Thanks

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Bill Lawrence
Posts: 374
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:18 am

Thanks

Post by Bill Lawrence »

First of all thanks to Dennis for having us up in McKinney last night, it's always good. I also found his comments interesting; it sounds to me like all hell is going to break loose in the local craft beer market here in Dallas. Naturally we all just can't understand why craft beer would ever fall out of favor with the drinking public but people are extremely fickle and a product that is hot today will most times fall out of favor tomorrow (although the Karadshians have lasted much longer than I would like). Assuming the numbers he quoted are correct; we will soon see some of these new ventures starting to shut down. Also of course the competition will reduce the profit margins on the surviving players so just making good beer will not be enough to survive. I always thought that Dennis had a good business model doing contract brewing along with his own brand to keep his plant running at a higher utilization rate. Also, he seems to be very cost savy and that should serve him well once the inevitable contraction in the market comes. We will see how friendly the competition becomes once the high growth in the craft sector calms down a bit. I for one am very glad I am just a lowly homebrewer not having to worry about all this stuff. :D
Remember, brewers make wort, only yeast make beer
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BigWally
Posts: 327
Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:46 pm
Location: Carrollton

Re: Thanks

Post by BigWally »

Dennis made some additional interesting comments as the last of us cleaned things up. He mentioned the poor crop last year in Germany and that the current trend of highly hopped beers is pushing the limits of the available supply. Hops that cost him $8 per pound before, are now costing $25 per pound.

I think the brewers that have been in operation for a while are probably in much better shape than those that are just starting up. They have had longer to recover their cost.

Personally, I'd like to see as many breweries survive as possible, but the reality is that we're likely to see a contraction. When, is anybody's guess.
Maybe the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others.
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