My only real concern is that the types of beer I like won’t be popular enough to remain on the shelves, and all I’ll ever see is more IPAs, which, right now at least, I am not drinking at all. Big business tends, naturally, to go for volume/most popular, and if you don’t like it, they don’t care, because 100,000 other buyers do.
OTOH, I can’t blame anyone who set up a brewery, got successful, and sold to someone for big bucks. It’s business, Michael.
Maybe that’s why I stopped buying Lagunitas? I used to like their beers but somewhere along the way I started thinking them meh.
On the other hand Ballast Point was bought out awhile ago and I still love their beers. They keep releasing crazy new ones and most, though not all, are good.
Really? I didn’t see anything about that, would be curious given Stone’s size these days. They still make great beer according to me.
God that would suck, but sofar I just see the opposite trend. Hopefully that continues because IPA is my least favorite style.
There’s like one good beer store in the entire city, here, and while there has been a real upsurge in sours (not a style I like, i found), the vast majority of the beers on the shelves, from teeny little breweries or from near-major companies, are IPAs of some sort. There are plenty of other styles, of course, but they are pretty heavily outnumbered by some variety of uber-hopped brews. Maybe that’s more of a local thing though, what with Heady Topper and Lawson’s being so popular here.
A friend of mine and I are getting into homebrewing in the coming months, me in part because I like beers you can’t see through, and the selection around here is limited.
That’s used to be true in my neck of the woods, but now we have a much wider selection of beers. I used to have keep drinking the same porters and stouts with the occasional brown ale thrown in. Now I have a much, much wider selection since each grocery store has done a good job of improving their selection.
IPA still wins handily of course.
On the other hand, Columbus is having a surge in breweries. This year’s version of our Ale Trail has all 37 Central Ohio breweries with tap rooms. Even the new massive BrewDog plant is getting in on the local scene.
I drink pretty much one beer a day, and that’s it, sometimes none, though often it’s a pint or occasionally one of those bigger bottles, as the stuff I like tends to come only in those sometimes. But it usually makes me fall asleep. I have been buying Imperial Stout mostly, some porters, a few Scotch ales or wee heavies. The hoppier stuff gives me headaches these days (new medication; in the past I liked stuff like Sculpin). Finding good stuff in my preferred categories is hit and miss. Usually the usual suspects are available, but I do like to try new stuff too. Some comes and goes with wind it seems. Ten Fiddy is here one day, gone tomorrow, as is Even More Jesus, while Old Rasputin I can usually find, along with Yeti more often than not.
To be real those are the big guys in the world of little guys. I have probably 10-15 breweries within 50 miles of my house now. And there is lots of small guys good beer out there.
It’s the same here, though Wicked Weed was the exception. A small NC local that has rocketed to stardom within a short 4+ year lifetime.
Note that it isn’t the full story. Stone is valued at MUCH more than that, but I have a friend who is one of the 22 actual Stone employees left, who gave me the full scoop. They are essentially sold at this point. New and replacement employees are now from the conglomerate that bought them. Those few original employees left are requested to stay as part of the vision, but it is VERY similar to the same thing Lagunitas just went through with the Heineken purchase. It’s a partial buy until the full buyout.
Thanks for the link to that article @arrendek, that’s a good read. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to make a buck. And it’s foolish to think big beer would just sit and watch the world change around them, continuing to lose market share. What does get me, though, is that I have a TON of beer nerd friends who keep adding to this “list” of beers they will no longer drink just because the brands have sold out. I think that’s not only dumb, I think it is very short-sighted. We buy a LOT of things from big companies. There is this insane boogeyman placed on big beer as though it will kill all craft innovation. Maybe so, but I highly doubt it. I think beer today is here to stay. Gone are the days of nearly see through fizzy crap tasting beverages.
Interesting but a bit sad. Not that I begrudge them the sell out. They still put out some excellent beer alongside Ballast Point, I have no issues continuing to buy their products as long as that holds true.
Lagunitas however I thought took a downturn, but I don’t know if that was because of the purchase or not. I stopped buying their beer before I knew they even got bought out.
I do think anyone who makes as many kinds of beer as Lagunitas has to have some stinkers. But, I still consider them one of the better options whenever I am buying beer.
I still drink them. I’m a hop fiend though. Stone, Ballast Point, Lagunitas, etc will always be beers I enjoy, I don’t care who owns them.
I spent an afternoon at Stone Berlin last Summer and it was absolutely astonishing. They must have spent a fortune on design and building, it was beautiful. And 40 beers on too. They were using the same recipes as the original brewery but they were a notch below in quality. I was trying the imported stuff anyway which was more interesting. It was an odd place, everyone else there seemed to be retirement age and not that enthralled by the selection, the staff seemed relieved when I understood what was on offer and was happy to order it, as if that was quite rare. Oh and the food was amazing.
They might have excellent hoppy beers, I never buy those, not being a fan of them. I buy darker beers usually, and none of theirs was that great.
I realize, given the popularity of IPA, that’s like a majority of most brewery beers.
I tend to think of breweries that can produce all high-quality beers without crappy duds as the ultimate short list of great craft suds. And I mean a full range of beers, not just IPAs, stouts, or whatever.
Without a doubt, Founders would be on that short list. Stone would be as well, but further down.
I can name a few by Lagunitas that fall out of the hoppy category, but they just aren’t as well known. If you can find it, Cappucino Stout is quite tasty. They have a Russian imperial stout, but I didn’t like it as much. Some of their other non-hoppy beers just didn’t do much for me. They have a brown ale, a pilsner, and a couple of others. The rest, just variations on a hoppy theme.
Yeah, I have tried most if not all of Lagunitas’ darker beers. The Cappuccino stout was indeed the best but I actively disliked their Russian Imperial for some reason. Been awhile since I tried it.
We should have a monthly beer category and “Top 5” vote. I’d love to hear what you guys find enjoyable. Plus it would help people who might identify with something and then branch out a little.
I got a mixed pack of Deschutes beers, and I gotta say that I quite liked them. Lagunitas Brown Shugga is my favorite of theirs, but I’ve not seen some of their darker beers, Though I do like hoppier beers, so YMMV.
Everyone, at last, I get to taste Milk Stout Nitro. I’ve drank Millionaire, Hazelnut and Oatmeal milk stouts but I finally get to drink the stuff that got me started on these beers in the first place. I’ll report back after Friday.
Did a two brewery stop on Saturday here in Charlotte. I don’t go to the south end of town much and wanted to check out one of our new locals.
This one was EXCELLENT.
I was sampling with my girlfriend but we had a couple of beers, both very well done and quite tasty. These two were an IPA called, “What He’s Having,” and a double IPA called, “What She’s Having.” Lovely tasting citrusy hop IPAs.
