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PM-ME-YOUR-TOTS t1_ja7lphn wrote

Reply to comment by RVAVandal in Brewery self-distribution bill passes through GA, awaits Youngkin's signature by fanrva

I’d assume mostly correlation? There’s already soooo much craft stuff everywhere that I have a hard time imagining there being even more variety of indistinguishable craft IPA’s on taps and in grocery stores.

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RVAVandal t1_ja7p23v wrote

Yeah but the stuff we see more often than not belongs to breweries that are owned, at least in part, by a larger corporation like Inbev, SAB etc. They also own a lot of the distribution and are able to lock out smaller independent breweries from retail distribution.

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PM-ME-YOUR-TOTS t1_ja7vqmi wrote

Oh you mean like how devils backbone is a “craft brewery” but got bought by whatever company it is that owns Anheuser Busch now? That sucks

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RVAVandal t1_ja811va wrote

Yup, 3 companies control something like 80% of the beer market in the US. Of course that's the same for almost every product these days. The illusion of choice is keeping the country from realizing that almost everything we put into or onto our bodies is owned by a shockingly small group of companies and people.

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whw53 t1_ja829bs wrote

80% of the product consumed maybe, not 80% of unique product choices.

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PM-ME-YOUR-TOTS t1_ja84jpd wrote

Definitely depends. You can’t buy a car from someone on Etsy but if you need soap, there are about 5 million unique choices and 4.999 million of them are made by hippies at craft shows

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Charlesinrichmond t1_ja8flsy wrote

oligopolic yes. But owned by a shockingly large amount of people, the stuff traded on the public markets. Most/many of the owners are retirement accounts

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whw53 t1_ja823k1 wrote

That's hardly true. First of all SAB is no longer a corporate entity. AB-InBev sole 'craft' ownership in the state is Devils Backbone. MolsonCoors zilch. Sapporo bought Stone but i am unaware of any other corporate acquisitions of local breweries in the same fashion. Constellation bailed and sold BallastPoint in Roanoke back to craft ownership.. A far cry from 'more often than not'

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Charlesinrichmond t1_ja8fnwd wrote

ballast point is private again?

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whw53 t1_jaa9ny5 wrote

It was purchased by Kings & Convicts Brewing out of Chicago. Constellation maintains the Roanoke facility and produces its macro brands out of it.

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Danger-Moose t1_ja8pmgu wrote

Did you want the OP to perform a simple Google search for you?

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allthesideeye t1_ja91gc6 wrote

I think they were referring more to what beers you are able to find on tap in bars and restaurants.

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pocketdare t1_ja8qoru wrote

Agree. Like probably many people who enjoy beer, I considered (briefly) starting a brewery but the market is just so over saturated today that it's nearly pointless to get into it. Not too many good ways to differentiate yourself today. Sure you could make a niche living, but the days of starting a brewery that had a strong possibility of growing to a significant size are piratically over. I'm not saying that it's impossible (much as becoming a famous Hollywood celeb or best selling author aren't impossible) just highly improbable

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PM-ME-YOUR-TOTS t1_ja91rde wrote

I think the key that could still make you a success this late in the game is massive initial investment on an awesome venue. I know that’s not feasible to just, like, have $10M to start. But a venue like Devil’s Backbone which is basically a campus with a fire pit and music stage and decent restaurant can still get you the brand recognition for people to buy your beer at a store. I think Bingo has done this to a smaller degree. But being successful with a hole in the wall generic warehouse brewery is, I agree, nearly impossible.

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