What would be ideal features in a nearby NY beer shop?

[Al of Kingston]

I have been asked - not as a paid gig or anything - to help a New York State grocery store I recently visited about 30 miles from the Prescott-Ogdensburg bridge get into selling craft beer and one thing I mentioned was the possibility of sales to eastern Ontario beer fans.

They are wiling to take orders by the case, figure out discounts and already are stocking over 100 brands of good beer. My experience with them was good and they want to serve the market. They are actually interested in maybe creating a "case club" or some other way to actively speak to the border market.

Any ideas? Setting up a web presence? Pre-ordering from their available wholesale inventory? An email newsletter?

[iguenard]

How bout the ability to have stuff shipped there under the name of the beer club and pick it up regularly. That way it would allow us to order from the west Coast online stores on top of having access to good local items.

I would also like access to beer related groceries (mustards, BBQ sauces) if it's going to be a grocery store.

Other than that it would just be a question of selection as always

[jayB]

I've gone down to NY state twice now for beer, and bought most of my haul at Beers of the World in Rochester, Finger Lakes Beverage in Ithaca, and various Wegman's stores (I almost cry every time I'm in there and start comparing them with Loblaw's). Both trips have been weekend-long trips that incorporated shopping, so we had more time to go farther, bypassing completely the smaller stores like the ones you mention.

That being said, I can see myself making an occasional "over-and-out" trip to a good beer store on the other side. (Mine would likely be infrequent, and likely not to start until at least Spring; I tend to over-stock on the Fall and Winter LCBO releases, and the size of the stash makes it hard to justify buying more until Spring)

For me the biggest thing would be a good line of communication with the store. An email newsletter is a must I think, especially since the deliveries from the distributer are infrequent like you say. Once or twice a month would be enough to keep people apprised on inventory, and announcements of any special beers coming in. Gilles at Broue-Ha-Ha in Gatineau does this, and I shop there more frequently because of it.

Ordering by the case is a great idea too, and one I hadn't really considered. (Likely because I'm one of those beer geeks who is always looking for something new. I do tend to stock up on what I really like though. The LCBO's handling of beer releases tends to make hoarders of us all.) It wouldn't need to be anything fancy either; a list of inventory and an email address to place an order would suffice. Though obviously a more user friendly system would be welcome as well.

A good supply of singles in store certainly helps with impulse buying once you're in the door, too.

I'm not sure what you mean by case club, but if it's anything like Sherbrooke's beer club in Edmonton, I would certainly be interested in hearing more.

Anyway, this is quickly approaching "tl;dr" status, so I should probably leave it there. Hopefully that's somewhat useful.

[Al of Kingston]

Very useful, Jay. Thanks very much. And Gilles at Broue Ha Ha is a great example of this sort of out reach, too, isn't he.

[Al of Kingston]

Ian, it is already a grocery store. Long standing family business that is expanding its beer presence. The BBQ sauce selection , for example, is already there. And, again like Gilles, maybe there is the opportunity to get into other areas. I can't wait to hit his place in Gatineau again for the game meats.

[Brews Phillips]

Very useful, Jay. Thanks very much. And Gilles at Broue Ha Ha is a great example of this sort of out reach, too, isn't he.

3 cheers for Gilles. I look forward to my Broue Ha Ha newsletter. Crossing the US border is a bit more involved than heading over to Gatineau, so a newsletter about what's new in stock would be great.

Or how about a web page updated once a week or so. Finding some of these places in NY can be a bit of a challenge because they don't have a web presence.

[Derek]

I hate stale products. Its unfortunate that most breweries don't clearly label a production or best before date. I've been to places in Buffalo where I've seen bottles that were over a year old... and most occasional buyers would have no idea.

If they had a good refrigeration setup, stale products would be a non-issue... and that would be a HUGE plus for me.

A web presence is also handy.

I'd say that Bottleworks in Seattle would be my Gold standard for bottle shops. It may not have the largest selection, but there's A LOT of quality products and they take care of it!

Now I realize this is *just* a grocery store... but Whole Foods in Portland manages to cool their singles!

[Ralphus]

I'd put my vote towards the following:

* website with directions from the closest bridges, customs info, contact info, brand / product list and case ordering info.

* newsletter for any seasonal/interesting products is a good idea

* Some hook to make me bypass Bessette's, which is closer. This could better selection, prices, service. But there has to be a reason!

[Al of Kingston]

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments. They were forwarded and the owner of the Big M in Potsdam has confirmed:

"- I have a reset for my beer cooler happening in a few weeks to allow a few craft beers in.
"- I'm working on a email to send out with pricing and an up to date inventory. I think facebook will be a great place to gather emails and show people what we have available.
"- BBQ is one of my specialties here. I have a trailer smoker in my parking lot and smoke on a regular basis and I also have a large selection of hot sauces and BBQ sauces.
"- Also I have decided to get into growler sales. I have acquired a cooler and having a small selection (3) tap system put in to sell beers that never make there way to a bottle."

He also took my comments on his distributor's list and is adding a lot of solid Belgian, UK and German brands.

Growler sales and freshly smoked BBQ in the parking lot. Now I am really jealous. [You think the LCBO could set up a BBQ smoking division? What would that look like?]

Anyway, thanks for the feedback and I will keep in touch if I learn anything else.

Alan

[Belgian]

This is both brilliant as an idea, and sad as a consequence. Sad Ontario doesn't serve its own market. It encourages hoarding (and thus buying what we don't need and/or drinking more) not to mentional all these crazy hoop jumps to get hold of a basic Western commodity like top-notch craft beer. So in two words... good effort!

Al remember I'm in Kingston now and again - we've yet to meet for a pint - and I could potentially participate in your case orders. Sometimes going in for the last 6 or so bottles does make the difference.

[Al of Kingston]

Where are you? Who are you? Email me at beerblog - at - gmail.