![]() So that means distributors will still be the most efficient method for both small breweries and retailers. Buyers only have to meet with a few people to meet all their needs. That’s why having just a few distributors representing the majority of the brands makes sense, especially for the smaller players. They simply don’t have that kind of time. Second, buyers would be too busy to meet with a different salesman for each individual brewery. You could argue that one of the current brewery employees or the owner could do it, but given the number of locations that would now have to be sold to directly, that doesn’t seem remotely feasible. Most small berweries simply won’t be able to afford to add the staff required. First, that would require each small brewery to have a larger sales force to sell directly to retailers, including trucks to deliver to them, and merchandisers for support. “The change has the potential to earn wider distribution for many smaller breweries as they can now sell directly.” That sounds good on paper but probably won’t work for a couple of reasons. ![]() So let’s look at SeattleBeerGuy’s assertions:ġ. It is for this reason I hold a different opinion than SeattleBeerGuy and is why I can not be as sanguine and positive about the future. I want to be clear that I have no disrespect for this opinion but having been directly involved in the beer business at the retail level, I have a unique perspective on how things generally work from brewery to distributor to retailer. ![]() This is necessary, I think, because it is the opinion that many people will likely hold. I was just going to post a comment responding to his thoughtful, if overly optimistic, take on the judge’s ruling but the more I thought about, the more I realized it required a more lengthy answer. I see a rosy horizon over which small, local groceries sell beer from small, local breweries. So yes, the big boxes will outcompete smaller stores on cases of Budweiser or Killian’s but that should only encourage smaller breweries to reach sweetheart deals with local, smaller stores. The price issue does not seem terribly pressing as people who drink beer are generally willing to pay slightly more for a better beer anyway–ever plunk down $3 for 12oz? More than twice what you would pay for a macro-lager. I think the change has the potential to earn wider distribution for many smaller breweries as they can now sell directly. Interesting analysis but I’m not sure I agree with the conclsuions. I got the following sunny comment to my analysis of the Costco decision from SeattleBeerGuy:
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![]() However they were only mentioned in passing once and its current members were not described: ". House Forrester's basic details and allegiances exist in the novels. Their house words are "Iron from Ice", echoing their belief that the severe cold and hostile landscape of the North only make them stronger. The seat of House Forrester is Ironrath, an imposing stronghold in the forest surrounded by ironwood trees. The Forresters are a family of the minor nobility from the Wolfswood in the North, bannermen to House Glover - who are in turn themselves major vassals sworn to House Stark of Winterfell. The main characters are from House Forrester. ![]() "We're just really getting into it right now and thinking about the right characters, and who has the most at stake, and who has the most to do, and who has the biggest impact on the world … ‘Cause, you know, we're so much about consequence, and “Game of Thrones” is so much about big consequence." Telltale founder and CEO Dan Connors said in an interview at VGX 2013: It was released on Decemfor PC/Mac and PlayStation 4, on December 3 for Xbox One and Xbox 360, on December 4 for iOS, and on December 9 for PlayStation 3. The game was announced on Twitter on December 8, 2013. It was being developed in conjunction with HBO by Telltale Games, developers of the critically praised video game spinoffs for The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us. ![]() Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series is an episodic video game based on the HBO television series, released in 2014 and consists of six episodes. 14: Bernie Mac (Fox, 7:30 and 8 p.m.) Series Debut: One of the funniest new sitcoms of the season, starring comic Bernie Mac (natch) as a parental unit who hates kids. 13: Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary Celebration (CBS, 8 p.m.) See the concert hundreds of celebrity suckers shelled out big bucks to suffer through at Madison Square Garden-for free! Destiny’s Child, Billy Gilman, Mya, Usher, Whitney Houston and (most of) the Jacksons are among the stars who couldn’t duck MJ’s calls. 12: Absolutely Fabulous (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.) Series Return: Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are back for six new episodes, which Comedy Central will rerun through 2025. 11: King of the Hill (Fox, 6:30 p.m.) The Simpsons (Fox, 7 p.m.) Malcolm in the Middle (Fox, 7:30 p.m.) The X-Files (Fox, 8 p.m.) Season Premieres: Bobby takes women’s self-defense classes Bart and Millhouse steal a police car Malcolm goes boating Lucy Lawless ( Xena) guests and … does anyone really care about The X-Files? 10: Beat the Geeks (Comedy Central, 7:30 p.m.) Series Debut: Testing the useless knowledge of no-life geeks for fun and profit! Bathing Brooke (E!, 10 p.m.) E! skank Brooke Burke does a bikini photo shoot for her new calendar, because you expect hard-hitting news from E! ![]() The weirdest thing to land on Nick since Ren & Stimpy, and some of the best animation anywhere. 9: Invader Zim (Nickelodeon, 7 p.m.) Cool Show Alert: He’s green, he’s pissed off, and he’s here to take over the planet, inferior Earth monkeys … from elementary school. The Tick (Fox, 7:30 p.m.) Series Debut: The big blue champion of justice wants you! It’s up against a Will & Grace rerun, citizens-give it a chance! Hell, a few episodes of Once & Again could do that. 8: The Family Guy (Fox, 7 p.m.) Season Premiere: It’s back! No one can stop it! Stewie invades Peter’s body, Fantastic Voyage-style, to kill his sperm. Never mind that you’ve got your head in the butt of the cow in front of you, and the cow behind you has his stuck similarly up yours-it’s all for the greater good of unity, right? But, in their never-ending pursuit of “fitting in,” “being accepted” and other conformist crapola, the mindless citizens of America are led through the primrose cattle chute to the communal trough of pap again and again, because it’s what everyone else is doing. ![]() The dangers of following the herd should be apparent, even to the herd. |