4 ms·

I'd guess the biggest obstacle is competition, actually. There's excellent local craft beer in even smallish midwestern cities, plus a substantial selection of

by ashark 10y ago

I'd guess the biggest obstacle is competition, actually. There's excellent local craft beer in even smallish midwestern cities, plus a substantial selection of top-notch beers from the region and the rest of the country. It's different for, say, wine, because the economics are weird (the economics of grape growing and terroir in particular) and even with an ~2x markup from import and shipping you can grab a random $12 bottle of (say) Spanish wine and there's a very good chance it'll be a hell of a lot better than a random Californian at the same price point, plus, ignoring questions of quality, there's going to be significant demand for (especially) French wine for reputation and signaling reasons. European protection/assurance of production processes probably aids consumer confidence in European versus new-world wine, too, especially on the lower end. Beer? I can get some damn good $10 US-made 4-packs. I've had some really wonderful $5 bombers. Good luck competing with that after the cost of importing, unless you've got something incredibly special.

Retric 10y ago
In terms of taste testing and actual preference California has plenty of great wines. The real difference is why get's exported from Spain not what the average Spanish wine is like.
- ashark 10y ago
  Eh, I'd guess the stuff in my usual $9-12 range is 3-5 euro at retail in Spain, judging from what I've seen on imported wines where I do know the price in their country of origin. So maybe not typical, but in the direction of ordinary table wine, not in the direction of being exceptional. As a wine cheapskate I've just found $9-12 on whatever's-from-Spain/Italy-and-seems-dryish gets me better results than the same lazy shopping style with domestic wine. I don't know much about higher-priced wines—when I (rarely) spend up I usually just shop by French AOC, again due to laziness. Also I live several states away from California—the local market there may be much more competitive with the cheaper end of the imported range.
CalRobert 10y ago
Beer is also heavy. The simple math of $ per gram shipped might make it cost-prohibitive. On the bright side, I got in to homebrewing because I really, really missed Arrogant Bastard. Now I can actually buy it here in Ireland (Stone started exporting it, and opened a brewery in Berlin), but at €6 for a 330ml bottle it's definitely something I only have as a treat.
- afarrell 10y ago
  Plenty of people get on airplanes with a bottle of water. Why not let them get on board with a bottle of local craft beer that they've bought after going through security? It would let them introduce their friends to beer/cider from another region. I'm not talking about shipping cases of beer from San Francisco to Chicago and selling them at EWR. I'm talking about selling individual bottles at SFO and SJC.
  - CalRobert 10y ago
    We agree! This sounds like it could be an opportunity... More airports could use something like this: http://www.stonebrewing.com/visit/outposts/airport http://www.stonebrewing.com/visit/outposts/airport
daemin 10y ago
That's what I noticed in two countries that I have lived in recent years. There is a big craft brewing scene both in Australia and in Poland. While it would be nice to get Polish craft beers in Australia, and also Australian craft beers in Poland, it's not economic unless it's very big name and sought after beer. Also beer doesn't travel nearly as well as wine.
- afarrell 10y ago
  Right, but how does this impede selling Polish craft beer in Warsaw airport to a Pole who wants to introduce his London friends to some beers from his hometown?
  - daemin 10y ago
    Because airports charge a lot of money to the businesses that are there [0]. So the businesses have to appeal to the widest selection of travellers, so you get the most well known international brands and most general, safe, and average food. Craft beer is still mostly a speciality, and a lot of it is an acquired taste [1], so it cannot appeal to the majority of people. [0] For example there was an article some time ago detailing plans RyanAir had for offering free flights. They (and the airports I presume) would make money from the things passengers buy at the airports. [1] Bitter IPA, Sour beers, smoked beers, etc. Whenever we go out drinking craft beers, I always ask for a sample before I buy because there is always something that I don't like the taste of. I made the mistake before of ordering pints of beer and not being able to take more than a sip.
afarrell 10y ago
> There's excellent local craft beer in even smallish midwestern cities Which is precisely why I want this to be a thing. I want a friend who is flying out of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport to be able to get through security, pick up a bottle of something from a small brewery in Minnesota, get off in Boston, and bring me a beer I'd otherwise never be able to try.

by ashark 10y ago

Retric 10y ago

In terms of taste testing and actual preference California has plenty of great wines. The real difference is why get's exported from Spain not what the average Spanish wine is like.

ashark 10y ago
Eh, I'd guess the stuff in my usual $9-12 range is 3-5 euro at retail in Spain, judging from what I've seen on imported wines where I do know the price in their country of origin. So maybe not typical, but in the direction of ordinary table wine, not in the direction of being exceptional. As a wine cheapskate I've just found $9-12 on whatever's-from-Spain/Italy-and-seems-dryish gets me better results than the same lazy shopping style with domestic wine. I don't know much about higher-priced wines—when I (rarely) spend up I usually just shop by French AOC, again due to laziness. Also I live several states away from California—the local market there may be much more competitive with the cheaper end of the imported range.

CalRobert 10y ago

Beer is also heavy. The simple math of $ per gram shipped might make it cost-prohibitive. On the bright side, I got in to homebrewing because I really, really missed Arrogant Bastard. Now I can actually buy it here in Ireland (Stone started exporting it, and opened a brewery in Berlin), but at €6 for a 330ml bottle it's definitely something I only have as a treat.

afarrell 10y ago
Plenty of people get on airplanes with a bottle of water. Why not let them get on board with a bottle of local craft beer that they've bought after going through security? It would let them introduce their friends to beer/cider from another region. I'm not talking about shipping cases of beer from San Francisco to Chicago and selling them at EWR. I'm talking about selling individual bottles at SFO and SJC.
- CalRobert 10y ago
  We agree! This sounds like it could be an opportunity... More airports could use something like this: http://www.stonebrewing.com/visit/outposts/airport http://www.stonebrewing.com/visit/outposts/airport

daemin 10y ago

That's what I noticed in two countries that I have lived in recent years. There is a big craft brewing scene both in Australia and in Poland. While it would be nice to get Polish craft beers in Australia, and also Australian craft beers in Poland, it's not economic unless it's very big name and sought after beer. Also beer doesn't travel nearly as well as wine.

afarrell 10y ago
Right, but how does this impede selling Polish craft beer in Warsaw airport to a Pole who wants to introduce his London friends to some beers from his hometown?
- daemin 10y ago
  Because airports charge a lot of money to the businesses that are there [0]. So the businesses have to appeal to the widest selection of travellers, so you get the most well known international brands and most general, safe, and average food. Craft beer is still mostly a speciality, and a lot of it is an acquired taste [1], so it cannot appeal to the majority of people. [0] For example there was an article some time ago detailing plans RyanAir had for offering free flights. They (and the airports I presume) would make money from the things passengers buy at the airports. [1] Bitter IPA, Sour beers, smoked beers, etc. Whenever we go out drinking craft beers, I always ask for a sample before I buy because there is always something that I don't like the taste of. I made the mistake before of ordering pints of beer and not being able to take more than a sip.

afarrell 10y ago

> There's excellent local craft beer in even smallish midwestern cities Which is precisely why I want this to be a thing. I want a friend who is flying out of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport to be able to get through security, pick up a bottle of something from a small brewery in Minnesota, get off in Boston, and bring me a beer I'd otherwise never be able to try.