"TheBeerNut":2v9fo7c4 wrote: Stone are considering opening a brewery in Europe and are looking for expressions of interest. Video here[/url:2v9fo7c4]. I'm sure there's room in the Irish economy for another American multinational.[/quote:2v9fo7c4]
Is Stone a multinational before they have left the US? They have become quite big now (100,000 barrels/year) but started out relatively small (500 barrels/year) so it would be possible that they reuse existing facilities like the old Dublin Brewing Co. depending on what their old setup is. I would be surprised if they chose Ireland for its beer-selling possibilities though; maybe the financial figures work out though somehow. I'd imagine that Belgium, Netherlands, or Denmark would be the market that they are looking for since they seem to have a larger demand for Stone-style/type beers.
If (sorry, ICB doesn't have a font big enough for that if) they chose to set up in Ireland there's no chance any existing facility would be big enough. They want to establish a European base. DBC was set up to provide beer to a tiny proportion of the market in one middling-sized European city; the Beamish site is of more value as almost anything except a brewery. I can't see it being either of those.
"TheBeerNut":9gewrsjq wrote: If (sorry, ICB doesn't have a font big enough for that if) they chose to set up in Ireland there's no chance any existing facility would be big enough. They want to establish a European base. DBC was set up to provide beer to a tiny proportion of the market in one middling-sized European city; the Beamish site is of more value as almost anything except a brewery. I can't see it being either of those.[/quote:9gewrsjq]
I wouldn't think that the Cork brewery would work either-just didn't know about the size of something like DBC. Since we don't figure that Stone would move here, would there be any sort of incentive for a European/American craft brewer to enter into the Irish market-something to jump start things here?
Or this whole "European Stone brewery" could all be some sort of media/viral ruse to get Europeans more interested in drinking Stone beers more than anything.
"jspruit":3pqkzp7l wrote: just didn't know about the size of something like DBC.[/quote:3pqkzp7l]Squeenchy, IIRC. On a similar scale to Hooker and way smaller than the Porterhouse. Not a Europe-wide scale.
"jspruit":3pqkzp7l wrote: Since we don't figure that Stone would move here, would there be any sort of incentive for a European/American craft brewer to enter into the Irish market-something to jump start things here? [/quote:3pqkzp7l]It depends on what they're trying to do. Stone don't seem interested in selling locally, particularly, so an English-speaking workforce in the eurozone is as good an advantage as any, as many US firms have found before. But as a foreigner you don't set up a brewery in Ireland to sell beer in Ireland. Irish drinkers are brand loyal and the route to market is tortuous. As a place to brew for export, however, it's better than lots of alternatives.
&quot;jspruit&quot;:3pqkzp7l wrote: Or this whole "European Stone brewery" could all be some sort of media/viral ruse to get Europeans more interested in drinking Stone beers more than anything.[/quote:3pqkzp7l]A massive cut for Stone might go some way to explaining the prices of their stuff in the likes of The Cracked Kettle <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->
&quot;TheBeerNut&quot;:32mijir7 wrote: Squeenchy, IIRC. On a similar scale to Hooker and way smaller than the Porterhouse. Not a Europe-wide scale.[/quote:32mijir7] I'd imagine that if Stone choose to use an existing brewery for this European foray, then it would be much smaller than its existing plant. But I'm not sure if it would be as small as Hooker or without the possibility of expanding quickly if needed.
&quot;TheBeerNut&quot;:32mijir7 wrote: It depends on what they're trying to do. Stone don't seem interested in selling locally, particularly, so an English-speaking workforce in the eurozone is as good an advantage as any, as many US firms have found before. But as a foreigner you don't set up a brewery in Ireland to sell beer in Ireland. Irish drinkers are brand loyal and the route to market is tortuous. As a place to brew for export, however, it's better than lots of alternatives.[/quote:32mijir7] I think you're right here-Ireland won't give them much of a market to work with-it's only real beer advantage would be any export edges that it has on the rest of Europe. Would be a bit weird though brewing in Ireland with minor sales here and then selling the majority of the beer brewed here to the rest of Europe, wouldn't it?
&quot;TheBeerNut&quot;:32mijir7 wrote: A massive cut for Stone might go some way to explaining the prices of their stuff in the likes of The Cracked Kettle <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->[/quote:32mijir7] Wow-I checked out some of those prices at The Cracked Kettle. I know that in the rest of the states, Stone can be a bit overpriced, but those prices were ridiculous! I think that I'd stick to European beers too if I saw those kind of prices on a Stone beer.
I've found the cracked kettle to be outlandishly expensive, especially for the yanky beers. I've bought the Stone range for very reasoable prices from Beers Of Europe. Their IPA for example going for around 2.80 sterling. You can hardly argue at that for a 6.9%abv beer. Their larger 22oz bottles are obviously going to be more expensive, some were selling between 8-10 but that's expected again taking the size and abv in to consideration.
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