No tasting room? No problem: Riip Beer Co. delivers to your home
People of a certain age may remember when the local milkman delivered right to customers’ doorsteps.
A Huntington Beach beverage business operates with the same concept, but it’s not delivering milk.
Brothers-in-law Ryan Rasmussen and Ryan Hopkins started Riip Beer Co. in 2014 to share their craft-brewed batches with the masses.
But money was tight, so opening a brick-and-mortar business wasn’t an option at the time.
However, they did have a 1931 Helms Bakery delivery truck, and it got the two thinking.
“It was going to take us awhile before we were permitted and licensed to sell out of a tasting room,” said Rasmussen, 34, of Huntington Beach. “We were trying to figure out how to sell our beer to pay the rent for our warehouse. Our attorney said there were no laws against delivering beer, so that’s what we did.”
John Carr, a spokesman for the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said a Type 23 license, which Riip Beer has, allows the brewery to make and deliver its beer to licensed restaurants and liquor stores and directly to customers’ homes.
“They can deliver it directly to consumers, including home deliveries, as long as the person receiving the beer is of age,” Carr said. “There’s nothing that restricts them from doing it.”
The company received its license in March 2014 and started delivering to the public. The beer is brewed and bottled at Riip’s facility on Saturn Drive in Huntington Beach. Customers order by phone.
Rasmussen, Hopkins and employees deliver about 50 to 60 64-ounce growlers to customers every week. To stay within budget, the delivery service is primarily in Huntington Beach, though it may expand in the future, Rasmussen said.
The Helms truck, customized with exterior beer taps, has been one of Riip’s biggest marketing tools.
“It isn’t uncommon to have someone follow us for a mile or two until we stop,” Rasmussen said. “A lady came up to the truck one time and told us she was following us for a while to ask us if [the vehicle] was an old Helms Bakery truck.”
Riip Beer put itself on the craft brewery map in April after winning a best-beer title at the annual Taste of Huntington Beach with its flagship Dan K American-style IPA. The company also brews other IPAs, a Mexican chocolate stout, a coffee stout and a blond ale.
After a year of making deliveries, the company earned enough to open a tasting room and home brewing store in a shopping center near Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Rasmussen said Riip recently received its conditional use permit from the city to renovate an existing building and is waiting for another state liquor license for the storefront. He said he expects the location to open between late August and mid-September.
The Helms truck has been used sparingly for deliveries of late to ensure its longevity; it is used primarily during catered events. Rasmussen and Hopkins have been using their personal vehicles for recent deliveries.
“The delivery service will still be around,” Rasmussen said. “We’re hoping that people are going to want to come down to the tasting room more because it’s just a fun vibe down there. But we like the delivery concept, and I think we’ll be more profitable when we have both going.”
