50 Businesses, 50 Solutions #20

On a normal Saturday, Chris Prost, and his wife Michelle Oeser, would welcome 100-200 patrons to the microbrewery they run from their property in Croydon, a small town near Sunapee. Polyculture Brewing Company has a tiny tasting room with space for about 20 patrons, with space for 60 in an outdoor beer garden.

This year, the garden will open exactly three times: on July 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 5. Rather than serving their brews in a personal setting that drives home the ways that Polyculture’s beers are anything but mass-produced, Prost and Oeser are focused on selling beer in more local stores, leveraging existing relationships they have with customers in the Upper Valley and Lake Sunapee regions to survive COVID-19 and its fallout.

“The pandemic has made us rethink and shift our entire business model,” Prost said. “We are entering our third year in business and we have mainly been focused on direct customer interactions and sales until this point. Our goal has been to become a part of the community and build a base by meeting almost every customer face to face.

This year, that’s not possible. Even though they are legally allowed to reopen, Prost and Oeser, who have a nine-month-old baby, are being cautious, opening the beer garden just once a month. When the cold comes, they’ll close down again, not wanting to bring people into the small tasting room.

During the height of the pandemic, Polyculture Brewing Company offered online ordering, contactless pickup and delivery to a select area in the Upper Valley, including Lebanon, where Prost and Oeser normally sell beer at the farmers market (although the market is open, they opted not to participate this year).

However, their biggest shift was to focus more on retail sales. Polyculture Brewing Company products were already available at local retailers including Jake’s Market and Deli in Lebanon and Enfield, and the Warner Public Market. Their beer will soon be available at The Hannaford Co-op, with locations in Lebanon and Hanover.

While the retail market provides some security, it also comes with smaller profit margins, since the product is being sold at wholesale prices. In addition, Prost and Oeser need to figure out how to make their product stand out on store shelves without relying on that sensory experience of visiting the brewery.

“Our challenge is how to maintain our sense of community while being physically disconnected from customers,” Prost said.

He hopes that the brewery’s existing customer base in the Upper Valley region will be excited to have the beer available at more convenient locations. 

“The beer is going to be in places where they may be going to get gas, or go in for groceries, so that’s obviously a benefit,” Prost said. 

Still, being selected from the array of beers available on store shelves is challenging. Prost updated the beer packaging to be more appealing on shelves, and he hopes that existing customers will strengthen sales by purchasing beer themselves and recommending it to friends. Since Polyculture Brewing Company is one of only four breweries in the region, it will stand out as a hyper-local option, Prost hopes. 

“We’re not appearing in the stores with no context, we’re hoping customers know our name,” Prost said. 

Although changing the business model is daunting, Prost said that his operation’s size worked to his benefit during the pandemic. 

“We were able to turn on a dime so to speak, given our small size,” he said. “At this point, we’re glad we started where we did, because it’s helped us adjust as we go.”

Pictured: Chris Prost and his wife Michelle Oeser run Polyculture Brewing Company from their home in Croydon. 

This story is part of the 50 Businesses, 50 Solutions series, shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative, that aims to highlight how business leaders across the state, from mom and pop shops, to large corporations have adapted to meet the challenges and disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus in the hopes others may be able to replicate these ideas and innovations. Tell us your story here. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.