1. The majority of shelf space is going to be held by big craft Sierra Nevada, etc. or the "crafts" owned or produced by InBev and the like, not by those local breweries. Currently the only "local" crafts you see in groceries are Breckenridge and Blue Moon, both owned by big beer. If this passes their just going to bring in more big beer "crafts" and maybe the nationally distributed local big boys like New Belgium, Avery, etc. NOT self distributed or small distribution beers from local breweries. This very much hurts local and small liquor stores and craft breweries.Brontoburglar wrote:
OK, I'm even more confused. If the average guy is drinking craft beer in Colorado already, how is this bad for craft?
ETA: I see what you're saying that GI is going to get cold shelf space -- but if it's not a "preferred" beer already, why are we worried about people's preferences worsening?
2. Currently you cannot have a chain of liquor stores owned by the same person/group. This doesn't apply to grocery stores. The grocery chains will get better prices from distributors and force liquor stores to lower their prices. Also as GoodKarma mentioned there are a lot of little liquor stores either right next to or in the same strip as grocery stores. The average consumer is just going to buy beer at the grocery rather than making an extra stop to get beer, even if it's next door.
3. I am also not a fan of the tactics that big beer (who is behind the initiative) are taking. There are a number of brewery/craft groups in real life and in social media and those in favor of the law have created groups with similar names/logos to try to sway those not in the know. They are collecting signatures outside of grocery stores and if they are all given the same talking points that I was told the other day they're not telling the whole truth. They cite the lower prices, etc. but neglect to speak of the impact on actually locally owned businesses (I believe that the major grocery chains here are all owned by out of state corporations.)
