Which brewery is the next Sam Adams?

If it's a question of sales, I'm not sure who'd be the next Sam Adams, though Sierra Nevada might be it.

If it's a question of national recognition, I'd guess that Sierra Nevada's already been the equal of Sam Adams for a long time. But perhaps my native Californian background is biasing my vision on that point.

 

ah got ya BA Narwhal is delicious though lol.

 

I agree. They also deserve credit for refining those new found hop lovers into hop connoisseurs.

Stone has done something I don't think they get any real credit for. Before the onslaught on BMC and modern refrigeration, beers were hopped to the maximum to preserve.

A large portion of consumers did not have the developed taste for extremely hoppy beer. Stone was and continues to be, a major contributor to helping people gain a better sense and appreciation of hop forward beer. They didn't stop there ( Thanks Team Stone!)

They pushed the envelopes of hoppy beer unlike any other craft brewery. With discipline and arrogance!

 

My favorite brewery is Stone. I disagree with weiserr.. To me, Enjoy By is a waste. Every IPA is or at least should be an " Enjoy By" IPA.

I have enjoyed every release, but I call it Stone Quaterly or so IPA. Drink Fresh!

I've never had a bad beer from Stone, but that doesn't mean they are not human and can't put out a bummer beer occasionally.

Sam Adams is to hard headed to accept failure. Obvious abject failure. They have winners, but refuse to remove obvious duds. Stone listens closely to their consumers.

I hope Stone gets as large or even better, larger than, SA. I want Stone for the whole wide world!!!

 

i thought at first you meant in a negative way not positive, but now that i understand what you mean, i'd say Deschutes has a shot.

 

Love Narwhale , it's a great beer. I'm thinking to hit a HR in today's market you need to have a world class ipa or dipa, one that sells out as soon as it hits the shelves, or something along that line. They have the capability, the capacity, and distro in place. Torpedo Is good, but not even close to good enough to drive a major up tick in market share, obviously so. Their regular lineup in enjoyable, but no where near a drinking experience.

 

I vote New Belgium. No other "craft" beer is as prominent as Fat Tire and it's unoffensive enough to strike a chord with many-a-casual beer drinker. Plus they did 945k barrels in 2014. The new facility will only do 500k barrels though, whereas Sierra Nevada's will be around 800k, so SN will actually be producing considerably more come 2016. I think at the least Fat Tire will remain one of the most recognizable non-BMC brands for the foreseeable future. Of course that's easy to forget living in NY, but places New Belgium is distributed to? It is literally everywhere.

 

The other main difference is that New Belgium isn't in all 50 states.

 

What's holding Boulevard (KC) back? They don't seem to distribute much to the Midwest but have larger financial backing/owners now.

 

There are lots of Sam Adams and GI pubs in Airports in the Midwest and East. I have never seen a Sierra Nevada one!

 

Aside from the reasons jesskidden listed, also maybe because Fat Tire occupies a similar market space as Yuengling Traditional Lager? a bit more flavorful than BMC, but doesn't have high regard from craft beer drinkers?

 

I'm confused when you say we "don't seem to distribute much to the Midwest". We sell most of our beer within 3 hours of Kansas City.

 

The suspects:

Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Stone, Deschuttes, Lagunitas, Bell's.

I would have said Brooklyn Brewing a few years ago, but they seem to have lost momentum somehow.

 

Founders keeps expanding distro area and production. I could see them continue to grow towards that level.

 

Anyone else think its crazy that New Glarus is 18th largest and caters to Wisconsin only. Not that their beer doesn't end up all over the country anyways. Just thought that was interesting.

 

Sierra Nevada. I was shocked to hear years ago that it was not on the east coast. Now it seems it is everywhere. Not sure if there is a state that they don't distribute to. Its a go to beer when I am at a bar that has a limited tap selection.

 

It will probably be Lagunitas, the numbers will speak and people will mumble

 

Stone seems to be the most aggressive, with a head towards growth.

 

How many years ago was that? I am not certain, but I seem to remember Sierra Nevada in NY or NJ (lived in both states) by the late 1980s. I have empties of Bigfoot and Celebration from those years and I doubt I would have purchased them empty at breweriana shows, etc.

Beer distribution does not always occur in a contiguous state-by-state expansion method. F'r'instance, in the early 80s, the only places one could buy Anchor products outside the west coast were MN, MA and NJ.

(Living in the Finger Lakes circa 1983-4, my SO was going to Boston for a week for some classes. She had strict instructions to return home with the newly re-released Anchor Liberty Ale. She did. Even tho' she had to pay something outrageous like $1-$1.50(!) for a single bottle of it! Things went bad later between us [as in "her and I", not me and Liberty Ale], but I'll always have a soft spot for her for that, if nothing else).