Please visit our fine sponsor...
The Real Beer Page
Beer Is My Life!
FAQ
You may find this hard to believe, but I don't have a product list for every liquor store in the world, or even in North America. Nor do I know where you can buy all of the T-shirts and pint glasses and neon lights that the breweries sell. Nor does my local liquor store stock every beer ever brewed. Nor do I have a direct line to the brewers, management, and public relations people at every brewery. But I can point you in the right direction if you're asking one of these questions:
-
I work for Egan Brewing Company in De Pere, Wisconsin, USA. I don't represent or work for any other brewery. I will not forward your messages to breweries, and I will not respond to you to let you know that I will not forward your messages.
- The Regional Brewery Guides contain addresses, phone numbers, and even email addresses for virtually every brewery in North America, and for a great many breweries elsewhere also. If you have something to say to a brewery, look up their address and contact them directly.
-
If you've had the beer before, go back to the place you had it and ask them where they got it.
-
Call or visit every last liquor store, supermarket, and seller of beer in your local area and ask if they carry the beer you're after. If they don't, ask them to order you a case.
-
Call every last beer distributor you can find in your local Yellow Pages, and ask them if they carry the beer you're after. If they do, they'll be able to tell you where you can buy it. If they don't, ask them to start carrying it.
-
Contact the brewery directly and ask them if they have any distributors in your area.
- Learn how to brew your own so you'll never be in this position again.
-
Contact that brewery's local distributor. Distributors often have shirts, point-of-sale materials, signs, and the like, although they're not always willing to part with them. (Note: If they're not in the phone book, I won't be able to help you either, so don't even ask.)
- Contact the brewery directly and ask them if they do mail-orders. Most do.
-
Do not expect me to rush right out and buy every beer you recommend. If it's available at the liquor stores in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin, chances are I've already had it. If it's not available at those liquor stores, I can't very well rush right out and buy it.
-
Buy one bottle of each beer that you want me to try. Be sure these beers are not already on my Beer List.
-
Pack them so well that even the Post Office won't be able to break them. (Note: The Post Office won't knowingly ship beer.)
- telling me what you're planning to send, and I'll respond with an address to send it to.
There are a number of terms used to describe the various breweries and their brewing capacities. One very common system is used by the Institute for Brewing Studies...you can read about it at http://www.beertown.org/IBS/brewsize.htm.
My system is a little different, as it's geared toward Pubcrawlers instead of statisticians. I classify breweries this way:
Brewpub: A place with a bar (and probably a kitchen) where you can sit down and drink beer brewed on the premises. (A Microbrewery with a small tasting room doesn't qualify as a Brewpub.)
Microbrewery: A brewery that produces less than 1,000,000 barrels (1,180,000 hectolitres) of beer annually and packages all of its beer for sale off the premises.
Brew-On-Premise: A brewery that provides the facilities for people to come in and brew their own beer. Some "BOPs" also brew their own beer for sale like a microbrewery, and some operate restaurants like brewpubs.
Large Brewery: A brewery that produces more than 1,000,000 barrels (1,180,000 hectolitres) of beer annually.
Beer Marketing Company: A company that puts its own label on beer that is brewed for them by a Brewpub, Microbrewery, or Large Brewer. (Sometimes called a "contract brewer", but more correctly described as a "contract brewee".)
Homebrew: A private individual who brews beer at home.
This material © 1992-1999 by , who is solely responsible for the content. All logos, graphics, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Site hosted courtesy of The Real Beer Page. Read the disclaimer.