont Business Association, they'll close down the strip of NE Fremont between 42nd and 52nd Avenue and turn it into a pedestrian mall. There will be a parade, sidewalk vendors, arts and crafts, games and more. Craft beer is naturally involved, which I'll get to momentarily.

The original Fremont Street anchor

This festival does a nice job of promoting the business and human community in the Beaumont neighborhood. Businesses in the area include: Beaumont Hardware (old-school hardware store), Green Dog Pet Supply (new-age supply), Grand Central Bakery (just opened where Saluna and Fife used to be), Pizzacato, Jim and Patty's Coffee, The Alameda Cafe, Amalfi's Restaurant, Beaumont Village Market, Noho's Hawaiian Cafe and others.

I left out the beer-centric businesses on purpose. But don't underestimate their contribution to the Beaumont economy. Alameda Brewing has been a sort of anchor in the middle of that strip for years. Now you've got Bottles NW a short distance away. And don't laugh about the nearby taverns Fremont Ridge Inn and McPeet's Portland Pub, both of which are expanding their horizons under new ownership.

Rustic exterior betrays changes within

Of course, you're wondering how craft beer is connected to the Fremont Fest. Fair enough. They're putting together an evening Pub Crawl that will include stops at Alameda, Bar Wares, Bottles, McPeet's and others. The price of admission is $10, for which you'll receive an event mug (similar to the OBF mug) and 10 tokens you can use in a variety of ways. Pretty good value, it seems. Need more info? Contact organizer Brant Kunze here.

This Pub Crawl is significant. It serves as yet another reminder that craft beer occupies an increasingly important role in social events involving community. Once upon a time not so long ago, it would have been unfathomable for an event like the Fremont Fest to have a pub crawl. Now, it's almost mandatory. Craft beer is mainstream.

Solid beer performance guaranteed

I'll have more to say about McPeet's and Fremont Ridge in another post, but they are clearly part of a trend in which grubby taverns evolve into something better. The combined tap lists at these two places recently included beers from Boneyard, Double Mountain, Laurelwood, Fort George, Epic, Anderson Valley, Caldera, Good Life, Firestone Walker, Terminal Gravity and Upright. That's not your dad's tavern. Not by a longshot.

If you're one of the macro big boys watching this unfold, you have to be a little nervous. When they're pouring craft beers in places that formerly poured crap macro, it's a problem for Bud, Miller and Coors. We're probably seeing this trend more clearly in Portland than most places, but it is an emerging reality...and it helps explain the declining market share of the macro brands. Here's to dominoes!

Opportunity Drives Craft Expansion in Retail

I have to admit I've been perplexed in recent months. I look at the Oregon beer landscape and I see numerous breweries expanding their operations and planning to distribute in bottles and/or cans. I sometimes wonder if the market can support the kind of additional production involved.

Just in case you haven't heard what's happening, here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

Amnesia Brewing, which has a home on N. Mississippi, is in the process of building a production facility in Washougal. The new place will triple their annual brewing capacity overnight (from 1,700 to 6,000 barrels), and will also house a pub and tasting room. They plan to bottle and can beer for distribution as soon as practical.

Coalition Brewing, located on SE Ankeny, will formally release its first bottled beers this week. The beers are Two Dogs IPA, King Kitty Red Ale and Roosters Cream Ale. All of these beers are favorites at the pub and will now be available in stores, bottleshops and select bars.

One of the newly available Coalition bottles

Double Mountain Brewing in Hood River is expanding into the space next to its current operation and will include a bottling line. They expect to distribute bottles of their year-round beers (Kölsch, Vaporizer, IRA and Hop Lava) and possibly seasonals at some point. Expect to see these beers in bottleshops and finer grocery stores sometime next summer or early fall.

Alameda Brewing, located on NE Fremont, has opened a production facility in southeast Portland and is expanding its bottle distribution in Oregon and Washington. Their beers have been available at Fred Meyer and other stores for a few years. I suspect they will be even more visible now.

These a just a few examples. Many other breweries are planning to pursue retail distribution. Breweries already in the retail game are doing what they can to improve their brand image. Lompoc, for example, is in the process of refining its labels.

Available by the bottle, possibly by summer

Behind the madness
What's all the madness about? Aren't there enough craft beers available on store shelves? How much shelf space can they grow into? How much of this stuff will the market support?

The answer is that sales of craft beers in US supermarkets increased by 15 percent in 2011, to nearly $1 billion. It was the sixth consecutive year of growth in the retail channel. Craft beer is the fastest growing alcohol/beverage segment in supermarkets.

Convenience stores and drug stores, which saw solid growth in 2011, are tracked separately from supermarkets. Expansion into this channel is expected to be brisk for 2012.

Numbers from the Brewers Association say craft beer reached a 10.8 share of the retail market last year. Please realize, this is a national figure. The share is probably 20-25 percent in Oregon, Washington and California. And closer to zero in places like Mississippi, where craft is struggling due to antiquated beer laws.

As mentioned in my prior post, some of the growth numbers are off the hook. Sales of craft beer in 22 oz bombers grew by 35 percent in 2011. Canned craft beer sales were up 97 percent to 350,000 cases. These numbers show no signs of slowing down or collapsing.

Bomber sales are expanding nicely

With all these numbers staring them in the face, it isn't surprising that brewers are positioning themselves for retail distribution. A large and growing pool of consumers is actively seeking craft beer in stores. Brewers are merely moving to take advantage of the opportunity.

Is there a risk with so many brewers intent on entering the retail space? Sure there is. The flood of new bottles and cans could create too much competition for shelf space, squeezing some brands out. There's also a possibility that too many choices could drive prices down, impacting profit.

But the game is clearly on...and escalating. You have to admit it's fun to watch as craft beers take shelf space away from the large brands. The craft revolution seems to be moving forward unabated.