Much Abrew

4/1/2011

Beer on tap, fests, tastings and trips all combine to sell more supermarket beer.

Walk into the Wegmans Food Market in Collegeville, Pa., or the one in nearby Malvern, and there's a pub waiting for you — a place where you can enjoy great food, comfortable chairs, soft lights, wine and beer — including beer on tap.

Can't make it to those stores? Just go to wegmans.com, and there's a complete menu with how-to tips and a time schedule for holding your own beer pairing party, along with recommended beers to use, depending on the food being served.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans, of course, is known for its innovation. But other supermarket operators are embracing increasingly creative approaches to marketing and selling beer, including installing in-store taps so customers can purchase draft beer fresh from the keg and take it home in 64-ounce reusable glass “growlers,” which are becoming increasingly popular. Growler aficionados say draft beer tastes fresher than beer in a bottle, and they lap up the convenience of the to-go component that enables them to enjoy fresh-tapped beer in the comfort of their own homes.

In-store beer-centered events — think festivals, tastings and cross-merchandised food pairings — geared to generating excitement are putting a big, frothy head on the sale of suds, and in many cases, local craft breweries are drinking up the biggest benefits.

During the most recent 52-week period ended Feb. 5, overall beer sales increased 2 percent, according to Nielsen's total U.S. beer report, which includes food, drug, liquor, convenience and other select channel outlets. But over the same period, craft and microbrews surged by 16.8 percent as interest in those products continued to build. Creative approaches taken by some supermarkets clearly are influencing those sales.

“It's nice to see some supermarkets doing this now,” says John Najeway, owner of Akron, Ohio-based Thirsty Dog Brewing Co., of the increasing numbers of stores that are offering tap beer in take-home growlers. “Retailers are benefiting as craft beers continue to grow, and it gives consumers a way to experience specialty beers that are brewed in small batches, and often aren't even bottled. This gives us another outlet to reach consumers.”

‘Fresh Beer Only Here’

Heinen's, a regional chain of 17 supermarkets in northeastern Ohio, recently launched a growler program in three of its stores, installing taps that will enable the sale of both local craft and national brand beers on tap. Both The Brew Kettle and Thirsty Dog will be part of that program, whose slogan is “Fresh beer only here,” notes Ed Thompkins, beer buyer and merchandiser at Warrensville Heights, Ohio-based Heinen's.

The two-handle system will take up only about 5 feet of space within the wine and beer sets, according to Thompkins, who sees the program as a way to attract new customers and build incremental business.

“I built the program around exclusive agreements with the breweries,” he says, explaining that Heinen's will be the only chain in the area selling the specific brews from in-store taps. To further differentiate from competitors that are installing growler programs, Thompkins says Heinen's is marketing its initiative as “The Brewer's Table” and tying its rotating tap beers to food recommendations from brewers.

National brands offered will include Sierra Nevada, Victory, Stone, Sam Adams, Rogue, Bell's, Smutty Nose, Goose Island, Heavy Seas and Brooklyn. Locals will include Great Lakes, Buckey, Indigo IMP, Thirsty Dog, The Brew Kettle and Cellar Rats.

Growlers are on sale for $3, and shoppers can fill them with beer for from $10 to $15, depending on the brew. They can be refilled later for the cost of the beer.

Thompkins is pumped about the outlook for Heinen's promising beer-on-tap program. “All good ideas have a tendency to draw an enthusiastic audience. We have to make sure we have the best possible beer, that our [tapping system's] lines are clean and that the beers we offer are exclusive to us. I expect robust growth, then probably some attrition. But I think this is here to stay.”

A Bodacious Beer Jungle

When Jungle Jim's International Market, the renowned Fairfield, Ohio-based destination retailer opens its second store early next year in a former bigg's location near the Eastgate Mall in Union Township, Ohio, a new growler program will be included — unlike its existing, 270,000-square-foot store, whose beer department offers more than 1,200 brews, says Ed Vinson, the beer and wine operations manager.

“If growlers are successful there, we will bring them here,” Vinson says, adding, “I can see where we'll change up beers offered in the growler program all the time.” Jungle Jim's currently sells sixth barrel kegs of microbrews, which have proved to be extremely popular, he continues, citing the various brands sold in sixth barrel kegs, including Michelob, Budweiser, Sierra Nevada and Muddy Nose. “We'll be doing that in the new store, too,” he adds.

Jungle Jim's next store also will continue the current tradition of monthly beer tastings held at the Fairfield store's upstairs Oscar Event Center — events that Vinson credits with helping to steadily increase beer sales. Jungle Jim's likes to pair various beers with cheeses and breads at these tastings, when representatives of the featured brewers offer advice as to what works best.

The company's annual Beer Fest in the Oscar Event Center will take place June 17, allowing guests to sample more than 350 beers from 70 vendors while enjoying picnic-style food prepared by Oscar Event Center chefs.

“The Beer Fest is a time we use to educate our customers,” says Vinson. “We make sure each booth has someone available to tell people about the beers they are trying. It's a great time to find out what beers you really like and why you like them. You might be surprised to find the same ingredient is in all your favorites.”

Tickets for drinkers cost $40, and for nondrinkers, $15. The ticket price includes admission, beer samples, a beer-tasting glass and food. Water, soda and food are available for nondrinkers. Attendees must be 21 years of age and show ID at the door.

The Beer Fest is always held on Father's Day weekend. “How can your wife yell at you if you want to go to a Beer Fest on Father's Day weekend?” says Vinson. “It's the perfect time.”

Jungle All the Way

Beer trips, such as the “Kentucky Ale Trail: Hops & Horses” excursion, are also offered by Jungle Jim's. Set for April 29, the trip will feature a tour of the Lexington Brewing Co., to be led by the company's master brewer; lunch; a tailgate party; and then a visit to the horse races at the Keeneland Race Course. The cost for the entire event: $30 per person.

“Our beer sales have skyrocketed over the past several years,” says Vinson, a 40-year veteran of the grocery business who was a liquor store owner before he joined Jungle Jim's eight years ago.

“It's Jungle's way,” Vinson explains, referring to “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio, who founded the company in 1974 as a small produce stand. “He's always asking, ‘What are we going to do next?’ That's what makes him a great motivator.”

It's also a great testament to the concept of creating and seeking out ways to be exciting and different, implementing and executing, and reaping the rewards that come from the effort. It's a concept that typifies many of the craft breweries and, no doubt, one of the reasons that sales in that category continue to soar.

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