ALBANY — Craft beer enthusiasts received an unexpected gift when local startup Hopsy formally began business Jan. 5, becoming the first local beer marketplace and delivery service connecting customers with a list of local microbreweries and delivering their products.
Think of Hopsy as applying the local milkman model of yesteryear to the booming craft beer industry of today.
Cofounded by Sebastien Tron, Andrew Perroy and Bodie Paden, Hopsy allows customers to order craft beer online and by using cold supply chain technology ensures access to the freshest beer possible.
Hopsy quietly opened its retail store on Solano Avenue in Albany on Dec. 10 in order to experiment and pilot their service for a month. At the same time they opened a landing page on their website for those who were curious about Hopsy; 2,000 people signed up.
The store was stocked with the 19 beers they planned to market.
“We sold out the first two weeks and the good thing we learned was that over 10 days we had some customers going back three and four times,” Tron said. “At the end of the day the promise of Hopsy is to bring the brewery experience to the home.”
The microbrewery business has increased by 20 percent for each of the past five years across the United States.
According to Brewers Association, an organization promoting small and independent American brewers, craft beer accounts for 20 percent of the $100 billion beer market in the United States. But only a fraction of these local microbreweries have products distributed through retail outlets, leaving many beer fanciers unaware of their existence.
Tron, long a beer aficionado, was working toward his master’s degree in business at UC Berkeley when he started trying to design a model to provide better access for fellow enthusiasts.
“I used to drive to all the breweries around here, but after my daughter was born, I wanted to spend more time with her, so I decided to find a system to bring the same experience to the home,” he said.
At present Hopsy represents 10 breweries, all within 50 miles of the Bay Area, from Novato to Half Moon Bay. The partners plan to add two additional breweries each month as the business grows, thus educating their fan base to the fact that there are 160 breweries within a 50-mile radius of the area.
“Most people have never heard of them because they don’t have distribution,” Tron said.
The process is simple, with customers either shopping at the Albany store or using the website to order from a list of 20 craft beers that will be delivered in 32-ounce jugs known as growlers, the preferred container for brewery-to-customer delivery.
Using growlers allows breweries to package their beers without having to purchase the expensive equipment necessary for using standard bottles.
To ensure the same freshness customers would experience at the brewery, Hopsy had to develop a method to keep the brews at 36 degrees during transportation, storage and delivery. They also needed breweries to fill the growlers by the counter-pressure method, a system that uses carbon dioxide to purge the container before it’s filled.
“This technique reduces the amount of oxygen that comes in contact with the beer, so the beer’s high quality lasts longer,” Tron said. “It keeps fresh for 30 days before you open it and so the quality is untouched.”
With a simplified ordering model, Hopsy hopes customers will be encouraged to discover different breweries, and offers them a guarantee — if a beer is not to the customer’s liking, Hopsy will make it right.
The partners have set distinct goals for the breweries, customers and the company itself.
Hopsy hopes to partner with as many local breweries as possible and give them an alternative way to distribute their beers. For their customers, the goal is to bring beer drinkers the best product possible and encourage them to sample new beers.
As for the business, Hopsy’s goal is far-reaching.
“Our vision is to have a Hopsy center in every major urban area across the country,” Tron said. “Right now we’re in Albany and this center will serve the whole Bay Area. Our idea is to do the same thing in San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Denver and Chicago.”
FYI
Hopsy storefront is at 1137 Solano Ave. in Albany.
510-922-0353, www.Hopsy.Beer.
