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Tailgating with Total Wine… Game plan for the Total Tailgate!

12 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by catieespinoza10 in Beer, Cocktails, Food, Tailgating, Uncategorized

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Beer, bloody maria recipe, Cocktail, Food, football, hard seltzer, Recipe, Tailgating, white claw

Football season is finally HERE! We have all the spirits to boost your team spirit. Game plan: draft us in your tailgate supply starting lineup, and read on for the ultimate side dish recipe

MVPs – Most Valuable Products

There’s no better pairing than that of football and beer. Make sure you pack your coolers and fill them with your favorite classic drafts to get you through game day.

Whether you’re tailgating with friends at the stadium, or from the comfort of your own home, if your crowd is large enough – you might want to grab a keg! Take a look at our Guide to Kegs to learn everything you’ll need to grab the right keg of beer for football season.

Meet the New Tailgating Choice in 2019: Hard Seltzers

Hard seltzers weren’t just all the rage for summer. We’re predicting they’re going to be popular all year long – and that includes tailgating season! But many people are still asking “Why are they becoming so popular?”

Well, most hard seltzer options are actually a healthy alternative to other beverages! Many products in this category actually have lower calories and carbs than other drink options. And have you been scared by the news saying there were shortages on your favorite hard seltzer brand? Don’t worry! Our teams are constantly restocking your favorite flavors of White Claws at Total Wine & More!

A New Spin on the Classic Football Recipe: The Bloody Maria

Get up: It’s Game day! Most people would say a Bloody Mary is the perfect tailgating choice. Well, we have a second option to consider. A tangy and refreshing Bloody Maria is sure to awaken your senses. Watch this quick clip and learn how to mix it!

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. Bloody Mary mix
  • 1 oz. Blanco tequila
  • 3 oz. Mexican beer
  • 1⁄2 oz. lime juice
  • Bloody Mary Rimmer
  • Your favorite Bloody Mary garnishes
  • e.g., olives, pickled vegetables, jalapeños, etc
  • Hot sauce (optional) .

Instructions

  1. Spread Bloody Mary Rimmer on a small plate.
  2. Wet rim of glass with a lime wedge or water, then dip rim of mug into rimmer.
  3. Fill glass with ice and pour in Bloody Mary mix and lime juice.
  4. Add tequila and Mexican beer.
  5. Add hot sauce to taste, if desired.
  6. Stir well, then garnish with your favorite Bloody Mary toppings.

Easy and Tasty Tailgating Foods

I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t go crazy over this beer dip but don’t worry we’ve left you the delicious recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup beer or nonalcoholic beer
  • 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • Pretzels

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, beer and dressing mix until smooth. Stir in cheddar cheese. Serve with pretzels and enjoy!

Prefer Salsa over cheese dip? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered with this amazing Spicy Tequila Spiked Salsa.

Ingredients

  • 4 serrano chilies (chopped with stems and seeds removed)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 large tomatoes (chopped)
  • 1 large onion (chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 tbsp.  cilantro (fresh, chopped)
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup tequila herradura

Directions

  1. Gather the ingredients.
  2. Mix tomatoes, onions, chilies, garlic, cilantro, and oil until all items are coated in the oil.
  3. Mix in lime, water, and tequila.
  4. Leave as is for a chunky style of salsa or puree in a blender or food processor for a smooth, paste style.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Looking for even MORE inspiration for tailgating this season? Head to our Tailgating HQ page on our website to find even more ideas, and to get stocked up and ready for game day!

Gear up for game day

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by totalwineandmore in Beer, Food

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

ballast point sculpin IPA, Beer, Craft Beer, firestone walker easy jack, Food, football, full sail amber, game day, pairings, Paulaner Oktoberfest

a variety of beers with dark beer, light beer, la

With football season in full swing, Sundays become much more than yards rushed and touchdowns made. Victory stands on the back of coolers and snack tables across the country, and Total Wine & More can help you make the perfect play when it comes to pairing brews and food.

Chips, Salsa, and Dip

In the realm of party snacks, there are few things more sacred than chips and salsa. Malt- forward and boasting a touch of sweetness, Amber and Red Ales complement this dynamic culinary duo, countering the heat of the salsa and the saltiness of the chips. We carry a wide assortment of highly rated Amber and Red Ales to satisfy any fans, no matter what jerseys they wear. Given a score of 92 from Draft magazine and awarded a World’s Best medal at the 2013 World Beer Awards, Oregon’s Full Sail Amber is a sweet, malty and medium-bodied Ale with a spicy, floral hop finish that represents everything we love about this beer style.

full-sail-amber-wide

Wings

If, like many of us, you can’t help but gravitate to the platter of wings, we have just the beer for you. The bold flavors of Buffalo wings meet their match in the form of India Pale Ales (IPAs). Thanks to their bitterness and citrusy hop flavors, IPAs enhance the taste of Buffalo wings, while easing the heat of the wings’ sauce for more enjoyable snacking. In addition to giants like Sierra Nevada, Total Wine & More sells a remarkable collection of IPAs, from World Beer Cup Gold medalist Ballast Point Sculpin IPA to 97-point Firestone Walker Easy Jack.

sculpin-ipa-wide

Grilled Meats

No game-day party or tailgate is complete without some type of deliciously chargrilled meat. It’s happy coincidence that much of the NFL season takes place in the fall, a time of year when our shelves are stocked with limited-release Oktoberfest beers. These seasonal beers were born to pair well with German-style foods, which mean they’re perfect for brats, burgers and hot dogs off the grill. Paulaner Oktoberfest, a perennial favorite, offers up the light hoppy flavors and notes of sweet malt that have become synonymous with the style.

paulaner-ocktoberfest-wide

You can find Paulaner and countless other fantastic game-day beers at your local Total Wine & More.

Let us help you find a beer – we’re Certified Beer Servers in the Cicerone Program

21 Saturday May 2016

Posted by totalwineandmore in American Craft Beer Week, Beer

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#ACBW, Beer, Cicerone, Craft Beer, growlers

Discover Beer_Facebook5

You may not know this, but many of the team members you see in Total Wine & More are Certified Beer Servers in the Cicerone Program, ready  to help you find the right brew to take home with you.

Okay, we know many of you are scratching your heads wondering, “What the heck is a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Program?”

We’re glad you asked! Think of the Cicerone Certification Program as the beer counterpart to the sommelier certification for wine. Since its founding, the program’s mission has been to provide better knowledge and training about beer and beer styles to professionals in the beer industry. The people this program helps inform range from brewers and brewery employees, to beer servers in restaurants and retail store employees where beer is sold. The program began in 2008, and today helps bring beer knowledge and professionalism to beer sales all around the United States.

Now you might be thinking, this is all good and well, but how does that help me when I visit Total Wine & More? The answer is that it helps our team members assist you in selecting the right beer for any occasion. With 135 stores across 18 states, we now have hundreds of team members who are Certified Beer Servers in the Cicerone Program, and even a few Certified Cicerones. That’s more than a couple of team members per store who can help you with any beer question you may have.

Looking for the perfect brew for a backyard BBQ that will please everyone? We can help. Maybe you love a specific beer style, such as IPA, and want to broaden your tastes with some new beers to try. Our team can help you find the perfect new brews to take home.

growler-8

In some states, our Cicerone Certified Beer Servers take their love of beer to a whole new level. They not only help with the recommendation of the right brew, but they’ll perfectly pour fresh draft beer to fill a growler you can take home. Visit our Brewery District at select stores in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington to grab a 32- or 64-oz. growler of craft beer to go. You can even see our growler menu online at www.totalwine.com/whatsontap.

So stop in and take advantage of our knowledge the next time you need to stock up the fridge or cooler. With American Craft Beer Week happening right now, it’s the perfect time to stop by and see your local beer team during the last weekend of our Total Beer Experience. See you soon!

Discover Beer_Facebook-event

St. Patrick’s Day beers that will make Ireland green with envy

17 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by totalwineandmore in Beer, St. Patrick's Day

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Beer, Stout

guinness_shamrock

We have Irish beers on the mind today, but at Total Wine & More we know that great beers don’t have to hail from the Emerald Isle to be worthy of a St. Patrick’s Day toast. American craft brewers, inspired by the classic brews of Ireland, are making excellent Irish-style beer right here at home.

irish-boulevard

4,000 miles from Dublin, Boulevard Brewing Co. of Kansas City pays tribute to the Red Ales of old Ireland with Boulevard Irish Ale. Offering a sweet aroma of roasted caramel malts with hints of earthy, floral and citrus hops, it tastes of caramel, toasted malts and a touch of hop-driven bitterness.

irish-deschutes

While Ireland’s Guinness is the standard-bearer in the Stout category, American brewers also offer worthy examples of the style. Obsidian Stout from Oregon’s famed Deschutes Brewery is one of our best examples. Deep and robust, it has distinct notes of espresso, chocolate, roasted malt and black barley. It’s a beer that certainly lives up to its 93-point score from Wine Enthusiast.

irish-left-hand

The nitro trend has produced a fantastic array of beers. The addition of nitrogen to beer results in smaller bubbles that give the beer a creamier, smoother profile. The Milk Stout Nitro from Left Hand Brewing Co. of Longmont, Colo. greets you with aromas of brown sugar, vanilla cream and hints of roasted coffee. Initially roasty, mocha flavors rise up with slight hops and roasted bitter notes. It is truly a dark and delicious beer.

While we’ve covered just a few great Irish-style beers for St. Patrick’s Day, we have more than 2,500 beers of all types waiting for you. Stop by Total Wine & More today and make your own St. Patrick’s Day beer menu.

We’re Opening in Elk Grove, California!

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by totalwineandmore in Grand Opening, Grand Openings, Tastings and events

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beer, California, Elk Grove, Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation, new, spirits, Wine

We’re excited to open our very first store in Elk Grove, California October 8!

The new store is in the Laguna Crossroads at 7707 Laguna Blvd., Suite 140. Head to our website to learn more about the Total Wine & More Elk Grove store and team.

At Total Wine & More, we are committed to supporting the communities in which we work and live. That’s why we’re proud to announce that throughout our Grand Opening weekend, you can help us further our commitment and support the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation! From October 8 through 11 we’ll donate a portion of our weekend sales to support this wonderful non-profit.

If you’ve never heard of Total Wine & More before, we have the best selection and prices on wine, beer and spirits around.  We also have a great lineup of events and tastings to help us celebrate our Grand Opening this week.

Join us October 8 starting at 4 p.m. for wine and beer tastings. You can learn all about which brands will be in store for our upcoming tastings and other events by checking out our events page. Stop by Thursday, but don’t forget to check back in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Grand Opening celebration will be going all weekend long, don’t miss out!

shopping-happiness

Connect with us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on all the upcoming events and product arrivals at our latest Sacramento-area store.

Already planning on joining us for our Grand Opening events? Remember to share your experience on social media with the hashtag #totalwineGO.

Wine and Beer Classes for July: Take Your Knowledge to the Next Level!

30 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by totalwineandmore in Beer, Class, Educational Class, Tastings and events, Wine

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Beer, blind tasting, Craft Beer, samuel adams, Wine

The kids may not be in school in July, but that doesn’t mean the adults can’t head to class and brush up on their knowledge. Wine and beer knowledge, that is!

Join us this month for the following beer and wine classes! Also, don’t forget about the Caymus livestream wine tasting featuring Owner Chuck Wagner and Family on July 11th either. Click here for more details on that event.

Brewery-Spotlight-Samuel-Adams-July-2015

July Beer Class: Brewery Spotlight Featuring Samuel Adams

July 16 or 17 (depending on class location). Seats are $15 per person.

Register online for your local class by clicking here.

Join us for a brewery spotlight event featuring Samuel Adams. Attendees will enjoy a step-by-step appraisal of a wide variety of beer styles as well as cheese pairings. Reserve a seat now and get ready to learn about beer from one of America’s favorite breweries.

* Food will not be served in CT or MN classes due to state restrictions

Brown Bagging it - Wine Class

July Wine Class: A Blind Wine Tasting – Undercover Vines

July 23, 24 or 25 (depending on class location). Seats are $20 per person.

Register online for this class by clicking here.

Back by popular demand, this fun and thought-provoking class will offer attendees the opportunity to blind-taste eight delicious wines. Learn how to develop tasting skills as you identify unlabeled wines by qualities such as color, acidity and aromas. Wines will be paired off and tasted blind for all to compare. Each pair will be crafted from identical grape varieties grown in different parts of the world. Which wine will be declared the winner? Only you can decide!

Canned Beer Controversy: Solved!

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Beer

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Beer, canned beers, Craft Beer

Perhaps your first memory of drinking beer involved a can of Golden Anniversary or Piels.ten_fidy_can Until fairly recently — without picking on those brands — all canned beers were mass-produced macros with little flavor. So as numerous craft breweries have started to can their beers (Oskar Blues was the first in 2002), the overall reaction has been mixed. Beer lovers are skeptical about the quality of the product inside cans. People were just starting to fall in love with craft beers in bottles, after all. And now there are cans to consider, too?

There is a case for canning beers instead of bottling them, as history shows. New Jersey’s Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co. put out the world’s first beer can in 1935, stocking select shelves in Richmond, Va., as a market test. The experiment took off, of course. Today beer drinkers choose cans over bottles for most of the 22 gallons of beer they each drink per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But considering cans may be painful for traditionalists who love their bottles – and there are still some skeptical brewers. It may also be tough for the average Jane who just switched from her grandpa’s canned brand and found some craft bottles she adores.  So let’s talk about how beers benefit from canning over bottling.

First, it’s a myth that cans impart some kind of metallic flavor to the beer. Beer cans have a special interior coating, so the beer never touches metal. (The dare is set for you to do a blind taste test and point out which beer is canned.) You are pouring your beer into a glass, right? You know, if you put the can to your mouth then you just may taste some metal! Beyond that, cans block 100 percent of light and are air-tight, two things no capped bottle can claim. Light and oxygen are the arch-enemies of beer!

BottlingLine_NewBelgium_1

Still not convinced? Cans get colder faster and cans don’t break, making them much more accepted at beaches, pools and parks. Cans are “greener” than bottles in many ways. They stack more compactly and weigh less, which reduces transportation costs and fuel use. They’re more easily carried while camping or on picnics or hikes, and consumers are much more likely to crush their cans and carry them out for recycling. Cans are more easily recycled, and new cans are made from a high percentage of recycled materials.

Naturally, all these advantages apply to mass-produced beer in cans as well as to craft beer. But craft beer is where the unstoppable canning trend lives.

Are there negatives to cans? We can name a few. When canning, breweries need to order a certain number of cans with their “labels” already printed on them. Those need storage space, and if enough beer isn’t sold, the brewers are stuck with cans that can’t be used for other beers. Bottles don’t typically create that issue (unless they’re silk-screen) but this doesn’t sound like your problem anyway, does it?

You might be more concerned that not all canned beer comes in the new, fancy six-pack holders that cover the tops of the cans. When uncovered cans sit on shelves, their tops get dirtier than bottle caps. Also, a few retailers will break open six-packs and sell singles, making any holder moot. Yeah, you can clean the cans before opening, but that’s a hassle and sometimes not practical or possible (although not really a deal-breaker).

Canned craft beer is here to stay, and you will see more and more choices of canned beer over time. The next time you see craft beer in a can, don’t think, “Oh, no”!, think, “Oh, Yeah”!

California Wine Experience 2013: Day One

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by totalwineandmore in Beer, California Wine Experience 2013, Wine

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Anchor Steam, Beer, Dono dal Cielo, Ideology Cellars, San Francisco, Testarossa Winery, Wine

Each year, we send over 50 team members to California for seven days to enjoy an intensive and immersive experience in California visiting the premier wineries in the industry.

My name is Cyrus Hazzard. I’ll be your guide over the next few days as we visit over 25 wineries and taste more than 400 wines (and a few beers too!).

Bob Williamson, owner of Ideology with our team

Bob Williamson, owner of Ideology (center)

Our first day in California introduced a new experience for us; on previous trips we had never taken a day in San Francisco, plus we included a brewery tour — an exciting addition!  Everyone landed around noon and headed to the hotel to get settled in. First up on our agenda, a few producers we couldn’t get to visit in-person were gracious enough to come to us for a tasting in our hotel. Testarossa, Dono dal Cielo and Ideology Cellars were on hand to share their wines and knowledge with the team. The wines didn’t disappoint, and neither did the owners, all of whom were on hand to personally share their stories and knowledge.

Testarossa Winery was pouring two of their chardonnays and two pinot noirs, one of each are exclusives at Total Wine & More. The Cuvée 107 chardonnay is an excellent value along with the Cuvée 107 pinot noir. The wine for me that stole the show was their chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands, it displayed the perfect balance of fruit flavor and oak, this is one to definitely check out.

Ideology Cellars was pouring their two chardonnays and several big reds, all of which never disappoint. Owner Bob Williamson has done an excellent job with this year’s lineup across the board. I’d be remiss in not mentioning Dono dal Cielo’s rich and delicious zinfandel. It’s amazing!

Anchor Steam beerAfter enjoying this first tasting, we embarked on a tour of San Francisco by bus and then to the big event of the day, a tour and tasting at Anchor Brewing and Distillery!  We were allowed to start our tasting with any beer in the lineup we wanted, paired with sausage fresh off the barbeque. We then split up into two groups, one starting with the brewery and the other at the distillery.

Our team, having a blast in the Anchor spirits aging room

Having a blast in the Anchor spirits aging room!

Something I didn’t know about Anchor was that they make some amazing spirits. They will be releasing Hophead vodka soon, it’s super smooth – and if you love IPA’s, this spirit is for you! Anchor’s staff is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the products they make. A little known fact about Anchor Distilling is that they have partnered with the venerable Berry Bros. & Rudd in the UK (they bottle some of my favorite spirits) to bring their incredible rums, Cognacs and whiskies to the U.S. market. For an amazing sipping rum, you should check out the Berry Bros. & Rudd Guadalupe 12 year.

Anchor Steam and teamThe historic Anchor Steam brewery is amazing. They created one of the original steam beers and they were the only remaining steam brewery after Prohibition. Our team got to observe the whole brewing process from start to finish with the experts that do it every day.  One of the day’s highlights was learning about hops, the brewers at Anchor Steam use only whole-dried – which is unusual these days.

To learn more about our friends at Anchor Steam Brewery, check out some of the videos we have on YouTube, they tell a bit of their story. A huge thank you to the team at Anchor!

Off to bed, gotta get on west coast time …
Until tomorrow,
Cyrus

Interview With Craft Beer Expert “Dr.” Bill Sysak: Part 2

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in American Craft Beer Week

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

American Craft Beer Week, Beer, Bill Sysak, Craft Beer, Stone Brewing

Dr. Bill Sysak's CellarIf you missed Part 1 of our interview with Dr. Bill, you missed half of an awesome conversation. Start there and we’ll see you back in a few minutes!

Total Wine: What is your personal favorite food and beer pairing? Everyone really does want to know.

Dr. Bill: One pairing that I think is absolutely amazing is also at the top of Garrett Oliver’s list. Although I often stray from Garrett’s pairing guidelines as I like to take pairings to the next level, there is no improving on a well-aged Colston-Bassett Stilton with an aged barley wine. The earthiness of the cheese with the caramel/toffee/winter fruit notes from the beer is seductively sublime!

Total Wine: Last night we dreamed of a beer pairing dinner battle so awesome, only the top beer pairing experts could compete. The final of the competition was an epic battle between Dr. Bill Sysak and Garrett Oliver in an “Iron Chef” meets “Bobby Flay Throw down” meets “WWE Caged Match” type format. What meal would be your ideal theme and how would you defeat the great Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster at this game?

Dr. Bill: Ha-ha, I could say a 12 course fast food dinner because knowing Garrett I’m pretty sure he hasn’t had any recently. Seriously though the food doesn’t matter, as I feel I can pair any food in the world and I’m sure he feels the same.

I recently did one of these with famous Canadian beer writer Stephen Beaumont where I beat him in a close competition. I will say it was also on my home turf though. All I would ask is to have the chef plan the menu and not delineate from it. Then give us both the option to taste and pair it prior to the event with a full quiver of 100 beers to choose from. I pair food and beer events without ever pre-tasting the food dozens of times a week for Stone accounts, acquaintances and fans. I know they are really good pairings but tasting the menu first allows you to go outside the box.

A chef is an artist. If I selected 12 chefs and asked them all to cook a Wagyu sirloin medium rare over a parsnip puree with a red wine demi glaze and sautéed greens. We would have 12 different dishes, from the spice rub or lack thereof on the meat, to the amount of reduction, to the greens selected. Not to mention one of them may decide the dish would be better with a truffle butter on the steak. I like to take a completed dish and see where it leads me. I will always have a classic pairing in mind when I see the menu, but then I like to go all the way to the left and all the way to the right and find that unique pairing that sings to my palate. The bottom line is we would all be guaranteed a night of amazing food with exceptional pairings.

Dr. Bill CellarTotal Wine: We noticed that you also have an expertise pairing beer with cigars. Could you give some guidance, perhaps offering a suggestion or two of what cigars to pair with some classic beer styles?

Dr. Bill: Yes although I’m known primarily for beer and food pairings I also excel at pairing wine, spirits, and cigars. I’m currently doing a Beer and Cigar Master Pairing Dinner here at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens with our president and brew master Steve Wagner. I take two world class cigars, six courses and six beers and do this triangular pairing where the first cigar goes with the first three courses and first three beers and everything works with each other then it segues into the second half of the dinner.

Here is an example of an upcoming menu: http://www.stonebrewing.com/calendar/bistro/pairings/cigar/130521/menu.jpg

When selecting a beer to enjoy with your cigar, here are a few guidelines to enhance your pairing. Finding a beer that complements without overwhelming the cigar is the key to a perfect combination. The most popular kinds of beer to pair with cigars are Stouts and Porters. Strong, dark, malty or slightly chocolaty, stouts and porters pair well with many cigars. Other beers that work well with a number of different cigars are; Barley Wines, Old Ales, Belgian Quads & Strong Ales. If you can find them barrel aged, all the better.

You don’t have to stop there though!

If you have a medium strength cigar with spice characteristics, another option is to find an India Pale Ale, Saison, or Bière de Garde. These beers can hold up to many cigars. Note that double IPA’s with their higher IBU count (bitterness level) have a tendency to overpower some cigars.

Lighter cigars with Claro or Candela wrappers pair well with beers as light as Belgian Wits or German Hefeweizens. The subtle springtime floral aromas of a candela when lit and the sweet grassy flavor work wonderfully with these lighter beer styles.

Total Wine: Finally, are there any special projects you are working on right now? Can you leak some secrets to the Total Wine readers?

Dr. Bill: As you know I always have a number of events coming up here at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens-Escondido, but with our new Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens-Liberty Station facility coming on line this week expect some cool new events there especially for San Diego Beer Week and the addition of a couple of new festivals there in 2014.

I’m also excited about the Gray Cloud Festivals being put on by the producers of the OC Brew HaHa. Why? Well because they are unique as the first Craft Beer, Artisanal Food, and boutique cigar pairing festivals where hundreds of fans can get together and enjoy themselves. They have a great charity named Yellow Ribbon America and guess who is doing all the pairings.

Finally look for me to revive my audio podcast Expert Drinking. I’ll be adding a third person to the podcast that I am very excited about.

Total Wine: Thanks again for all of your time, Dr. Bill. This was a very informative and entertaining conversation.

A Holistic View of Craft Beer Retailing: Final of a Three Part Series

21 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by totalwineandmore in Beer

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beer, Craft Beer, Retail

Check out Part 1 and Part 2, of this 3-part series, which discuss:
Part 1: Beer Singles-By-Style, Consumers Pilot Test, Beer Singles = Experimentation, and Fizzy Yellow Beer
Part 2
: Too Many Choices, Women Beer Shoppers, “Wine-ifying” Beer, the Restaurant/Bar and Retail Store Experience, and Beer Education.

GETTING BEER STYLES RIGHT

Brewers Assoc & BeerAdvocate Beer Style GuidesWhile not an exact science, and with room for variances based on brewer interpretation, defined beer styles do provide general color, aroma, flavor, and strength parameters within which beers may be purposefully brewed or in which they may fall, even without specific brewer intent, as a basis for characterizing the beer. Total Wine & More follows the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines as our standard regarding style definitions and vernacular, and we reference the beer style list on the popular BeerAdvocate.com consumer website, in an effort to ensure that our beer style nomenclature is not only accurate in accordance with a respected industry source (BA), but also in accordance with this popular consumer website which many beer enthusiasts reference in their early and ongoing learning process.

Some styles may seem a bit confusing based on the name on the bottle label, such as “Black IPA”, “Cascadian Dark Ale”, “American Black Ale”. Which is it, or are these three different styles? We know from the Brewers Association Style Guidelines that neither “Black IPA” nor “Cascadian Dark Ale”, by virtue of their omission, is a recognized style name or an IPA at all. These beers arguably do not belong in the IPA style category.

Beer Geek KnowledgeIn our classes and in Total Guide to Beer we teach customers the origin of this style and these various names, and we teach the Brewers Association official style name; American-style Black Ale. Where, then, should it be categorized within a style arrangement? Since the beer is not an IPA and is not part of any other larger style grouping, yet it is usually always strong in ABV (6% +), we have it in the Strong Ale & Barley Wine category.

It is true that if a person were to select a beer of this style from within the IPA grouping, she or he could get the wrong impression as to what IPAs are all about. We believe the same holds true for “Belgian IPA” with its unique aroma and flavor character from the Belgian yeast strain used, making it more suitable in our view to be in our American Belgian-Styles grouping.

There is obviously more than one “right way” to categorize some beers, and we’ve certainly heard from beer geeks looking for “Black IPA” in the IPA section, for example. While by no means perfect, we believe that our beer singles-by-style set is both meaningful and educational for the majority of consumers. As brewers continue to innovate, our beer set will continue to evolve.

THE NOVICES and THE SAVVY (GEEKS)

Questions signpost in the skyWhen launching our beer style arrangement pilot test in 2008 we suspected that some beer geeks may not like it. We “moved their cheese”. It’s new. It won’t initially make sense from “the way it has always been.”

But we also knew a few other important things:

– Make no mistake; we LOVE our beer savvy/geek customers. And we know the geeks are knowledgeable enough about beer to find their way around any beer set for the beers they seek. Novices don’t have that ready-knowledge.
– The reality is the geeks are far outnumbered by the non-geeks, and non-geeks buy a lot of beer, and will buy more if we can help them to navigate the wall of beer and discover flavors (styles) they like.
– In time, many of the geeks will come to actually like the set, perhaps even prefer it, or at least get to know it enough to know how to navigate to their list of beers. Yet, some will eternally dislike it. Regrettably, this will be part of the percentage of customers we won’t please with the way our store is set.
– 80/20 Rule: Where the prior alpha-by-brand set was great for the geeks (let’s say that is 20% of our customers, but the number is really lower than that), and this set was bad or unhelpful or indifferent to everyone else (the novices; the other 80% of our customers), and the style arrangement is more helpful to 80% of our customers, then the style arrangement is the right thing to do.

The pilot findings seemed to bear this out.

WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN

winwin2To be sure, consumers aren’t the only winners from this merchandising formula. All four tiers of the value chain, from brewers to distributors through to customers, are winning with this approach.

Brewers get maximum brand exposure through our buying program; we essentially carry EVERY BREWERY BRAND we can get a hold of in the markets we serve and EVERY year-round, seasonal and special-release beer item carried in distribution of those brands in the market.  Our 6-packs, case stacks, end caps, cold box doors, and other merchandising displays are driven by brand-adjacent displays, while the singles style arrangement helps consumers discover or rediscover American craft brands.

Distributors enjoy large buys and fast product sales from our stores. We work with both breweries and distributors to ensure ongoing brand displays and promotions.

In doing the above everyone wins and then Total Wine & More wins, and then this winning cycle repeats.

FINALLY

Brewery District imageWhen customers step into a specialty store such as Total Wine & More we hope that they are seeking a different beer/wine/spirits experience from that of a grocery store or warehouse club or convenience store. Customers should expect to not only be able to find packs and cases of their known favorites, but also a huge selection of additional choices that often cannot be found elsewhere, all at great low prices.

Customers should expect that, as purveyors of these fine products, Total Wine & More has knowledge and expertise about them and about the many different genres they come in. The ability to categorize accurately by style the many thousands of beers in our portfolio across markets across the chain, and write for each one an informative description that is visible on a shelf talker and via our website, is certainly more than any grocery or warehouse or convenience store is able to do or takes the time to do. Indeed, we would hope this communicates our expertise in craft beer to savvier consumers and beginner consumers alike.

Cheers to beer!

rob_hill_photoRob Hill, Certified Cicerone®
Author of Total Guide to Beer
New Programs Manager, Customer Experience
Total Wine & More
Twitter: @TWMBeer

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