Are all Sixpoint beers brewed in Brooklyn?

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by celfan, Aug 24, 2012.

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  1. smutty33

    smutty33 Pooh-Bah (2,088) Jun 12, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I thought I read something a while back on the old BA about this subject and got reminded when Sixpoint recently started distro. in CT.

    This is not good news as I can't stand "contract brewing".

    I want the beer that I consume to be brewed by the actual brewery.

    Cheers All........
     
  2. MScotthomebrew

    MScotthomebrew Initiate (0) Jul 19, 2012 New Jersey

    Six Point will be one of (or maybe the only) the beers that will be available at Pig Island this Saturday.
    Pig Island is a food event held on Governor's Island NYC, so who ever is there pouring would be sure to know.
    (Not that I'm saying anyone needs to go.)
     
  3. socon67

    socon67 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,611) Jun 18, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I'm a fan of Sixpoint, but this is a bit misleading. Does this exist with other consumable products? I'm thinking if for some reason there was a product recall coming from Lion, the package would not indentify it. And in a time where Country Of Origin identification exists for meat and produce, it is surprising there is such a loophole.
     
  4. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The TTB label approvals for the Sixpoint canned beers (and all other beers brewed at more than one location from all brewers) state that "EACH CONTAINER MUST BE CODED TO INDICATE ACTUAL PLACE OF BOTTLING" for that very reason.

    With Sixpoint, it's not really necessary since no cans are coming out of Brooklyn, but other multi-plant brewers' date coding includes info to ID the brewery, the bottling/canning line, shift, etc.

    For example, MillerCoors' code's second line, second and third digits represent the brewery - 01 - Milwaukee, 04 - Ft. Worth, 10 - Golden, 30 - Shenandoah, etc
     
  5. phanlon

    phanlon Initiate (0) May 7, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I've not done a side-by-side myself, but I've talked to others that claim that the Lion-brewed stuff is inferior to the Brooklyn-brewed.
     
  6. dagimp

    dagimp Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2008 Pennsylvania

    I can attest 100% that I can taste a difference between their draft beers (at least a few years ago when Sixpoint was draft only) and their canned beers. So far Resin is the only sixpoint beer that really wowed me out of a can, while a lot of their drafts have done so.
     
  7. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    re Sixpoint's canned beer vs draught:

    Sixpoint representatives (including, IIRC, owner Shane Welch in the old forums and on Twitter) have in the past always insisted that any of their beers that are canned are only brewed and racked into kegs at "their PA brewery" (aka The Lion), suggesting that the Brooklyn brewery now produces exclusively their keg-only beers at this point.

    Previously, those keg labels did read "Wilkes-Barre, PA" but now even the keg labels only list their "principal place of business" home headquarter brewery in Brooklyn.
    (below w/dates added)
    [​IMG]
     
  8. Edwin

    Edwin Pundit (815) May 8, 2003 Pennsylvania

    Don't care. I like the product, so I will continue to consume it.
     
    ClassicBrad likes this.
  9. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    And this thread only proves that sometimes you can have too much information. Notwithstanding the skullduggery, if you like the beer, what's the difference where it was brewed? And as far as the question about a problem and a recall, has there ever been a beer recall for any reason?
     
    Kanger likes this.
  10. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    In recent years, the two most publicized ones were a Boston Beer Co. recall for possible defective bottles (in which case IIRC it was the bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois' coding that was important) and Coors recall a defective batch of Coors Light which, as I remember it, was brewed at Miller's GA plant. Seems like there was a Mexican beer recall also for bottle defects not too long ago, as well.
     
  11. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    So the only recall for the beer contents was the Coors Light, correct? And was it defective, and not health threatening?
     
  12. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I didn't say they were the "only" recalls, just two notable recent ones.

    As is often noted, there are no known human pathogens that can survive the brewing process, so most beer recalls would not involved a permanent threat to health (other than things like those defective bottles). There have been a few ingredient health scares - in the early '80's carcinogenic nitrosamine was found in certain beers from a particular malting method (I think it was) and a famous case in Canada where a cobalt-based additive (a foam enhancer, IIRC) contributed to the deaths of some heavy drinkers from heart attacks. Those weren't "recalls" as such, but changes in recipes/methods.
     
    brooklynbrews likes this.
  13. dgs

    dgs Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2005 Pennsylvania

  14. ThoreauLikeAGirl

    ThoreauLikeAGirl Initiate (0) Mar 11, 2011 Pennsylvania

    ... and doesn't Sly Fox contract brew and can Brewer's Art beers? *slips back into the corner*
     
  15. phillybeer7779

    phillybeer7779 Initiate (0) May 31, 2010 Pennsylvania

    And some of Southampton's I believe. Nobody puts Lauren in a corner, even Lauren!
     
    ThoreauLikeAGirl likes this.
  16. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Yeah, and they label those brews accordingly, listing "Royersford, PA" as the city of origin (as did Southampton).

    [​IMG]

    Again, simply using a dba and/or contract brewing - two common enough business practices in the brewing industry - is not the issue with Sixpoint's alternating proprietorship deal with The Lion for many people.
     
    brooklynbrews and cavedave like this.
  17. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Let's look at it this way. If Sixpoint is proud of brewing in Pa. why don't they just list Pa. on their products?

    Shane was on here a while back, and besides giving an explanation for not admitting to brewing at Lion that was .0001 degree away from an outright lie, he also, tellingly, said this, which I paraphrase now as the actual thread is in limbo land with all the other pre meltdown threads. Nothing wrong with out yeast, but we are changing which yeast we use in Pa.
     
  18. shadowane

    shadowane Zealot (607) Sep 7, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Basically I don't think anyone really cares that people contract brew. It can certainly affect the quality of beers, but that's a case by case basis thing. I think people are annoyed at what amounts to basically lying even if it's legal. That and Sixpoint is kind of big on "being" from New York when most of their beer isn't even brewed there.
     
  19. EDNOSE

    EDNOSE Pundit (952) Oct 27, 2007 Connecticut

    Personally, I could care less where something is brewed. I do find brewery production / capacity issues intriguing so I like to know about location because of that, just because it interests me how breweries are handling demand / expansion. So I guess I would prefer they labeled more "accurately" but I'm not offended by it.

    I would agree that the Bengali Tiger I had on tap 3-4 years ago is nowhere as good as the cans. That said, they still make good beers. The ratings for all their beers are still at or near 4 on BA so they appeal to the majority. Crisp is my go to canned pilsner, Resin is excellent, Bengali is still better than a lot of stuff out there, Apollo was excellent this summer, etc. I enjoy having such good readily available 16 oz cans ... especially in the summer months.
     
  20. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    You appear to be sufficiently satisfied with the quality of the Sixpoint beers being brewed at Lion Brewery. Not everybody is satisfied with the quality of Sixpoint beers from Lion Brewery (there have been a number of past threads discussing this topic).

    Cheers!
     
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