The Beer Geek Goes to a Beer Store
For about a year now I’ve been working on a Long Island Beer Guide. I decided to include all things related to beer in this Guide: pubs, brewpubs, breweries, restaurants and beer stores. Since starting the Guide I’ve seen many different approaches to selling beer. During this same time period I’ve traveled to a dozen different states and three countries to see how beer is sold in other places. As a result I’ve developed some opinions about how things should be done.
I had an opportunity to share some of my observations with a beer store owner here on Long Island. He’s new to the beer business and asked for some suggestions on how a good beer store should operate.
The beer and soda shop on Long Island is usually a place that looks more like a warehouse than a grocery store. They serve a dual function. The beer and soda shop is where people bring their empties to collect a refund on the 5 cent per bottle deposit and they sell beer and soda. Yes, you can buy these items at the grocery store too, but most grocery stores don’t have the selection of beer provided by the beer store.
A good beer store is primarily about good selection. It’s not necessarily all about how many different brands, but what kind of brands. Clearly, there should be enough of the old standards (like Chimay), but you should also be able to find brands that are less common (like Achel). A portion of the stock should be devoted to seasonals and rotating items. Beer geeks like to walk into their beer store and see something new every time.
The buying habits of the beer geek are different than your two-cases-of-bud beer shopper. The beer geek expects to be able to mix and match their six packs or cases. (I understand that this is illegal in some states, but fortunately in New York, mixing and matching is just fine.)
Organization is important. The beer should be arranged by country of origin or by style. My preference is to have a section for each country and within the national sections arrange by brewery. The majority of the stock for a beer store in the US will be American microbrews. The local beers should be in their own section and prominently placed. The other beers should be arranged by state of origin.
The savvy beer store owner should not mix in macrobrew with microbrew. Keep the Anheuser-Busch’s fake “micros” like Beach Bum Blonde and Wild Hop away from the real craftbeer. Likewise the Molson-Coors product Blue Moon and the Miller product Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat have no business in the craftbeer section of the beer store. The beer geek will notice this segregation and will reward the beer store owner with repeat business.
“Beer geeks like to walk into their beer store and see something new every time.” Yes, they do. Exactly. Well said. This is also true of bars and pubs - it’s nice to find a pub with decent beer, but if they have the same decent beer for two years running, the novelty wears off.