I guess this makes it a Good Beer Year

Melbourne is about to celebrate Good Beer Week – a festival of beer-related events showcasing the output of Australia’s burgeoning microbrewing industry (plus some folks across the from NZ, the US, Japan etc).

Microbrewing startups are popping up across Australia in startling numbers, introducing a much welcomed diversity of flavours, styles and business models to our decidedly bland duopolistic beer market (I find myself uttering that duop_ word far too often around here).

One considerable barrier to even more entrants (and their subsequent growth) has been some nasty excise (i.e. taxation especially reserved for such vices as alcohol) imposts that impact most severely on small brewers. Here’s a pretty comprehensive explanation of the problems faced (courtesy of RMIT student TV – head to about the 3 min point for the specifics):

Put simply, small brewers pay a huge whack of tax (in the vicinity of 25% of value) at the point of production (indeed, within 7 days of brewing) rather than sale.  This is a huge cashflow constraint on these businesses. The very small brewers have had some minor relief whereby up to $10,000 per annum would be refunded (but only to a production threshold of 30,000 litres).

Last night’s Federal Budget finally saw a move in the right direction, with that refund increased to $30,000 per annum and the eligibility threshold removed. This will make some small difference in terms of the capacity of such craft breweries to expand and achieve something like minimum efficient scale.

You may have noted that the RMIT vid is from 2007.  The battle has been a long one for these guys, and the concessions relatively minor. Last November, a national industry association was finally formed, and perhaps this helped get some movement in Canberra (it’s worth noting this change costs a paltry $2.5m per annum in government revenue).

I’d love to see the Aussie Craft Beer Industry Association become as wide-reaching and influential as their US counterpart (especially because they gather some excellent data on sales growth and relative scale that is sadly missing in Australia). This small win speaks to the import role of lobbying (case in point: small wine-makers in Australia have had much more appealing rebates for years – perhaps it helps to be in rural seats and to have no shortage of owners from the legal community?).

Most importantly, I hope this excise shift fuels even more growth in the diversity (and success) of local brewers… so this Spectapular can be even larger next year.

The tyranny of distance (for Aussie beer drinkers)

One of the joys (and frustrations) of travelling is seeing new and/or different business ideas executed well.

Our apartment in Rome was just a couple of doors away from perhaps the best executed specialist beer bar I’ve seen outside of Belgium.  The hole in the wall, with the cool moniker of Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà (which translates roughly as “what the hell are you doing here?”), was a true revelation.

I’d never really picked up a beer culture in Italy beyond the pale, insipid Peroni etc one sees everywhere. This place turned that impression on its head.  Here were 14 taps of artisinal beers from nearby lands (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Britain) and the ‘hood (i.e. Italy), all fantastic quality, diverse in style, well-explained by the friendly barman, willing to give you a taste and enthuse about the offerings.  And, this was all delivered at competitive prices (nothing more than 6 Euro a pint).

The set up was decidely unpretentious, with most beers consumed standing out in the small, cobbled street or perched on the small number of stools.  There was no food on offer, but plenty within staggering distance.  No one was over-inebriated. All seemed most happy discussing the beer and the football on tv.

This is exactly what I’d love to see in Melbourne.  But the problem is one of distance and the associated costs.  No one could get such beers in kegs to Australia quick enough or cheap enough (especially once excise is hurled on top), so the variety and quality just wouldn’t be there.  What we do end up with is such European beers (in bottles) that are priced out of reach of all but the most eager/profligate, and/or the compulsion to pair such beers with overpriced food as some sort of destination venue.

The other option is cheerleading for the local microbrewers and trying to build a broad enough suite of offerings (which the Local Taphouse has made a good fist of in Melbourne).

Interestingly, that was the strategy of the bar across the road in Rome.  It only offered Italian microbrews (including some amazing stuff in 750ml bottles, such as collaboration between an Italian mob and US brewer Dogfish Head called My Antonia), but was smart enough to offer loads of tables, and excellent, cheap food (including the best pizza we’ve had in Italy this trip). This strategy worked extremely well due to the spillover from the destination bar.

I’d travel a long way for Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà. Many others would too – it has topped the global ranking tables at the Ratebeer website in the past. Unfortunately, no bar in Australia can make such a claim.

Give that they may brew

As many of you may be aware, my home state of Victoria has been ravaged by some brutal fires in the past week which have killed hundreds and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands more. It is a truly tragic and heartbreaking state of affairs. Australians are being very generous with donations and efforts to help rebuild people’s lives. I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight a particular instance of loss.

One young business devastated was a microbrewery dear to my heart at Hargreaves Hill just north of Melbourne. This business had recently expanded into a full-blown offsite brewing facility that has now been totally wiped out by the fire. Such growth was no doubt a very large financial risk and to see it destroyed must be heartbreaking.

The founder of the firm has been a leader of the microbrewing community in Victoria through his role as president of the Victorian Association of Microbrewers, and lobbied hard for more sensible taxation of these start-up businesses.

A Melbourne beer bar, The Local Taphouse, is running a fundraising effort to try and kickstart Hargreave’s recovery effort (as well contributing to the broader post-fire effort).

As any of my past students know, I am not a particularly generous fellow , but I have handed over some cash to help them out and hope other beer (and small business)-lovers amongst you will do similar. More information at this blog.

Other agencies helping out in these difficult times, and also well worth donating to include the Red Cross and the RSPCA.

Please do not see this post as belittling or trivialising the losses of any others in these fires.  Rather this is an effort to target some small percentage of the generosity towards a particular entrepreneurial effort.

The International BS Book Club IV – Brewing up a Business

You may have noted a more than passing interest in beer around here. I do tend to drink a bit of the stuff, but I am also intrigued by the emergence of smaller, craft brewers in recent years.

While in Copenhagen back in 2007, I stumbled across this book at an excellent microbrewery that I frequented on more than one chilly afternoon. I raced through the front half over a couple of visits, and subsequently ordered my own copy on my return to Oz. And finally I got back around to finishing last week.

The book is an autobiographical account from Sam Calagione, founder of one of the US’s most successful small-scale breweries, Dogfish Head. This brewery (motto: off-centered beer for off-centred people) was, at one point, the smallest commercial brewery in America. It has subsequently expanded considerably, with a strong focus on extreme beers (which can mean high alcohol, lots of hops, odd flavours or all of the above). Such a story is certainly worth hearing.

Calagione is a one-time college lit major, and clearly has an inquisitive mind, an ability to digest and apply ideas, and a strong capacity to weave a coherent tale. This book thus becomes much more insightful than the typical business bio one sees on airport bookstore shelves.

I’m not usually one for motivational stories of entrepreneurship, simply because I find such works tend to lean towards mis-attribution of cause and effect (especially through the lens of hindsight e.g. I did this and I think it worked, so you should do the same) and often showcase highly idiosyncratic experiences.

This book falls for few of those traps and instead offers strong analysis and a clear message for budding brewers and niche businesses more generally. Calagione integrates a lot of pretty mainstream strategic management concepts (environmental analysis, the importance of unique resources, value chain decisions, specialisation, diversification) and explains them in a non-academic, non-technical fashion, fleshed out with fascinating (and often outlandish) tales from the brewing coalface.

Calagione has a pretty neat take on his experience, and the lessons for entrepreneurs. He considers what he does alt.commerce (as in alternative, like alt.country music). His business is all about expanding a niche. The firm succeeds by delivering a truthful and resonant product and experience (i.e. customers become fans and advocates). By the end of the book, Dogfish Head is still fielding more orders than they can supply (despite considerable expansion), and has certainly become a cult producer of beer, rum and soap(!), as well as running three restaurant/brewpubs. Offering $20 beers becomes viable!!

I can highly recommend this book to budding entrepreneurs, strategic management professors and beer-nuts (the aficionados, not the snacks). For more on Dogfish Head’s extreme brewing see this excellent article from the New Yorker magazine, and this video interview:

Little white rabbits – the logic of multiple brands

Western Australian craft/micro brewer Little World Beverages (LWB) has announced that its adding another line of beers to its stable. The listed firm, which currently brews several beers under the Little Creatures label, is opening a new brewery just outside Melbourne, and the beers out of this new location will be called White Rabbit. This raises a few strategic management questions:

Scale: Is there a maximum efficient scale for microbrew brands? To clarify, Little Creatures is a very successful boutique beer, priced above the mainstream Aussie faves and around the same as imports. It gets reasonable shelf (or tap) space in most decent pubs and bottle shops. There are currently a few different variations in the Little Creatures range (Pale Ale, Pilsner, Bright Ale and lower alcohol Rogers), all of which maintain consistent branding, with the usual shifts in label colours.

It appears White Rabbit will be run as a distinct brand (hopefully looking much niftier than my effort to the left). Presumably this an attempt by LWB to achieve more shelf (or tap) space, i.e. they can have two pale ales on the shelf (for example), thus doubling their chance of grabbing consumer attention. Had the firm hit diminishing returns from the Little Creatures marque?

Segments: Traditionally craft or micro-brewing has been seen as a bit of an “us against them” situation. The bad guys were the big brewers (i.e. Fosters and Lion Nathan), and beer aficionados have often bemoaned the instrusions into the craft segment by pseudo-brands such as James Squire (a Lion Nathan effort), Matilda Bay and Redback (both from Fosters’).

The legitimacy of such brands is questioned, in particular if they are seen as simply copy-cat or as shutting out more honourable or real microbrewers. The strategic question is has this segment matured (or segmented further) such that this effort by Little Creatures is not seen as selling out? Or alternatively, is the choice to run multiple brands a deliberate attempt to dodge such a bullet (i.e. stay legitimate in this fussy segment)?

Photo by: avlxyz

The Value Chain: This aspect is a bit more complex. LWB has traditionally shipped beer in bottles and kegs over 3000 kilometres from Perth to Melbourne (and beyond). It appears they are going to continue to do so, while scaling up the White Rabbit operations over time.

It is unclear how any economies of scope advantage can be developed here, as the firm presumably will need to bottle, label, package etc on site in Victoria (i.e. away from the Perth operations). Any gains in terms of delivery costs would seem pretty marginal as it may necessitate more movement to end up with centralised warehousing… but then the current delivery truck (see photo above) doesn’t seem overly cutting edge either

All in all, it is a very interesting move. Taking my strategic management hat off, I am, of course, excited by some more beer choices and wish White Rabbit many happy years to come…