Craft Beer - What beers qualify?

Lux23 wrote: »

but (b) would actually be a good seller.

We can't afford to have half used beer kegs sitting in our cold room, so your advice would be appreciated.

Other than the ones with massive marketing campaigns behind them, no beer is going to sell itself. The bar has to do it, by trained, knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff plus good point-of-sale information.

I think pale ale is the area where the craft breweries are furthest ahead of the mainstream ones, so a tap with Metalman Pale Ale, Galway Hooker or O'Hara's Pale Ale is what I'd recommend, starting out.

the beer revolu wrote:

A safer bet would be to stock some bottles

True, but only if they're priced in line with the draught alternatives. Bottles which are madly more expensive than draught for no reason are much less likely to move.

I work in the B&C and Metalman is our best selling beer, by a good bit. Galway Hooker is up there as well. A large part of that is down to the fact that the staff all love Metalman so if anyone asks for a recommendation they nearly always suggest it. Personally I'd say I shift at least a keg of Metalman each week on my own.

You should have no problem selling craft beer in the Smithfield/Stoneybatter area. Mulligans, The Cobblestone, Dice Bar and Drinkstore aren't surviving there for no reason.

As the Beernut says though, staff knowledge is crucial. Convincing your staff to drink the stuff is half the battle. Get them interested, teach them about how craft beer is made, how it differs from the bland, industrial stuff and feck it, promote craft because it's Irish and keeps a bit of money in the country. If the staff are interested in the beer(which they should be) sales will come a lot easier.

From a business point of view, craft is good for you. More and more people are talking about how they'd rather sit at home with a few cans rather than pay extra in the pub. That matters less with craft beer drinkers, for 2 reasons, first of all, craft beer can't be bought in the offy for next to nothing so there's less savings to be made and second of all, a lot of craft is only available on draught, in certain pubs. You get a few regulars drinking the likes of Metalman and you'll become one of the few places they can go to get their favourite.

O'Hara's IPA and Edelstoff are good choices although be careful with the price. You'll not get too many sales of O'Hara's bottles if it's a euro more expensive than a pint (and less volume), especially if Mulligans and the Cobblestone are a few minutes away.

I'd be happy to guide you through a tasting of different craft beers if you want to call up the B&C.