9 Aug
2004
9 Aug
'04
10:11 a.m.
Just when we're convinced that we have the worst beer/wine/liq.
laws and distributions systems on the books here in the Northern Branch
of the Bible Belt, you read something like this....
Cheers,
Jim
----- Forwarded message from John Wyzkiewicz <j_wyzkiewicz(a)YAHOO.COM> -----
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Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 07:35:27 -0700
Reply-To: John Wyzkiewicz <j_wyzkiewicz(a)YAHOO.COM>
From: John Wyzkiewicz <j_wyzkiewicz(a)YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Goose Suit (article text)
To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
In-Reply-To: <00db01c47e18$53100450$1701a8c0@newsouth>
Precedence: list
Reprinted without expressed written or oral consent
from the loathsome Parent Company or any of it's
wholly-owned subsidiaries:
Suds are flying: Chicago's best-known local brewery,
Goose Island Brewing Co., is locked in a nasty legal
fight with its former distributor, who claims that the
brewery's finances are shaky.
United States Beverage LLC sued Goose in Cook County
Circuit Court, claiming that the brewer unfairly
terminated its relationship with the distributor
earlier this year.
Goose, whose best-selling brand is Honker's Ale,
operates a brewpub in Wrigleyville and a small West
Side brewery. Goose's flagship microbrewery at 1800 N.
Clybourn Ave. is owned separately by Goose founder
John Hall.
In its suit, USB says that Goose Island's business has
diminished and that it will lose its $2.55 million
credit facility with LaSalle Bank effective in
October. The brewery confirmed that its relationship
with LaSalle is ending, but Hall said it is about to
sign on with a new lender and disputed USB's
assertions that it is in financial trouble.
Still, the suit gives a rare glimpse into the
challenges facing small brewers as they fight for
drinkers in the slow-growing microbrewery industry.
According to Information Resources Inc., Goose Island
had a 29 percent share of the Chicago microbrew market
last year, but sales slipped 7.4 percent, to $2.15
million. Its market share slipped more than 3 percent.
(The figures don't include on-premise beer sales.)
Hall said Friday that the company this year was
growing "double digits" and that he expected to have a
good year. It also helps that most Cubs games are sold
out and the Wrigleyville location is doing well.
Much of this fight is about who didn't do their part
in building the business.
USB signed on as Goose's distributor in 2000, paying
Goose $1 million. USB also says that it agreed to
bring in other subcontracting deals to help bring in
more revenue. So USB invested $500,000 more into
Goose's facilities so that it could begin producing
Hooper's Hooch, a malt beverage.
Hall said it was USB's promise that Hooper's would be
a huge seller and would help utilize excess brewing
capacity at its West Side plant. But Hooper's Hooch
production never reached expected levels.
"That really hurt us from a business standpoint," Hall
said.
According to the suit, by November 2003 Goose
complained of financial problems and "requested more
production business from USB." So USB moved production
of its Slo beer brand to Goose.
On April 2, Goose sent a letter to USB stating that it
was terminating the contract with USB in 90 days,
saying that USB didn't live up to its end of the
bargain.
Hall maintains Goose is close to agreements with other
companies to make up for the lost production.
----- End forwarded message -----
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