BleedGopher
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per STrib:
Omar Ansari draws crowds to his Surly beers, the brewery and retail promotional events around the state.
But when David and Emily Josephson showed up at Liquor Boy in St. Louis Park to meet Ansari and try some of Surly’s latest brews, they admitted they don’t drink them as often as they once did.
“To this day Surly is one of my favorites,” David said. “But I drink less of it now because I want to try other things.” Emily added, “If you stick to one, you miss out on the other stuff.”
Ansari jump-started the Minnesota craft beer industry in the mid-2000s with IPAs as full-throated as a heavy metal band. His lobbying changed state law in 2011 so breweries could serve their own beer. And the brewery Surly opened in 2014 became a destination for beer and food lovers, even tourists.
But the craft beer craze has plateaued, and trailblazing Ansari is trying to carve a new path in a mature business. “It’s much harder to sell beer than it used to be,” he said.
Though Surly is not the biggest brewer in Minnesota, its rocket-like growth, innovative marketing and Ansari’s high profile put it at the center of an industry that exploded in the state over the last decade.
Now reaching the business equivalent of middle age, Surly is contending with fickle consumer tastes and loyalty and a bevy of new competitors. Its tactics have changed and ambitions have narrowed, but Ansari still aims to lead.
Surly doesn’t release revenue figures, but Ansari said its sales growth was 4% in 2018, well below the 20% to 30% rate it experienced for years. He and new sales director Bob Repp talk about smart, targeted growth in the Midwest rather than expanding Surly nation across the, well, nation. More than 80% of Surly’s sales are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be a huge presence in California, New York or Florida,” Ansari said. “So it’s more about focusing on where we sell most of our beer.”
http://www.startribune.com/surly-an...et-regional-not-national-expansion/510430462/
Go MN Craft Breweries!!
Omar Ansari draws crowds to his Surly beers, the brewery and retail promotional events around the state.
But when David and Emily Josephson showed up at Liquor Boy in St. Louis Park to meet Ansari and try some of Surly’s latest brews, they admitted they don’t drink them as often as they once did.
“To this day Surly is one of my favorites,” David said. “But I drink less of it now because I want to try other things.” Emily added, “If you stick to one, you miss out on the other stuff.”
Ansari jump-started the Minnesota craft beer industry in the mid-2000s with IPAs as full-throated as a heavy metal band. His lobbying changed state law in 2011 so breweries could serve their own beer. And the brewery Surly opened in 2014 became a destination for beer and food lovers, even tourists.
But the craft beer craze has plateaued, and trailblazing Ansari is trying to carve a new path in a mature business. “It’s much harder to sell beer than it used to be,” he said.
Though Surly is not the biggest brewer in Minnesota, its rocket-like growth, innovative marketing and Ansari’s high profile put it at the center of an industry that exploded in the state over the last decade.
Now reaching the business equivalent of middle age, Surly is contending with fickle consumer tastes and loyalty and a bevy of new competitors. Its tactics have changed and ambitions have narrowed, but Ansari still aims to lead.
Surly doesn’t release revenue figures, but Ansari said its sales growth was 4% in 2018, well below the 20% to 30% rate it experienced for years. He and new sales director Bob Repp talk about smart, targeted growth in the Midwest rather than expanding Surly nation across the, well, nation. More than 80% of Surly’s sales are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be a huge presence in California, New York or Florida,” Ansari said. “So it’s more about focusing on where we sell most of our beer.”
http://www.startribune.com/surly-an...et-regional-not-national-expansion/510430462/
Go MN Craft Breweries!!