Outsourcing Brewing

[TreeFrog Frank]

There is a story about Schlafly Beer (St. Louis Brewing Company) outsourcing some brewing operations...

St. Louis Brewery outsourcing Schlafly to out-of-state brewer

I'm just curious what everyone thinks about these kind of situations? Does it take away from the "local" feel of the beer? Does it not make a difference?


My take... I'm not against it. I understand what they are having to deal with, with the higher demand, and lack of space. But just wondering what everyone else thinks about this. They way they are going about it, seems to keep them in control of every aspect of the operation. And interesting that they have ties with the heads of both breweries. I just wonder if it kind of taints the local aspect of the beer. And for that matter, if it will take anything away from them, by becoming more in demand, and larger.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Skitalets]

I love their beer and wish I could get it out here. I grew up in Southern Illinois and drank Schlafly a bunch when I came back after college.

That said, I think they're so big and well known that it's not really a "local" beer to me. The brewery started by a guy from my business school in Durham is "local" to me. They actually sourced persimmons locally from brewery customers to make one of their seasonals. All their ingredients come from the area.

I don't think Schlafly makes any effort to source ingredients locally, so I don't really care where they brew the beer honestly...

 

[smokinghole]

There comes a point in every successful brewery's life where they have to make compromises to keep up with demand. They either don't keep up losing potential sales, they sell stakes to a big boy like SABMiller or Inbev for money to expand, or they contract brew. Sam Adams started as a contract brewed beer. Contract brewing happens more than you'd think. It's just a sign of success to me. It's not who brews the beer, it's the ingredients and the process control.

 

[GoingPostal]

It's perfectly fine as long as they keep tight control/watch over the quality of what the contractor makes. As stated earlier this is just a sign of success, lets them keep up with demand while they try to figure out if/how big to expand.

 

[sean]

I see the need for contract brewing, but have found some instances when it comes up short. The best example is Kona Brew Co. All Kona beers on tap ON THE ISLANDS are brewed in Kona, and have fantastic flavors. Everything in bottles, and also everything in kegs on the mainland, is brewed under contract by Widmer Brothers in Oregon. The brews have less nose, more head, heavier mouthfeel, and maltier flavors. Not a fan.

 

[cvm4]

It serves a great purpose for those brewers who are just getting started or have reached capacity at their current facility. The only way this is a success is if they micro-manage to make sure each batch is consistent and nothing strays for the original.