Rebel IPA vs Lagunitas?

Res ipsa loquitur.

 

Flame suit on. But your profile also lacks reviews. Just pointing out a fact. I respect folks opinion no matter how many reviews they have. I just hope that 1 and done new member is not an employee.....

I respect your a brewer with passion, etc. No need to attack some ones profile.

just my 2 cents.

 

DogTown

I really dig your beers. I also do not drink Boston Beer Company product; I don't have time for them - too many good craft beers to try.

I will also not be drinking Rebel. But the first time I see it, I'll be sure to pick up some Maximus.

 

This polarization is just a little amusing. It reminds me of something that went down almost 20 years ago. Funny on how history repeats itself. This is IMHO of course. I don't expect anyone to 100% agree on how I see things. The world would be less interesting if they did.

Anyways....as this plays out who will become; Tupac, Suge, Vanilla Ice, and lastly who will go on to play in classics such as 'Barbershop' and 'Boyz N The Hood' ?

Got no dog in this fight. I don't go out of my way to purchase either BBC or Lagunitas. Got more than enough good beer here regionally to process.

 

I never once said that Lagunitas invented the West Coast IPA. That would be a HUGE disservice to the countless other breweries and brewing professionals up and down the entire West Coast that worked hard to popularize the style. No one is reinventing the wheel here but I am suspect of BB simply because now in 2014, roughly fifteen years after the success of the style, they do a sudden 180 from their traditional portfolio to create a beer that looks pretty similar to countless others, for what purpose? I'm all for breweries experimenting and trying new things, that's what makes craft great, but it's not like BB is some 3bbl upstart and they have the luxury of brewing a different beer every week. They have share holders and bringing this beer to market surely cost them a lot of $$. For what, though? Because the brand loves IPAs? Doubtful... If this were the case they would have added one to their regular portfolio a long time ago. Sure, they've made IPAs in the past but why now? I'm sorry, but this really doesn't look any different than a shock top/blue moon scenario, but this is big business at work and craft is quickly becoming that. It'd be one thing if BB was an upstart and this was their first offering, but they are one of the originals and one of the largest.

West Coast IPAs are associated with Lagunitas because, well....they're from the West Coast. Really don't understand why I have to elaborate on the consumer affiliation with the style because they are on the West Coast. And yes, a BIG part of brand identity in the craft world is location. That's what makes the industry so great is that despite the massive amount of offerings, you can very directly segment different tastes by region. This is a huge part of every brand's identity, including BB. How do you think all these new breweries plan to stay in business in the future? Ever hear the phrase "Drink Local"?

I have no affiliation with either company and I have a tremendous amount of respect for both brands. Lagunitas and BB both have built incredibly successful businesses that are universally loved and respected by just about everyone in the beer biz. I've had the privilege of working in the beer business for some time now, and done just about everything, from bartending, to managing brewpubs, to scrubbing tanks, and I have never once met someone who wasn't anything but awesome. That is what makes the industry great is the insanely nice people that get caught up in it. I've never met Tony or Jim but I am willing to bet that both are awesome people who are doing the things they do for the sole purpose of good beer.

I seriously doubt that BB sat in their board room with the specific intention of conquering the West Coast IPA market, but maybe they did and this is just simply big business at work. I'm suspect of this though, because BB IS a champion for craft beer and I really believe, taking their success into account, that they are trying to elevate craft as a whole. What it looks like to me is just an example of poor planning and execution. Rebel just looks and feels a little too much like the rest. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, though...right?

Regardless, the beer has come to market so really this discussion shouldn't be about that as much as the future of the craft beer business. Craft has the ability to be one of the first large scale industries in history to not eat itself alive and I think there are signs that the community is eroding. I hope that we can all continue to work along side eachother and not against.

As a side note, not really sure why my lack of posts or BA reviews has any relevance on my OPINION on this matter. I work in the industry, but even if I didn't, that shouldn't negate the fact that I joined the board to deliver a succinct, relevant comment to the broader discussion without flaming anyone personally. If I had attacked Jim or Tony I could understand why my post would be erroneous, but I didn't. I was critical of certain businesses and their practices but being critical of business is ok IMO and I believe it helps to make them better. I believe big business has the tendency to run away from people without them even knowing it. It should be a welcoming sign that newcomers are commenting on BA because that means more people are caring about craft beer. It takes time to join, however small that may be, but it is still time and that is valuable.

I love talking beer and if time permits, will hopefully continue to contribute. And if any of you happen to land in the Bay Area and would like to chat beer, PM and I will gladly buy the first round at my place of employment or one of the many other amazing breweries in this region.

Cheers!

 

wow you must work in marketing right? If you work in the beer biz a disclaimer is nice aka who you work for, and that its just your opinion. lots of good stuff there, along with allot of marketing speak, if you ask me.

long posts rarely get read all the way though.
You work in that area, wow big surprise, you support them. just saying....

 

Guy, (if you really are a male and not lying on your profile and are really a female trying represent as a male) he was just being humorous. Lighten up a bit.

Frankly, I was not a Tony Magee fan because of the common ranty nature of the tweets argument and I was not a Lagunitas personnel fan because of a 3 year old grudge stemming from a visit to the brewery when I showed up with 12 people at 12:30 pm (most people in the group were not experienced with cb so there was some missionary work here) and was told we'd have to wait outside for a half hour even though they appeared staffed enough to roll with it. Have always accepted that rules are rules but also have always felt that accommodation could have been made. We walked and never did the tour cause everyone was too hungry or thirsty to wait around. That said I have still always appreciated the beers they produce (i.e it was never a boycott).

After reading through this, my opinion on Magee is altered in a positive way. He has a slight arrogance and I effffin love it but it's because the responses are original and backed with experience and a pretty deep understanding of who he is and the way the world around him works. I enjoy craft beer because it has a creative element to it. It allows me to go home and escape the monotony of my everyday manufacturing sales job. When I read Jim Koch's response my first thought was "wow, this sounds like a carefully written e-mail with input from a few people similar to something companies I have worked for would write in response to a customer complaint" Very different people here but what is most important is that they care about their products/customers and they have the best interests of their employees (Jobs!) in mind when they speak. I think they both do. Neither is sinking their ship though Magee certainly speaks with the confidence that his employees, shareholders and customers will support what he is saying no matter how controversial it may seem (wonder if that is true).

Distributors (not a customer or employee) did get a little egg on the old face here though....but I think they will survive....

....and Magee is right, I would likely not have had a Rebel IPA before but now I HAVE TO DRINK ONE!

 

Ahh all I was doing is pointing out he ragged on another, if it was sarcasm you can use these things..

is all good, I am NOT taking sides. Just that he said another member had no reviews and it was the pot calling the kettle black. lol female good one. very funny. nice misdirection like it matters.

 

forgive me, how can the intentions of our words be interpreted properly without these things

lol, you're right, it is all good.

 

Sam Adams was my gateway into the craft beer world and I still have a collection of about 60 bottles of different beers of theirs. With that said, I almost never drink their beer anymore. Not because they're not good, but because as I've grown more and more into craft beer it seems as if theirs just leave my taste buds wanting more a lot of the time. I'll always be thankful they were the company that brought me over from BMC, though.

I really like Tony's twitter and how he speaks his own thoughts and opinions. In fact, I wish more people in the industry would do the same because it's fun to have a slight connection to the people in the industry, even if it is just twitter.

I also really like most of Lagunitas' beers. In fact, Lagunitas has started to become one of my favorite breweries due to the quality and very fair price point. Unfortunately we don't get them in North Dakota


With all of that said, I'm very disappointed in Jim Koch's response to this. Some of you may be happy and say he comes off as a nice guy in it, which I hear he is, but to me that response screams nothing but damage control. It comes off as nothing but a statement that was prepared for the company and was written just to try and please people looking for a response. It seems as if it was meant as a diversion to what Tony was claiming, and if it was than it seems to have worked on many people. If you have nothing to hide, respond in a truly personal matter and directly address what Tony was claiming. Surely if you love the craft industry and the people that support it as much as you say you do, you can take a few minutes to personally respond to the actual concerns that were brought up.

A personal approach like Tony's, even if he does say some far out there stuff sometimes, is much more believable to me than the corporate, business type response from Jim. That's just my opinion, though.

 

For what it's worth, @lagunitasbruhws is the brewery's twitter account and @lagunitast is in fact Tony's personal account. He actually tweets with some frequency about the personal nature of it.

 

"Rebel IPA vs Lagunitas?"

Cant wait to purchase some Rebel to find out!
I love Lag Sucks and Lil Sumpins good, but I was not impressed with Lag IPA the two times I tried it. I recall it lacking flavor. I'm going to give it another shot though and make sure its fresh and not too cold. Had it once on tap and it was served very cold/frosted mug. I also tried a single bottle but was not checking dates at the time so maybe it wasnt fresh.

This could make for a great blind taste test. May the best tasting ale win...When can I get Rebel bottles?

 

NOTE TO USERS:

We will not be using the term "Laggy" in place of "Lagunitas" not only is it lame but the search engines won't pick up on "Lagunitas". Plus many users hate it ... so put your laziness aside ;-) and type out four more characters for Lagunitas.

Thanks,

 

Not to sound like a hypocrite, but can we still call Natural Lite "natty"?

 

No, and dont write Heady, take the time, it should be fully written as Heady Topper...

 

I wasn't really serious. Every single beer here is abbreviated though. I am not sure why Lagunitas needs to be spelled out, other than Tony posting here, so this thread is elevated to celeb celebrity status?

 

is it Sam Adams or Samuel Adams?
...BBC or The Boston Beer Company? (scratches head)

 

Hi Tony, moving forward I think you have to fully write out company names you mention. (you should be writing The Boston Beer Company.)...just kidding, you seem to have a good sense of humor. On an unrelated note, please flood the Boston market with Sucks...

 

I work for a BBC house and saw no such memo...

 

I hope you get the chance. I've had the opportunity twice and he's an amazing dude.