Georgia hates microbreweries
Our neighborhood restaurant (and by that I don’t mean Applebee’s) is incredible. It’s called the Treehouse and it’s a converted house with a huge deck, great food, and g eat beer.
In a recent visit there I was quite disappointed to find that nearly all (3 out of the 4) beers they carried on tap were no longer available. At first I thought the waitress was just kidding but as I explored the topic further I became a bit upset. Turns out all three of these beers now have a new distributor in the Atlanta area. Turns out that distributor (who shall remain nameless) is the “King of Beers” and as part of their policy they simply won’t be selling to small establishments such as the Treehouse. Not cool in my opinion.
Georgia has this wonderfully insane system that essentially gives all power to the distributors and big brewers and screws both the consumer and the microbrewers (see article). In a country and a time where the small guy is able to compete like never before (ex. mom and pop can compete against Fortune 500s via tools like ebay) we have this strange segment of products (beer) that just haven’t gotten the benefit – especially in Georgia.
Hopefully the landscape will start to change in the coming years. Stay tuned for things like Support Your Local Brewery, SaveBeer.org and other grassroots movements to force political change (as well as tastebud changes for all our friends who have NO idea what good beer tastes like). And remember at the end of the day to support your local establishments (if they are not Applebee’s).
Jonathan, Joel & Jeff
July 27th, 2007 at 7:42 am
That really sucks. Distributors can really muck up a good thing. Very recently, I’ve noticed a couple smaller distributors popping up to fill in the niche left by the big guys. One of our local offerings, Point Blank Distributing, started out only doing small local craft brewers, but it appears that their mission is attractive, and the number of beers they offer is now growing. Hopefully there’s someone foolish enough to take on the big guys in Georgia.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:07 am
I have seen the wrath of the “King of Beers”. There is a brew fest around here, I think it’s the one at the Zoo, the boys at AB came in as the key sponsor and one of the stipulations was that only AB distributed beers would be served…AT A BREW FEST!? That in Gods green earth makes them think that that is a good idea?
I don’t have a problem with companies being successful and making money, but come on, like AB is going to suffer if they let in Middle Ages Brewing company or Southern Tier? Like those guys will ever compete on that level.
The thing is most micro-breweries don’t want to, they don’t want to sell to the hordes of swilling NASCAR and NFL fans, they want to be able to make a living making beer. Simple enough.
Keep on keeping on fellas, don’t let the man keep you down!
July 27th, 2007 at 9:59 am
There are all sorts of silly rules in all sorts of market, and alcohol is worse than most. Like Georgia, where you can’t buy on Sunday, and grocery stores can’t sell liquor, only beer. At least you guys finally popped the cap and don’t sell all your liquor through ABC stores…
There are a lot of things I don’t like about the fact that I just moved from GA to CA… I miss my house… My brewery isn’t in my garage anymore (because I don’t have a garage), it’s now at my brother-in-law’s place. But one thing I enjoy about the change is that the beer world out here is far better than GA. Much better distribution, much simpler laws, and while just about everything in CA is more expensive than GA, alcohol is actually LESS expensive here.
In GA, can you sell directly to an establishment if you’re a small brewery, or are you required to go through distribution?
July 27th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Brad, you have to go through distribution. If you sell on premise, you are not allowed to sell through a distributor. So essentially, you have to decide whether you want to be a brewpub or a micro; you can’t be both, no matter what size. Do you know what the CA laws are like?
July 27th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Jeff,
I was asking some of the guys on beeradvocate.com about that today, and they seem much, much more lenient than GA.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Here is an interesting article explaining more about the three-tier distribution system in GA.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_39_55/ai_n12934925
Basically the system works according to mob rule dynamics. You get a single distributor that markets your beer however they want and eventually the state gets a lions share of the profits from all three tiers. They tax the manufacturer by barrels of production (3x tax for beer consumed on site via tour/tastings), the distributor by the case/barrel, and the retailer by alcohol sales taxes. The myth of it all is that really the only person that gets screwed is the consumer. Why? Where did all three tiers ultimately end up getting their source of revenue? If it helps, imagine the process in reverse. This is how most of the money in the government’s pocket ends up there. (the other two sources are lower wages and lower shareholder dividends, which technically end up coming from the pockets of individuals) Anyhow, this wasn’t meant to be a lesson in economics. You can read more about that in one of my other rants here.
In addition, the director of the Alcohol and Tobacco Division of the GA Dept. of Revenue tends to change policies on a whim, typically to the detriment of only the small brewers in the state. It’s difficult to tell if he’s a communist/tee-totaler (same thing in my mind) or if his momma just didn’t hug him enough.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
[...] – it seems that the South is starting to realize this. Yes, THE South. You know, the one that hates microbreweries. A new Belgian bar will be opening in Asheville, NC a mere week from today, according to the [...]