A well worn path

It has become commonplace for chefs to write cookbooks. The routine goes something like this: chef opens restaurant, chef builds loyal clientele, chef "writes" cookbook that expands upon or documents his or her recipes enjoyed by customers. Rinse and repeat.

While my tone may be somewhat flippant, there are many examples of this practice. I am staring at Coyote Cafe by Mark Miller right now. The book is 20 years old and is published by 10 Speed Press, a house that seems to specialize in this genre. These books are really quite useful. Readers learn how a chef approaches recipe and meal development, learns a thing or two about preparing favorite dishes and, no surprise, the chef cements, or intends to cement, his or her place in the cooking pantheon.

In a move that seems to piggyback on this approach, a troika of local beer writers and a brewer are proposing a book of recipes from the local scene, Recipes from Beervana.

One complaint often voiced by a minority of beer aficionados is that Portland, and other craft brew havens, lacks a serious and consistent approach to food and beer pairing. It's not clear that the authors of the proposed book intend to uncover this truth or debunk it. The blurb on Facebook reads, Follow Mike DeKalb, owner of Laurelwood Brewing Co., Lisa Morrison, the Beer Goddess and Annalou Vincent, of Beer NW, as they trek across the Pacific Northwest in search of Recipes from Beervana! Then look for the book in Spring 2010 and get ready to get cookin'!

What is interesting about their approach, though perhaps not unique either, is that they are asking us to follow them in social media as they explore the many possibilities for food and beer. Will this interactive approach seek commentary from those who follow? Will their editorial choices be steered by their community of followers? Wait and see.

Good news for advertisers and sponsors

A combination of ideal weather, excellent event management and the charms of a well-established festival made this year's Oregon Brewers Festival a success. Record crowds meant that festival advertisers got more than their money's worth. For those 14 or so sponsors, our promise of 50,000 program guide readers worked out a bit better than expected. Actually, the size of the crowd from an advertiser's perspective is not quite accurate. We did distribute nearly every program printed this year, 50,000. Certainly, there is a pass along rate that we cannot guarantee, but if it were a bit more than "1," advertisers would reach every visitor.

The attendance numbers may be more important to those who are considering next year's event. It just keeps growing and the crowds this year were treated to far more hospitable beer lines thanks to improved operations and planning. What to expect for 2010? The planning begins now, with discussions about web site strategy as well as a round table "lessons learned" with committee members who were instrumental in producing this year's event.

Stay tuned for more as plans are made.

The 2009 Program Guide

Here for those who want to see a complete digital version of the Oregon Brewers Festival Program Guide.

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Program

A guide to the brews, 2009

The Oregon Brewers Festival is a massive undertaking, certainly for the organizers but also the guests. It takes nearly a year of planning and preparation. For festival guests, it can be a challenge to get to the taps of their favorite brews. This year, with 81 beers featured and a "Buzz Tent" with even more beer, the task of finding what you want can be daunting.

That's where we come in. We have developed two graphical guides to the festival that are published in the Program Guide, the slick, 56-page digest-sized printed program distributed to all festival guests. The Beer-O-Meter and the Tap Map provide a quick reference for the beer at the festival and is locations. In particular, the Beer-O-Meter, gives guests a quick tour of several dimensions of the brews being served: brewery, product name, color, IBU value and, in the online version, tap location. This piece is the handiwork of Holly O'Leary, the Program Guide designer and graphic artist extraordinaire.

This and the Program Guide are available as downloads on the OBF website, www.oregonbrewfest.com. Visitors, you saw it here first.

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Beer-O-Meter

And now, the Tap Map

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival Tap Map

Bikes and Brews

Synergy is an often misused term, or at least it was in business a few years ago. But, I think this qualifies for synergy and where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Portland is certainly known for its brewing. The city is a leader in the craft brewing scene with more than 30 breweries within the metropolitan area. The Oregon Brewers Festival, one of the largest festivals of craft beer in the country, celebrates that success every year.

Portland is also known nationally and internationally for a growing and robust bicycle culture. Aided by content-rich BikePortland blog, the city's volume of bicycle commuting, racing, touring and just plain bike fun continues to expand.

It's only natural that two of Portland's leading cultural commodities would get together. Enter Pedal Tours of Portland and their latest tour, Oregon Brewery Trail Tour coinciding with the festival.

The festival no doubt benefits by highlighting the connection between Portland's rich bicycle scene, the city's local breweries and the celebration of craft brewing at the festival. Let's hope that Pedal Bike Tours of Portland is rewarded with plenty of folks wanting to learn more about the city's breweries before they settle in at the festival.

Craft beer sales increase, but why?

The prolific Jeff Alworth at Beervana posts what appears as good news for the craft beer industry in these dark hours of recession. Indeed, if you are in the brewing business, you want to be in the craft segment. I agree with Jeff that this is good news and I also support his contention that craft beer sales are partially the result of a rise in average price for a barrel of craft beer.

Because this is a blog about brand and marketing, I think this rise in prices is an interesting one given the current economic downturn. To recap a couple of statistics that are contained in my comments to Jeff's post, craft beer volume is up a bit shy of 6% 2007 to 2008. A report in a Chicago area newspaper says that craft beer sales are up 12.6% according to the Neilsen Company.

I know that I am stepping into dangerous land when I start to discuss statistics, but it appears that the increase in sales has to come, partially, from an increase in prices. And, this was accomplished in spite of a declining economy.
Assuming you believe my math that you cannot get to 12.6% sales increase on 6% volume increase without charging more, we are left to speculate as to how to get there. And, here's what I think has happened.

Craft brewers know or should know that their product is a luxury product if you believe the data about the consumer. The dominant cohort of craft beer buyers is male, 25-34 years-old and earns $100K/year. I imagine that this buyer is purchasing Starbucks coffee in the morning after a few rounds of Bridgeport IPA the night before. In other words, what we once associated with luxury--expensive alcoholic beverages, premium coffees, etc.--is now considered a normal purchase, at least by this niche.

How did brewers exploit this advantage? By bringing out increasingly more expensive products. My opinion only, but you cannot have that sort of sales volume increase by cranking out another ordinary pale ale. You need to have new products that sell for more because they have more to offer.

Witness the rise of the seasonal and the proliferation of "Belgian-style" beers. It wasn't long ago that just a few breweries brought out a holiday ale around Christmas. Reflecting the "winter warmer" heritage of the British cousins, these bigger, maltier beers were limited in production and a bit higher in price. Now, it seems, every craft brewery has a holiday ale.

On to the Belgian-style products. I might be blinded by living in Oregon where we have so many breweries and they are often leading the market in style and product development. I use Belgian-style as a metaphor for the great expansion in the line-up of beers on tap from any given brewery. And, Belgium seems to be a big inspiration. Our major brewers in Portland were once satisfied to offer perhaps five to six products most of the year with the occasional addition of a seasonal or the introduction of a new product. Now, go into the tap rooms of Bridgeport, Deschutes or Widmer Brothers. There, you will see many of the same five to six alongside that many or more seasonals, specialty products, "reserve" series, etc. Granted, the price of a pint of most of these beers will be about the same, but you are surely paying close to $5 a pint (honest or not) for them. The real differences come at the retailer when you're buying packaged beer. Those specialty beers come at special prices.

I, for one, applaud these changes as it demonstrates the growing sophistication of the buyer, the producer and a vastly improved variety in product. I'll probably never tire of a Blue Heron, Mirror Pond or Ur-Alt. But, I also am a ready target for that special new brew for which I am likely to plunk down a few more shekels.

Video promo and complementary festivals

Summer is, naturally, the time for festivals. We're talking about beer in this blog, but it goes far beyond that, of course. I've just spent a bit of time at Beervana, perhaps Portland's most incisive beer blog, and saw what I thought fit very well with the whole notion of promoting a brewers festival. Through the use of social media and with a well produced, though amateur, video, one comes away from it with a desire to go to the North American Organic Beer Festival. I know I do.

North American Organic Brewers Festival, 2008 from Alison Grayson on Vimeo.