

3. Pay-to-play is a profoundly entrenched practice.



While Windy City ’s reputation is staunchly anti pay-to-play (I didn’t observe a single questionable pay-to-play-related practice on Windy’s part, nor the expectation of it from a retailer, many of whom had no idea who I was or why I was there.), I did hear shockingly open discussion of pay-to-play throughout the system. It was almost comical toward the end. Any time Matt would see a handle that didn’t make sense, and ask, “What the hell is that doing on there?” the reply invariably involved explicit pay-to-play deals that were not only accepted, but so mundanely and casually discussed that I thought I was being punked. Matt repeatedly shaking his head is a memorable image from our two days together.

Pay-to-play is so routine for some accounts that I wondered if they even realized that what they were talking about was illegal. And there were plenty of stops in our two days of work that I didn't bother to mention, so don’t ask me for names or start speculating. Rather, let’s take a moment and consider the challenge ahead of us. Craft is venturing far, far away from its core audiences into sports bars, neighborhood joints, and dive bars all over and in every corner of a city like Chicago. And that means it’s being bought and sold by people who care much more about the small economics of their day-to-day purchases than they do about growing some slice of a pie that enables more independent producers and more engaged consumers. They want the dollars in front of them, and for now, they can get it from craft. Later it might be from something else. But what they don’t realize is that these short term economics don’t always translate to long-term value. Because if someone moves in down the street and does it better, they’ll eat your lunch.

For someone like Matt, that means finding a value and relevance to his buyers that competes with incentives, “a bunch of free shit,” and, in some cases, a check. He educates, builds trust, advises, and even encourages them to bring in competitors if he thinks it’s the right beer for the place and opens a door. His odds seem long in some cases. But in others you could see the cracks forming as he got into their heads and got them thinking about their customers in a different way. He was helping them see their business as something they could take pride in and enjoy. And while he might never completely convert some of them, on a day better than most, he seems content with how much good he can do instead of being overwhelmed by how much bad he’s up against.

Thanks to Matt and Windy City for two days of restriction-free observation and frank conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing craft in the distribution tier. I’m wiser for it.