How Many of You Stick to the "I'll Never Buy this Beer Again" Thing?

I try and support the the smaller guys, but I don't go out of my way or get on my high horse about it. The key word is try and make an effort. Im not going to say no to a Goose Island or Elysian is put in front of me. As long as it taste good that is.

 

My only hard bans are for beers I hate quality-wise. Other than that, I strongly avoid the beers of Amstel-Heineken (which almost "owned" the market here in Greece up until a few years ago) since what they brew and sell here is mostly horse-piss under different labels. They have started offering a few somewhat decent beers in the last few years so I may be these ones occasionally.

 

Curious as to why SA is in time out. With that said, I'm not a fan of their everyday beers. I do like some of the DR Series and some of the BB series.

 

All of their regular lineup and seasonal beers seemed to have this medicinal/rubbing alcohol taste that, no matter what other flavors were in the beer, prevailed over all else. Even Santo, which I originally loved (and I left my original review of it in tact at 4.2/+25.4% rDev), suddenly had this awful rubbing alcohol taste to me.

Some of the Icon beers were good, and Endeavor is solid, so when I saw Divine Reserve No. 14, I decided, OK -- THIS is the beer that decides Saint Arnold's fate with me. By this time, mind, I had tried maybe 4-5 Saint Arnolds beers in a row that all sucked, all tasted like isopropyl. So when DR #14 tasted nothing like a Belgian strong pale, I pulled the plug on the whole show.

It sucks because Saint Arnold is kind of the patron saint of craft beer in Texas, and I have loads of respect for what they've been able to do, hanging around for so many years. And at some point, I'll go back to them, probably to try Elissa or Endeavor again or one of the BB series brews (Carney's Pub in Bryan where I live always seems to have some BB bottles lying around, and that might be where I start my SA return).

 

People are much quicker to "boycott" something they already aren't buying on the regular.

 

Understandable, for me, all of their regular line up has the same yeasty after taste. I just don't dig that. I stopped the DR chase after number 3 and picked it up after the up roar over how good 11 was. 12 was good. I missed out on 13 and 14 was not my style. 15 is probably the best stout I've had from them. I also missed on BB 1-3. My favorite was the Weizenbock and my least favorite was Rumkinator. With that said, I don't go on a mad hunt for any of those beers. If they show up, I'll get it if not, no big loss.

On topic, I don't actively boycott any brewery. I drink what I like.

 

I said it about Lunch and haven't purchased since. After spending the same $7.99 on Stone Enjoy By yesterday I am going to stick to it.

 

Idk, I mostly stick to it when I really didn't like the beer (well, hello there Flying Dog Raging Bitch) because why would I buy beer I don't like. Otherwise, I generally try to support the smaller breweries and there's some like the big brewing conglomerates here I try not to support at all (like the Bitburger and Warsteiner conglomerate), particularly since they have come out with their own "craft" stuff (Braufactum and CraftWerk, the latter of which supposedly has some good stuff) and I pretty much live in an area dominated by Bitburger with some Kölsch (mostly the mediocre stuff) influences.

It's not like there's much temptation, though. If I want a good IPA/PA there are some good domestics/EU brews and stuff like Sierra Nevada is usually also available here for an adequate price. And why bother getting a more expensive Belgian from Bitburger when I can get the actual Belgians cheaper? And stouts/porters are something they haven't really touched yet but there's plenty of goodies in that realm in Europe (although I've honly had one convincing domestic so far).

I did get some Hoegaarden recently, but mostly just because I haven't tried their normal Wit and some of my pals dig that stuff. I could just as easily get a Blanche du Namur or an abbey/trappist Wit.

 

I guess I take the opposite approach that the OP is discussing. I never overtly say "I'll never buy a beer from X brewery". A lot of times I want to buy more from a brewery, but issues like the one described above prevent me from doing so. I don't pay close enough attention to brewery ownership to let that influence my purchases. Price is a lot easier to track.

 

Love the term 'Penalty Box'!

I've just used the more common term 'Shit List' before, and it usually is for practical reasons like you mention above.

Rogue: because too many butter bombs + no bottle dating. I did recently check out a seasonal bomber recently, hoping that stuff wouldn't matter in that particular case. As far as the sixers and mostly everything else goes, they are still on it.

Shipyard- same reason. too many butter bombs. Still on the list for bottled product; I will try their draught stuff if I am ever in their home territory, though.

Yards- many years ago (like 10) I thought that their bottled beers had QC issues, but things changed a few years ago and they came OFF, I am happy to say. They make some of my favorite English style beers and can really nail the character, so I'm thankful they got it all worked out.

As yards shows, things can change, so never say never.

 

May I ask what a "butter bomb" is? Because that sounds like an odd descriptor for a beer.

 

have not bought a lagunitas beer since they filed the lawsuit against SN. Even after they dropped it, it still showed what kind of person runs that company. It was hard walking away from brown shugga this year but i refuse to give any of my money to Tony Magee.

 

Yesterday I bought my last Green Flash beer, a single of Palate Wrecker. Between the recipe changes and the attitude of Pat Korn, I don't need to spend my hard-earned money on those beers any longer. The only exception I'll make in the future is if I'm able to purchase/trade for Silva Stout. Even then, I'll just try it and be done.

 

Someone gave me a Bourbon County recently and really enjoyed it. No criticism but honestly my local Event Horizon, 3 Bros Resolute and my 2014 Black note where every bit as good.

I will not likely drink BCBS again unless a gift. Plenty of options equally good IMHO and really want to keep the QUALITY local and craft nonlocal supported. A little like voting in my opinion--hard to account for the difference on the individual level but matters.

 

The yeast Shipyard uses is notorious for it's high levels of diacetyl. The flavor is usually described as that of the butter in microwave popcorn. Hence ... butterbomb.

 

That sounds delicious.

 

How many of you are dissuaded from buying anything else from a brewery because the first beer you tried from them was a disappointment? I will admit that I was bummed out by Anchor Steam, and it's made me wary of purchasing anything else from Anchor (especially as it's kind of expensive here).

 

Usually diacetyl is seen as a flaw, though in some styles a small amount is acceptable. For me, a hint in something like an English ESB can be a nice added dimension to the flavor.

There have been times though, when I've ordered something like a Belgian Triple, taken a sip, and found the beer loaded with butter ... so much so that it felt oily. No thanks.

 

I broke down for the Grapefruit Sculpin, and it was damn good, I swore off Ballast Point as over priced and usually old stock, but I'd never in a million years ever buy regular Sculpin or Big Eye again.

 

The new NC distributor for Ballast Point shaved $3 off a sixer from the old one. Suggest finding places that only sell it quick. He sells out quickly but local bottle shop Brawley's in Charlotte sells stuff that routinely is 2 weeks old even from SD and now in the 14-15 range as opposed to the prior price point of 17-18. Still pricey but worth it IMO.