Hoppy Times November/December 2001

Hoppy Times January/February 2002

"Online" Edition - Volume 9 Issue 1

Hoppy Brewing Company, Inc.
home of
Great Food · Awesome Beer · Cool People!!!

Topics In This Illustrious "Online" Issue Are:

HOPPY YEAR IN REVIEW!!!
HOPPY HEADS EAST...
HOPPY RECENT EVENTS!!!
HOPPY UPCOMING EVENTS...
HOPPY STAFF!!!

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might enjoy reading our "hoppy" news...

HOPPY YEAR IN REVIEW!!!

SACRAMENTO, CA - What a strange surreal year 2001 was... The year started off with rolling blackouts, skyrocketing energy bills, and ended with planes flying into skyscrapers... Through it all, the craft brewing industry continued on a steady pace, improving slightly in 2001 over 2000.

According to statistics from the Institute for Brewing Studies based in Boulder, Colorado, the volatility in the marketplace continued to subside with both the number of openings and closings decreasing for microbreweries and brewpubs for the third consecutive year. In addition, total overall domestic specialty (craft-brewing) industry sales have continued to increase, with expectations of at least between three and five percent growth in 2001.

According to Mr. Bill Ennis, Hoppy Brewing Company's CFO, this news fits right in line with what Hoppy did in 2001, and what we plan to do in 2002. "We have all worked really hard this year to continue to increase consumer awareness about our company, our products, and our brewpub here in East Sacramento. With the increase in our sales of approximately 14% from 2000, it looks as though it is working," says an excited Mr. Ennis. "We have got some really BIG objectives for 2002, so I am sure you will be seeing and hearing even more about us this year than you did last year," finishes Bill.

In the brewing area, we continued to come up with new and exciting beers each month for customers to sample here at our brewpub. Our Total Eclipse™ Black Ale won First Place at the annual California State Fair competition in August, and then in September it won a Silver Medal at the annual Great American Beer Festival!!! We released our Stony Face™ Red Ale to the bottle and keg market in August. We went from self distributing here in our local market to having our products distributed by KaWika Distributing in September. In addition, and after a little persuasion, our products will be found in the State of Kentucky starting at the end of January, which will be distributed by Bryant Distributing (more on this in a moment). Who knows, maybe we will have more distributors to list here next year... :)

On the restaurant side of the house, we have seen our business grow from serving a daily average of 311 people in 2000 to that of 326 this past year - an increase of 4.8%. We have continued to tweak functions of the bartenders, bussers, servers, and the kitchen staff with policy and procedure manuals so that we continue to try and provide the very best customer service possible as personnel change. We have routinely made changes in the food and beer menu's to keep things fresh and exciting, all while continuing to provide our customers with interesting quality menu items. We installed some shelving above the bar, and kicked off our mug member program, which by the way is almost sold out. In addition to the mugs, we also got coasters for the bar with our logo on them. One of the negative things that happened this year, was that the TIN-Room got shut down, which put an end to our late-night parties...

With regards to high-tech, we updated our webcams to provide a larger and clearer picture for those wanting to see what is going on at Hoppy from their home or office. Also, we expanded our to-go business through "Food To You" with their the online site at http://www.foodtoyou.com and have been excited by the results.

So what else is on tap for Hoppy in 2002 you might be asking yourself??? According to Mr. Troy Paski, "Well...
* We are going to continue working very hard on making ourfirst brewpub operate as efficiently as possible, and taking care of our obligations.
* We will work on putting the structure in place so that we can franchise new locations, and maybe even open a second place before the end of the year.
* We hope to procure the proper funding that will get the TIN-Room in operating condition for actual retail sales. Should that happen...
* We will work on obtaining a full liquor license, which will help satisfy the requests from some of our customers.
* We will install a new Point of Sale system.
* We will be installing a mural above the bar depicting the grain to glass concept for beer.
* We will probably install new carpeting and continue to do more painting to keep things fresh.
* We might get some logo pint glasses made available to those who continually request them.
* We might install some better signage for the front of the building to help attract even more customers.
* I know all of our departments will continue to become more organized and systematized by the end of next year than they are currently.
* Finally, we will continue to improve our customer service, which by the way, providing the very best customer service possible is our biggest objective for this company," concludes a very introspective Troy.

HOPPY HEADS EAST...

SACRAMENTO, CA - By the end of January, folks in the wonderful Bluegrass State of Kentucky will be able to enjoy all of Hoppy's bottled products. Hoppy has never officially been east of the Mississippi before, so it should be interesting to see how the Kentuckians react to seeing Hoppy on their store shelves.

Hoppy has been growing its local market in the northern California area for a number of years, and from time-to-time has pursued opportunities in other markets. However, this is the first time that a distributor has aggressively pursued Hoppy.

Bryant Distributing is a family owned/operated business, and with Mr. Beer Dave Gausepohl's knowledge of Hoppy's award winning products over the years from the Great American Beer Festival, Mr. Gausepohl was able to convince the Hoppy Brew Crew to let them represent Hoppy's products in the State of Kentucky.

If you happen to be in that neck of the woods, and would like more information as to where to find Hoppy, feel free to contact Bryant Distributing at 502.366.4574.

HOPPY RECENT EVENTS...

Our Lucky Lunch Winner for the month of December was Ms. Nancy Whalen, from the McGeorge School of Law. Congratulations Ms. Whalen!!! We look forward to serving you your complementary lunch!

Looking for a place to watch a Kings game when it is not on regular TV??? Hoppy Brewing will be showing all of the Kings games (if they are not blacked out by the NBA) via the NBA League Pass. In addition to just the Kings games, we will have the option to watch any NBA game this season. Also, we are making a policy change and suspending reservations during Kings games. Therefore, if you have a group of people and want a great seat for the game, then make sure that all of your group arrives early, because we tend to fill up around game time...

Our brewpub is open daily at 11:00am serving some of the best valued Lunches, Dinners, and Daily Specials in the area. If you have not seen our menu lately, feel free to check it out online at http://www.hoppy.com/sacramento/menu.htm, or just stop in and see us. We are always looking forward to sharing our day with our valued customers. However, as some of you already know, Lunch can get quite busy from time-to-time during the week; so if you are on a tight schedule, please try to avoid the noon hour for sharing if possible - especially if you have a large party.

Also, in addition to our normal daily Hoppy Hour from 3-6pm and our LATE-NIGHT Hoppy Hour from 10-11pm, featuring $2.75 pints and $9.25 pitchers, we have a number of other incentives here at our brewpub for you to enjoy:

* On Sunday's we feature the BEST deal in town, where we include
a bottle of Hoppy brew to go with every Lunch/Dinner entree
purchased.
* On Sunday's & Tuesday's we feature $0.99 children's
meals with an adult meal purchase.
* On Monday's our 12 ounce brews are only a $1.00 from 3-6pm,
and during football season we extend that special until
someone scores - in the game... ;)
* On Tuesday's we feature $2.00 pints all day until we close.
* On Wednesday's we have a South Park special where most
12 ounce beers on tap are only $1.00 from 10:00pm until
Kenny dies!

Also, our logo wear (i.e., polo shirts, tie-dye t-shirts, ball caps, and fleece pullovers) can make for a GREAT gift anytime of the year. However, if you are not sure about our merchandise as a gift, we also have gift certificates available in most any denomination of your choice for use here at our brewpub to give as a present as well...

Lastly, we usually have some space available for your company parties, or for that special birthday gathering in our restaurant; so if you have an interest in having your party here at Hoppy's, just call 916.451.4677 and speak with Mr. Kenny Turner to plan your next party or event as soon as possible...

HOPPY UPCOMING EVENTS...

With Martin Luther King Day right around the corner on the 21st, do not forget that Hoppy has the $1.00 12 ounce holiday beer special all day for you to enjoy...

The SUPER BOWL of the NFL, or really the GRAND POOHBAH of all organized sporting events, is set for February 03rd at 3:00pm PST in New Orleans, LA. Therefore, if you have not marked your calendars, or made up your mind as to where to watch this event, make sure to mark your calendar with a big fat HOPPY on it!!! We will be having some awesome chili, pregame specials, during the game specials, and even after the game specials, so make sure to come early and stay late for all of the fun.

Here is a new twist on Mardi Gras, which is Tuesday, February 12th. Just bring in your favorite set of beads, and if they meet with the Bartender/Server's satisfaction, we will exchange them for a pint of Hoppy. Only one set of beads per person will be accepted for this special offer...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner on Thursday, February 14th, make sure to book your reservation early so that you can have the greatest likelihood of getting your first choice of time/location to celebrate that special day with someone special. The menu feature for that evening has yet to be decided, but if it is anything like it has been the last couple of years, you will not be disappointed. Not to be forgotten, but for the "unattached" on this day, we will be serving a very tasty special as well...

In addition, if you would like a complete listing of what we currently have on our calendar, please click on the following web address.

http://www.hoppy.com/future.htm

HOPPY STAFF...

If you are interested in sending one of us a note, just visit the following page and click on a name that has interest to you. We promise to write back in a timely manner... :)

http://hoppy.com/register/feed.htm

Remember...the craft brew industry is very competitive, and we can always use your help when you are out there in the bars, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. How can you help us you may be asking yourselves??? Well...ask your local retailer(s) for our products (to the point of bugging them if necessary), so that you are able to buy the products that you "really" want - not just what is on the store shelf, or on-tap, at the moment...

You, the consumer, have more power than you may know. Speak up, speak clearly, and your earnest taste buds may reap those proactive rewards. If you do this, then we are sure it will not be long before you will be able to enjoy our Liquid Sunshine™ Blonde, Hoppy Face™ Amber, Stony Face™ Red, and Total Eclipse™ Black Ales outside of attending a local festival, or even visiting us here in Sacramento...