SweetWater's westward expansion

Of all the breweries California doesn't get distro for, Sweetwater is pretty low on my list of "wants".

Okay, it's not on there at all.

 

One thing that may go somewhat unrecognized within the BA community: is there not value in a craft brand which, if not necessarily outstanding with most of their brews, can be readily found within a large market at a reasonable price, thus making it an introduction for thousands of craft drinkers who may not be familiar enough to try something such as Three Taverns or Creature Comforts in Georgia, or other craft choices in the rest of their market? While BA folks are naturally going to focus solely on the best beers, there is a substantial market for breweries like Sweetwater.

Also, if you haven't given fresh Sweetwater IPA a try recently, maybe get a can or two and try it in your next blind tasting to see if it's really as bad as many seem to think.

 

I don't want what I said to be perceived that I don't think there is a place for them, I was at their first tap takeover in Houston and enjoyed what they had, but as mentioned not my favorite. A few months later I found Hop Hash in Florida while on vacation and was like yeah, this is nice. I threw it in rotation with Jai Alai, Two hearted while I was down there. Fortunately we started getting it here also in Houston and I will grab it when on tap, my son's second favorite to Jai Alai. That said, I would probably like them better if we could get more than the standard offerings that they are shipping here (420, BlueBerry, IPA and Hop Hash)

 

I think Sweetwater IPA is pretty good. I just had a fresh one 2 weeks ago.
However I am not sure where they are going to land. Most the places out West that have big populations will also have a lot of competition. Colorado might seem like a good landing spot but the competition is getting pretty fierce, and we have pretty good distro as well. California seems to be swamped with breweries. I don't even need to mention the PNW region. So I could see sweetwater MAYBE landing somewhere like Nebraska, Utah, Nevada, maybe even Arizona. But the problem is that all of these states are pretty much covered by Colorado, California, and Oregon distro.

 

100% agreed. Have you had their BBA Imperial Stout?

 

I am happy for them and I hope they continue to expand, grow, and succeed. However, IMO, I truly believe they are subpar compared to the western styles. Even living here in FLA, I rarely drink Sweetwater. It just doesn't stand out.

 

For $15.99, I'm afraid to. Even if it's their best offering, there's infinitely better beers at lower prices.

 

Seems like a lot of western breweries are expanding eastward so why not in the other direction.

I like their 420 especially when it is on draft.

 

I've tried many of Sweetwater's beers and never bought them again. They were good, but the market has many that are outstanding. I would gladly swap the brewery locations of Ballast Point and Sweetwater, for example.

 

It's just more states for Sweetwater to collect dust in like it has in Western PA since 2 months after the launch. It's a mediorce brewery from the debateably the weakest beer region in the country. They don't seem to make a single beer that stands out in any way. If they pulled out of PA, I don't think anyone would notice. I think they are expanding to cover up lack of growth in current markets. It's the only reason that I can see to be expanding so quickly.

 

Their IPA is very solid. Unfortunately I never see it in DC, only their 420 Extra Pale Ale all over the place, which is mediocre as hell.

 

I think this is true of a very large number of breweries in the country. They go wider and wider geographically, but create no real brand awareness or market penetration.

 

In the new age of tickers and tasters and truck chasers sweetwater won't prosper.

As a local to them- I do crave an IPA from time to time. I do buy their seasonals once in a while.

I'm also not a ticker, and someone who can enjoy one to two of the same beers, but also feel they are complacent and stick with mainstream beers and are a bit big to experiment and play like most smaller breweries do.

In the world of online beer dick swinging - they'll never measure up. In real world numbers and sales- they are doing just fine and don't need the flavor of the week.

 

This is puzzling. I rarely even hear great things about Sweetwater when I visit family in the South why would we drink them here in west with all the top notch selections we have?

 

Hoping we get more of their offerings in PA like their Imperial Stout. Only had it once but remember it being great. WILL buy a case if it ever pops up!

I remember it popped up years ago at the Gateway Grill of all places back when I thought 3 dollars for a single imperial stout was expensive. Would gladly pay the 18 dollars (or 15 realistically) to drink it again. Tasty stuff.

 

You obviously have not had the pleasure of trying Creature Comforts, Orpheus, or Burnt Hickory. Although Sweetwater produces some decent beer, these three breweries are killin it in GA & much better than anything coming out of the Sweetwater brewery IMO!

 

Agree with what you're saying, scbeerman. However, I think it's market specific. I don't think Sweetwater would be a sustainable brand in places like Colorado and California. There they have multiple great local options at similar price points that are just as approachable, if not more so, than Sweetwater's beers.

My biggest issue with Sweetwater is their brand - their obsession with marijuana and their sexist, crude names and labels like Happy Ending. (Now that I think about it, maybe the marijuana schtick would work in CA or CO). I prefer to support classy breweries.

 

I wish Wyoming was a thought. Ya know I e-mailed Stone Brewing about that, and they did say kindly, nope not at this time.. It is still amazing in a way, that the Stone Enjoy By made it in NJ in 8 days but our market is not strong enough for that yet...Well I will do what I can here but I have plans to move to Oregon...

 

I here Oregon rocks for beer. You can always get into trading, that's what I did in Utah for a few years.

Cheers!

 

I am entertaining the idea of trading!