Like most tourist destinations during the pandemic, the last couple of years have been full of ups and downs for the Trapp Family Lodge and its brewery operation in Stowe, Vermont.
Over the last two years, the resort experienced its “slowest tourism levels ever,” followed by its “highest tourism levels ever”, Sam von Trapp, executive vice president of Trapp Family Lodge and von Trapp Brewing, told Brewbound.
“We went from zero when everything was shut down when all we were doing was a small amount of to-go food from one of our outlets, to having our busiest summer and fall ever as people were bouncing back and choosing to travel again and staying in the U.S. instead of going abroad or choosing to travel by car instead of by plane,” said von Trapp, whose family inspired the classic musical The Sound of Music.
In between, there have been fluctuations with COVID-19 variants such as omicron, but von Trapp said the bounce back over the last year “has been a real relief for those of us who depend on tourism who were seriously wondering two years ago what the future of our industry would be.”
Ahead of the official start to summer, von Trapp said he expects “a cranking summer and fall.”
Sam von Trapp; Michael Whitty, von Trapp’s director of sales and marketing; and Kevin Wheeler, the brewery’s general manager, recently discussed the von Trapp brewery’s potential for growth, its place in the overall resort business and much more. Here are excerpts from that conversation.
On the brewery’s place within the Trapp Family resort business …
Sam von Trapp described the beer business as “a growing” part of the overall Trapp Family Lodge business and “a big part of the experience.”
“The brewery and bierhall in particular have just added so much to the overall experience on the campus,” he said. “People who come for the weekend, it’s now a no-brainer to just stay on property for the whole weekend because you can have meals in different places, and the bierhall provides a totally different experience.”
As far as revenue, von Trapp said he expects the beer business could be on par with the rest of the resort within the next five years.
“Right now, it’s definitely made the place more exciting and the growth trend is awesome,” he said. “It’s a big part of what we’re doing. It’s a big part of the commitment that our team has made to what’s going on on-property and a big part of my commitment in terms of my time.
“It’s a big part of the experience and it is becoming a bigger and bigger part as these guys have taken us into profitable waters,” von Trapp added, pointing to Whitty and Wheeler. “It’s really going to be a big part of our future.”
On what’s driving von Trapp’s growth trends …
For the five years pre-pandemic, von Trapp’s beer mix split evenly between draft and package, Whitty said. When bars and restaurants shuttered, von Trapp pivoted to cans. In a stroke of luck, the brewery had installed a canning line in 2019, allowing for an easier transition in what von Trapp called “a game changer.”
Whitty said the company finished 2021 “with very strong numbers” following the transition. The brewery hit its highest output ever in 2021, with 19,415 barrels of beer (+33%) produced, according to data in the Brewers Association’s New Brewer magazine.
In 2022, draft is back to about 48% of the company’s mix, Whitty said.
“So we’re pulling back that on-premise business very quickly, at the same rate that the off-premise business is continuing to grow,” he said. “So we’ve been very fortunate in the rebound.”
Driving those sales are Helles, which Whitty described as the brewery’s “workhorse” for its first five years, and Pilsner, which “has blown [Helles] away in the past couple of years” and is “growing in all markets.”
Whitty credited Helles and Pilsner 12-packs, as well as variety packs (Pilsner, Helles, Vienna and Kölsch), in helping get von Trapp through the pandemic. Although some markets slowed and nearly stopped during the worst of the pandemic, von Trapp was “able to keep fresh beer in all markets through the pandemic,” he added.
“The great thing is this year they continue to grow,” Whitty said. “All of our five core brands are growing the ship.”
The leaders of von Trapp believe they’re well-positioned for the future as consumers gravitate toward lagers. It’s an identity the business has embraced.
“We do lagers, and that’s what we do,” Wheeler said. “We’re really excited to see lagers in general becoming such an embraced line of beer.”
Beyond packaged products, von Trapp is preparing for its 12th annual Oktoberfest celebration at its Stowe resort. The lodge was able to keep the celebration going during the pandemic with a “very strictly managed” event that was spread out across the 2,600 acre grounds, von Trapp said.
“Märzen style is right in our wheelhouse,” he added. “With a Rolec brewhouse and a dedicated decoction vessel, I would challenge anyone else in the U.S. to be positioned with a better ability to produce a quality märzen.”
The 2022 Oktoberfest will take place September 17, the same day Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich. Batches of Von Trapp’s Oktoberfest beer will begin shipping to wholesalers in July, with fresh batches following at the end of the summer and early fall.
On potential market expansion …
In January 2021, von Trapp launched in Maryland and Washington, D.C., via Sheehan Family Companies subsidiary Legends.
“It’s been a great market for us,” Whitty said. “We’re now looking at new additional markets to come online in the next year.”
The focus of any market expansion for von Trapp will be on more densely populated states, such as Florida and Ohio. Those two states “jump out” at von Trapp.
“Florida obviously has a ton of people, lagers go down well in that area, and our name recognition is high down there,” von Trapp said. “Likewise, name recognition is high in Ohio. A lot of complementarity between Ohio and Vermont. A lot of people from Ohio come to Vermont because we have a lot of things to offer that they don’t have there. Also a lot of people of German background [live in Ohio].”
On hiring and brewery expansion …
The von Trapp brewery now employs 22 workers, although the great resignation coupled with the pandemic have also caused that number to fluctuate, Wheeler said. The company has struggled to find qualified workers for some brewery positions, while on the hospitality side of the business, it has struggled filling housekeeping and kitchen staff roles.
Nevertheless, the brewery is also expanding. The facility can produce around 33,000 barrels of beer annually, depending on the mix, but the company is looking to increase its output with the acquisition of four additional 200-barrel fermenters, Wheeler said.
Whitty credited von Trapp’s production team with delivering “quality and safety.”
“They just do quality, and they do it very well, and they work really long, hard days,” he added. “Without them, it would be a different story. But because of them, they make our job more fun and easier every day.”