“Tapping Into Culture” is a bi-weekly video series on Beer and Culture, presented by Sixpoint and VinePair. Check out more episodes in the series here.
In this episode, VinePair senior editor Cat Wolinski and Sixpoint’s Chris Sterbank are joined by Laura Dierks, founder of Interboro Spirits & Ales, a brewery and distillery based in Brooklyn. We discuss the ways that beer producers — including Interboro and Sixpoint — totally transformed their businesses during the pandemic to “pivot” to direct-to-consumer delivery.
Beer drinkers were introduced to a whole new way of buying beer last year, when Covid-19 restrictions on the on-premise lifted restrictions on DTC beer sales. This meant, for many of us, our favorite local brands became available to go or to our doorstep for the first time.
Interboro launched its delivery business, Interboro Rapid Transit, a.k.a. IRT (named after the famous old subway line) shortly after the first NYC lockdowns. This “store-to-door” model meant reimagining and restructuring how the brewery/distillery sold its goods in every way. We discuss the different approaches to DTC and reaching beer lovers online, as well as the pros of alcohol delivery platforms including Drizly, Toast, and TapRm. For example, after Sixpoint partnered with TapRm, Sixpoint’s Black Is Beautiful beer became the top-selling of all Sixpoint’s beers on the platform.
We also hear from Dierks on what’s next for Interboro, including the launch of its first whiskey.
To learn more about Sixpoint’s program “Beer is Culture,” visit sixpoint.com/beerisculture.
Special promo for VinePair viewers – use code VINEPAIR15 for 15% off at Sixpoint’s beer garden or delivery in New York State! Check out the shop here!
