Hello all!!! First time caller, long time listener. So much great information around here and I just want to say thanks in advance for any input I get on this subject and for the wealth of knowledge I have already soaked up.
Here is my tale. I am in the process of starting a Brewpub in Milwaukee. This will be a small-scale project which is more like a corner bar than a giant room with 20' fermenters on display. I intend on running a 2bbl Stout tanks Electric setup to supply what will initially be about 40-50 seats with room for future expansion in seasonal outdoor seating. My short term goal first and foremost is to be a successful tavern with a local following for my beer. I will be marketing my product as being fresh, unique and ever-changing, with a few consistant beers on tap at all times but primarily one-off brews. I think these are things that will separate me from other breweries and craft beer bars.
The WI laws for brewpubs are really great. I'm not sure how other states work, but in WI you can produce up to 10K barrels a year, you can self distribute, and you can form brewpub groups under the same licensing to coordinate the production, sales, or distribution of product produced at any location. This type of freedom will allow me to expand either at my single location, or through self distributing locally, by opening more locations, or by opening a central production facility to supply all my product needs. 5 year goal is to open another location in Madison and create a distribution network between Madison and Milwaukee working directly with bars looking for unique product.
So with all of this in mind, my plan is to first start the pub and gain local following for my products. I know quite a few bar owners in town and a couple that are big players that will certainly try my products, but before I get too hard into marketing, I would like to know what peoples thoughts are on naming of the brewpub to be the same or different than the marketing name for the Beer.
I have already chosen the name "District 14 Craft Brewing Company" and my logo is essentially D14 in a circle (here is the rough draft www.D14beer.com ). My question is if I use District 14 in/for the name of the pub, will other local restaurants and taverns see that as conflict and not buy my product because of feared competition? There are other breweries here who produce beers that are local staples in many bars (MKE, and Lakefront being the most common) and they have taprooms and compete on some level, but they are production craft brewers and their primary focus isn't the same as mine will be. MKE is actually an extension of a local large scale brewpub, but the MKE marketing came long after the brewpub.
I see my options as this:
1. Focus on my branding and keep the brewpub and the beer name the same despite some loss of local distribution sales. Truth of course, is that I will be hard pressed to service more than a couple of bars unless I'm not selling much from the brewpub. But most "beer bars" around here are going to 20+ tap handles and using 1/6 kegs which are pretty easy to self distribute. Bars in surrounding citys would likely not care about the competition, but self distributing to places across town is much more viable than an hour away. Driving an hour to place a $50 1/6 is not gong to get me rich.
2. Use a separate name for the pub. Doing this I don't get any pub advertising from my tap handles or my product names but likely it will be easier to set up local distribution clients. Those who come into my pub of course will be understand the connection. Also there are a lot of one word bar names around here and that is a popular way to market a bar or restaurant "Cuvee" is a champagne bar, "Stack'd" is a burger joint, "Tonic" is a cocktail bar and there are many more. I have a few of this sort of name in my mind but I won't put them out there yet.
3. Produce custom branded beers. I could rename any beer with the clients name. "Joes Restaurant Pale Ale" or whatever. This does nothing for my brand or my pub but may be attractive to some bar owners who like to keep things in house, or the appearance of such.
So I guess that is it! Any insight or experience in these things would be great.
Matt
Here is my tale. I am in the process of starting a Brewpub in Milwaukee. This will be a small-scale project which is more like a corner bar than a giant room with 20' fermenters on display. I intend on running a 2bbl Stout tanks Electric setup to supply what will initially be about 40-50 seats with room for future expansion in seasonal outdoor seating. My short term goal first and foremost is to be a successful tavern with a local following for my beer. I will be marketing my product as being fresh, unique and ever-changing, with a few consistant beers on tap at all times but primarily one-off brews. I think these are things that will separate me from other breweries and craft beer bars.
The WI laws for brewpubs are really great. I'm not sure how other states work, but in WI you can produce up to 10K barrels a year, you can self distribute, and you can form brewpub groups under the same licensing to coordinate the production, sales, or distribution of product produced at any location. This type of freedom will allow me to expand either at my single location, or through self distributing locally, by opening more locations, or by opening a central production facility to supply all my product needs. 5 year goal is to open another location in Madison and create a distribution network between Madison and Milwaukee working directly with bars looking for unique product.
So with all of this in mind, my plan is to first start the pub and gain local following for my products. I know quite a few bar owners in town and a couple that are big players that will certainly try my products, but before I get too hard into marketing, I would like to know what peoples thoughts are on naming of the brewpub to be the same or different than the marketing name for the Beer.
I have already chosen the name "District 14 Craft Brewing Company" and my logo is essentially D14 in a circle (here is the rough draft www.D14beer.com ). My question is if I use District 14 in/for the name of the pub, will other local restaurants and taverns see that as conflict and not buy my product because of feared competition? There are other breweries here who produce beers that are local staples in many bars (MKE, and Lakefront being the most common) and they have taprooms and compete on some level, but they are production craft brewers and their primary focus isn't the same as mine will be. MKE is actually an extension of a local large scale brewpub, but the MKE marketing came long after the brewpub.
I see my options as this:
1. Focus on my branding and keep the brewpub and the beer name the same despite some loss of local distribution sales. Truth of course, is that I will be hard pressed to service more than a couple of bars unless I'm not selling much from the brewpub. But most "beer bars" around here are going to 20+ tap handles and using 1/6 kegs which are pretty easy to self distribute. Bars in surrounding citys would likely not care about the competition, but self distributing to places across town is much more viable than an hour away. Driving an hour to place a $50 1/6 is not gong to get me rich.
2. Use a separate name for the pub. Doing this I don't get any pub advertising from my tap handles or my product names but likely it will be easier to set up local distribution clients. Those who come into my pub of course will be understand the connection. Also there are a lot of one word bar names around here and that is a popular way to market a bar or restaurant "Cuvee" is a champagne bar, "Stack'd" is a burger joint, "Tonic" is a cocktail bar and there are many more. I have a few of this sort of name in my mind but I won't put them out there yet.
3. Produce custom branded beers. I could rename any beer with the clients name. "Joes Restaurant Pale Ale" or whatever. This does nothing for my brand or my pub but may be attractive to some bar owners who like to keep things in house, or the appearance of such.
So I guess that is it! Any insight or experience in these things would be great.
Matt
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