Although there are many benefits to having a growler station in your store, installing and maintaining a beer growler filling station can be challenging for some beer retailers.
Challenges of installing and maintaining a beer growler filling station:
- Cost - When you add up the cost of beer draft equipment, tap towers, running lines, and the hiring a contractor for installation, a growler station can cost upwards of $20,000 just to install.
- Supplies - To keep a growler station up and running requires a lot of supplies, including the growlers themselves. Keeping track of an inventory of a 100+ growlers and storing them may be difficult for most beer retailers.
- Distribution - Most beer enthusiasts that take advantage of a growler station are going to be looking for an ever changing roster of classic brews mixed with some new ones. Beer retailers may not be equipped to handle researching and maintaining an inventor and schedule of new brews.
- Draft Line Hygiene - Maintaining clean draft lines is not difficult, but the process can be time consuming. There is also a learning curve. Dirty draft lines can lead to off flavors in beer, unhappy customers, and unhappy brewers who may not let you serve their beer again.
- Experience - Managing a successful growler station requires time to build relationships with new distrubutors, brewers, and may require an increased marketing presence to generate intersted customers. Beer retailers may not have the investment necessary to start things off right.
Bottom line, installing, marketing, and running a beer growler filling station take investment of time and money. If you don't have those you may be out of luck.
Want to install a station without the hassle? BeerMama is currently working on an idea that may help you. Contact us to learn more.