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Local brewery says it won't pay bribes to bars to carry its beer on tap
By adamg on Tue, 10/14/2014 - 9:40pm
Beer Advocate assembles tweets from Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project in Somerville on the practice - and why it won't play that game:
Boston is a pay to play town and we're often shut out for draft lines along with many beers you may love.
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Comments
More regulation = less liquor
More regulation = less liquor licenses = less choice. It's a shame these hard working individuals are boned by the system.
RTFSM
this story's not about liquor licences, bro.
Not directly
But you're naive to think that one has nothing to do with the other.
Bars should be allowed to sell sponsorship of lines, but if we're going to have finite licenses, then bars should be required to disclose all such advertising.
Allowed?
Bars aren't selling sponsorship. They're taking bribe money to keep selling shitty beer. In some cases, they're taking bribes to NOT sell other company's beers!
No bar would ever tell someone "pay me $5000 or I won't sell your beer". The distributor would laugh in their face. However, beer companies will tell bars "take this $5000 and only sell my beer in that tap forever" and bars will take it because it's guaranteed money and those bars don't care that they're selling you shitty beer.
Whichever bars take the bribes are bars I'll never patronize again.
Which is somehow fine for
Which is somehow fine for soft drinks but not beer.
Not indirectly, either
Read the article.
Broooo if there were enough
Broooo if there were enough bars, breweries wouldn't have to pay to be served, because THERE WOULD BE ENOUGH BARS FOR ALL THE BEER BRO!
Another article
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/beer-bribery
Retail
I don't know anything about the beer industry other than I enjoy drinking beer.
However I've worked many years in the retail industry , specifically supermarkets and office supplies and "pay for play" is normal and expected. Call it marketing money, slotting fees, end-cap fees, promotional fees, rebates, whatever. It is how the industry works, and it doesn't surprise me that this exists in the beer industry.
Companies even have "strategic" or "preferred" vendors. Translated, that means the vendors that pay the most.
Nothing evil going on here, it's just the way capitalism works. If it works the way it should, the retailer makes more profit and the manufacturer justifies the expense with increased sales.
Smart start-ups and independent companies will set aside some of their profits for these types of expenses in order to grow sales.
So my professional advice to these brewers is suck it up and pay.
Different rules for different industries
>Nothing evil going on here, it's just the way capitalism works. If it works the way it should, the retailer makes more profit and the manufacturer justifies the expense with increased sales.
Different laws in the booze business. It's explicitly illegal, according to MGL 138 sec 25a and CMR 204 2.09. There are no such prohibitions that I am aware of in the supermarket industry, for example.
Not "just the way"
Price discrimination of alcohol at the wholesale level is against the law in MA. Period.
That means - No favorites. No special backdoor/underbar deals. No pay-to-play (aka tap payola). Those practices all constrain choice and distort the market. Consumers are supposed to be the primary arbiters of which products succeed in the market and which don't - by voting with their dollars. Not some deep-pocketed brewer/distributor that can keep their competitors' products off the market by bribing the retailer.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/T...
Perhaps
it's enforced by the buyer - not the seller.
Also has nothing to do with volume (other than zero) and nothing to do with time of payment.
I'll let the lawyers sort it out - but sounds like this might be legal.
Not legal
Nope, not legal. MA is very strict about wholesale pricing of beverages. Wholesalers post their prices for the month(?) and that's the price for that time period. Period. No deals. If a wholesaler gives a bar a tap system, beer, fridge, etc., that's not legal because that action messes with the price system. Giving a bar a tap system is just another way of discounting the product.
Disclaimer: This is my recollection from quite awhile ago and things may have changed.
Some discounts allowed
MA allows discounts for quantity, but they have to be fixed and uniform across all buyers. You can't offer 10% off 10 kegs to one bar without offering the exact same deal to every bar. See here: http://www.connelllawoffices.com/articles2/article-1/
Discounts
Oh yes, discounts are allowed, but the discounts have to be posted in the monthly price list ahead of time. A wholesaler can't make an ad hoc discount to someone
There is a monthly
There is a monthly publication that posts the prices , discounts , and other pertinent industry information. But here are always side deals posted that posture to the big users.
Then that looks like another law
This one is specifically related to volume and terms.
Could be - just doesn't look like this is the relevant law.
Personally I think this is one more example of our overly ridiculous liquor laws in this state.
We are being "protected" from internet and mail order sales
So I somehow doubt that, given the AG's office official antipathy toward the consumer, even when the Supreme Court tells them to go fish, they are going to do anything to enforce the law here.
Where is the Court of Nannystate Posturing (aka the licensing board) when this law is being broken? Spending their time hounding businesses that don't follow their customers off their property to make sure they don't crack a can, that's what.
"Nothing evil going on here,
"Nothing evil going on here, it's just the way capitalism works."
Well, you know...
I have met Dan one time
I have met Dan one time (friend of friend) and I thought he was a stand up guy. So far as I am concerned, this confirms my thought. One thing is indisputable so far as I am concerned: his beer is top notch.
This also makes me respect the bars that have Pretty Things (and other small local brews) on tap even more than I already do. My patronage will continue.
Edit: This reminds me a lot of the story Richard Branson tells about how difficult it was to break BA's stranglehold on Heathrow when Virgin Atlantic was starting out. How's that for inspiration, Dan?!
Dann stands up for his beer
Dann also took issue with bars with his last label, Rapscallion, except then it was that bars didn't want to serve his beer in his special snifters. I think beer culture has changed enough since then that there are plenty of bars that would accommodate that level of preciousness, but back then it was enough to sink the label - he preferred to pull the beer from bars rather than have them serve it in the wrong kind of glass.
I think it's important to note, too, that that was before social media existed, and it sounds like he's leveraging that now to his advantage (other breweries showing support, etc.); also, this is an issue that affects many breweries.
Sounds familiar
As someone who was involved in the beer industry years ago, this sounds familiar. Been there.
All I can say is forget the guys wanting something from you and work the bars that just want good beer. I understand the frustration, but it's also borderline whining. The beer business these days is incredibly competitive with all the craft brews around. How do you stand out and distinguish your beer?
Try selling your brand
If you can't convince people to drink your beer by marketing it in a way that makes people want to try it and like it and tell others and grow your brand organically, then you won't stand out and distinguish your beer. That's how it works.
If you have a giant machine behind you because you've become a behemoth, albeit not a monopoly, then using your weight to shove others out of the way to avoid having to compete with them is anti-competitive and should be squashed. If we want regulatory capitalism where everyone has a fairer chance based on the merits of their product instead of a laissez-faire free-for-all where the gorilla always gets its way, then this isn't whining but a necessary correction to the path we've allowed to develop.
When you put a new beer on
When you put a new beer on draft , you have to take one off the sticks. Thus , you might piss off those consumers. Unless you have a critical mass of demand , you will have a dead stick. And these draft lines have to be cleaned. Sometimes it's just convenient to have one wholesaler control the sticks, to insure the lines are maintained. Then there is advertisement ect. to promote the draft line beer. There might be limited cold box storage for the beer kegs.So there is more to offering a beer on draft than you might think. And , for one minute , if you think you are going to outsmart the King of beers in posturing for sticks , you got another thing coming.There is plenty of choices out there for beer without drinking someone's koolaid.
What does any of your post
What does any of your post have to do with having to pay to be on a line, which is this story is about?
Just prove it then, it's
Just prove it then, it's called linkage. do you know what that means? These big companies have lawyers to avoid getting shut down. Some guy wants to join the league , don't like the rules. When he gets big enough , he will be looking for Budweiser to buy him out. It's called capitalism. You can't email everything, the world is tough out there........
I doubt that is the problem
Pretty Things seems to sell quite well, and they ran out of beer at the festivals that I've been to. People like their stuff.
The issue is that places like Pukecowski's want to sell "craft beers" to frat boys, but they want to do it cheap and get the extra revenue from breaking the law. So, they put on an inferior paid-for line up and the frat boys pay top dollar for it.
The couple times I've been there recently, I've been amazed at how weak their tap line up is compared to Redbones, and how much they charge. Now I know why.
I will not have the name of
I will not have the name of Bukowski taken in vain. Fratboys don't go to buke, they go to shitholes like Pour House and Whiskeys
Buk's in Inman sucks. Three
Buk's in Inman sucks. Three finger heads, earsplitting music, cash only.
Try other places then
Check out Redbones or Olde Magoun Saloon. The tap lists and prices are much better (as is the food).
I concur that the Inman
I concur that the Inman location isn't as good, but.... dat white trash poutine.
Also Buk was the cheapest place in town to find Cellar Door until Deep Ellum started having it on tap.
Redbones and the Saloon are good but they're also in Somerville. Someone in the Back Bay (or casuals in Inman aren't really about to hope up there for a beer if they're just in the BB).
Looks Like Bukowski's Responded
Saw this on their website https://app.box.com/s/f7pk06ins2dpbg4zdlkl
Also, this really does happen in many industries, has been for years, and regulations can't seem to keep up. Back in the day (we're talking vinyl here), record company reps used to bring singles to the bigger radio stations in the country (NYC, LA, NoLa, etc). The DJs and station managers would put the record up to their ear and shake it a bit. When they heard the envelope sliding around inside, they'd say "sounds like a hit!" New York especially cracked down on payola in that industry, and to this day it still finds new ways to skirt the system and keep the garbage pumping into ears at a price.
That said, just because it happens doesn't mean it SHOULD happen. Sadly though, this country has more pressing issues than this, even in the realms of consumer and small business protection, and we'll never see it change.
And they don't deny doing it
Good PR-speak from Wilcox. Imply several times that you don't participate to in pay-to-play, but don't go so far as to actually deny it.
Have you stopped beating your
Have you stopped beating your wife yet?
It's common practice.
Quothe Wilcox: "It is unfortunate that you would lump me in the 'wifebeater' category."
The answer is:
Mu
Seems like Bukowskis is
Seems like Bukowskis is admitting they take gifts/pay for lines but that its "common practice." The "more pressing issues" argument is ridiculous, why are some laws not worth enforcing, I don't think enforcing this law makes us less able to fight in Afghanistan. If there aren't enough people to enforce the current laws, then the fines for breaking the law and the huge liquor fees should more than cover the salaries of a few more.
Never said
It wasn't worth enforcing, or shouldn't be enforced, and am not getting into the war funding thing at all. But I'm sorry, there are more important DOMESTIC issues, in our city alone. I don't know if you've noticed, but we have some serious housing/development issues, our transit system is a joke, we have packs of kids riding around the city being assholes on bicycles, and the city has been pretty stabby as of late. Even as it relates to businesses being protected there are bigger issues: A lot of great places have closed due to astronomical rent increases, (pretty sure the old Bostone Pizza on Newbury is STILL empty 2 years later), or never open at all because of the ridiculous liquor license issue in the city.
Meanwhile, our city council allegedly works like 4 hours a day at most and can't even handle the aforementioned issues, and the police are too busy making sure hot dog carts in Mattapan close on time. Something like this would ultimately have to be taken up at the state level anyway, and our current AG is busy running for governor. Couple that with the campaign money that would be lost for her and many others if they went after this practice in every industry that it happens in, and there is 0 chance we ever see anything done about it.
Maybe send some of your thoughts up to Beacon Hill instead, and see where it gets you?
Ah so its Coakley's fault. So
Ah so its Coakley's fault. So the problem will be fixed when the new AG is elected!
Are you capable of a competent thought?
Or just trolling and trying to spin other comments out of context? Maybe you got lost on your way to the BDC comments section?
No, the entire thing is not her fault, and it would be ridiculous to think as much. However, it's a state law that is in play here, and again referring to the record industry example, the case was handled, and precedent was set, by the NY State Attorney General. Something like this would most likely have to take the same route-it's a similar scheme, just a different industry. And as I alluded to (but admittedly did not clearly state), you'd have to go after all industries, not just one.
So no, it is not the AG's fault, but may be the AG's responsibility to handle, depending on the specifics (that we obviously don't know at this point). But between the length of time an investigation into this would take and the fact that Coakley and the new AG candidates would undoubtedly take a hit in the campaign funding department by going after the "wrong" people, I don't expect to see anyone do anything about this soon. Those are just 2 of the many reasons why.
Also, we're pretty much on the same side of this in the thinking that it's a problem and needs to be fixed. I'm just saying we won't see anything done about it anytime soon, you're slinging comments that should be directed to Beacon Hill.
Admitting it?
He said he never asked for anything. What does that admit? That he accepted freebies when offered by other brands? Sorry, no smoking gun, you'll have to do better.
Awesome non-denial
"Though common practice of giving away kegs or other gifts to move product may be common with other companies, I am forced to question your own practices."
Now who was drunk when he wrote what again?
I see a maladroit sentence,
I see a maladroit sentence, not a question of guilt. You want to smack someone down, go for his 7th grade English teacher.
Guilty
Of calling the kettle black
And of running a crappy bar that just got crappier
Here is the response from the accused bars:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/pretty-things-goes-to-town...
I don't like Pretty Things.
And I suspect that others don't like it either.
Oh, okay
That explains the long lines at their festival booths, and their running out of beer.
I don't like all their offerings, but that doesn't mean that they aren't a popular option. They have had several tap take-overs in the area that have gone quite well.
Large grocery chains . . .
call this a "slotting fee"