After having followed the pay rate discussion I began to wonder how employees of similar industries where doing. I found that winemakers and assistant winemakers were making, on average twice as much as brewers and assistant brewers. Now I don't know if those positions are exactly equivalent, but from what I've seen of local breweries and vineyards, they seem to be pretty close. Not really having the other figures of the two industries to compare (at least not yet), I'm proposing that employee salaries represent a decent indicator of the health and success of an industry. So why the big difference between beer and wine? Why are winemakers living more comfortably and successfully (overall) than brewers?
Is it just an image thing? Has wine cornered and conquered the "sophisticated" market, where more potential income resides, with its claims to being the highest of palatable pleasures? Can it be toppled or can beer be raised to its level? Beer offers a range of flavor and character equal to, if not greater in depth than that of wine. Yet when you look at what's generally available in beer selection, it's usually unispired. Bud/Miller, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, Heiniken, Corona are what come to mind when I think of what I find at most restuarants. Winelists are generally a little longer and more varied in the depth. When I go to a "fancier" restuarant (where more money is involved) the depth and quality of wines offered goes up, but the beer stays about the same. The good stuff needs to get out there, people will be surprised, fall for it, drink it, and spend their money on it.
Is it a quality thing? One of the posters in pay roll mentioned that "brew-pub" quality is lacking due to lack of experience and low brewer retention which is caused by inability to make a "decent" wage. He wasn't the first person I've heard point out this lack of quality. I was talking to a restuarnt owner in Virginia about why he didn't carry any local brews and he told me that the quality of the brews offered to him by local breweries had generally been poor and therefore not worth the cost. I'm guessing the people brewing the beer just weren't good. So wouldn't the initially cost of investment into developing a solid brewmaster be more than offset by the income you'd make down the road selling a quality product to restuarants and consumers? Why arn't people doing this? Have they started and I just don't know about it?
I may be lossing my train here, so let me reitterate. There is a lot of good beer that America in general has not been exposed to. Americans have a lot of money to spend, even in a sluggish economy. They will more than happily spend that money on a high quality, well marketed product. Beer has the potential be this product, why hasn't it reached its potential? How do we get it there so we can do what we love(make beer) and make a decent salary (ie more than working behind the counter a McDonalds). Am I way off the mark here?
-Sam
Is it just an image thing? Has wine cornered and conquered the "sophisticated" market, where more potential income resides, with its claims to being the highest of palatable pleasures? Can it be toppled or can beer be raised to its level? Beer offers a range of flavor and character equal to, if not greater in depth than that of wine. Yet when you look at what's generally available in beer selection, it's usually unispired. Bud/Miller, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, Heiniken, Corona are what come to mind when I think of what I find at most restuarants. Winelists are generally a little longer and more varied in the depth. When I go to a "fancier" restuarant (where more money is involved) the depth and quality of wines offered goes up, but the beer stays about the same. The good stuff needs to get out there, people will be surprised, fall for it, drink it, and spend their money on it.
Is it a quality thing? One of the posters in pay roll mentioned that "brew-pub" quality is lacking due to lack of experience and low brewer retention which is caused by inability to make a "decent" wage. He wasn't the first person I've heard point out this lack of quality. I was talking to a restuarnt owner in Virginia about why he didn't carry any local brews and he told me that the quality of the brews offered to him by local breweries had generally been poor and therefore not worth the cost. I'm guessing the people brewing the beer just weren't good. So wouldn't the initially cost of investment into developing a solid brewmaster be more than offset by the income you'd make down the road selling a quality product to restuarants and consumers? Why arn't people doing this? Have they started and I just don't know about it?
I may be lossing my train here, so let me reitterate. There is a lot of good beer that America in general has not been exposed to. Americans have a lot of money to spend, even in a sluggish economy. They will more than happily spend that money on a high quality, well marketed product. Beer has the potential be this product, why hasn't it reached its potential? How do we get it there so we can do what we love(make beer) and make a decent salary (ie more than working behind the counter a McDonalds). Am I way off the mark here?
-Sam
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