Why wouldn't a brewer remake a highly rated beer?

1) Don't think you can replicate your results from the first time
2) Can't get the same ingredients or barrels you used the first time
3) Always like to make new things instead of retreads
4) Expectations are higher, so people are more likely to be let down

On the other side, I know there are many brewers who get hounded to make their customers favorites again, and it's funny when they are just like "nah". There was a brewer in the Denver area who made a Belgian dark strong ale as a seasonal. It was probably the best beer they have ever made, it sold out fairly quickly, high ratings on Untappd and other places; and customers were clamoring for more. When I e-mailed the brewery if they were going to brew another batch, they basically said "nah, the brewer doesn't feel like it".

I sometimes feel that businesses need to remember that without their customers they would be out of business. You MUST adapt to valid and useful customer feedback.

 

I was pondering this subject last night, an intriguing question. I did hear through a local business owner that m-43s strawberry variant was the result of a mistake in brewing that they may not know how to replicate. That's too bad, because that beer was probably the best non dark beer I've ever had. I don't see it losing luster like kbs, it was too good and of such a popular style.

 

Ahh...the brewery, to distributor, to retailer conundrum. The age-old guessing game as to how much to make and how much will ultimately sell is the Achilles Heel of craft.

@zid ...you couldn't be more accurate with that succinct statement.
@EvenMoreJesus ...yes, the thread could very well be over, but...

There is this delicate dance/game that wholesalers (i.e. distributors) play with respect to breweries and retailers. They can only go based on sales projections and from what commitments they get from retailers. Then, they report to the brewery that X number of cases are pre-sold. Brewery then says, "Great, we will then brew X amount to fulfill all of those orders!"

It is only when the retailer is then stuck with out of code beer that they thought they would move based on previous sales...it is only then do they tighten the purse strings.

I remember, (circa 2014) when pumpkin beers basically dominated the shelves from August to November...and now, they are hard to source. The Fear (Flying Dog) is my absolute favorite of that style, but now my local retailers are lucky to stock only 1 or 2 cases.

If product on the retail level slows, than the entire process slows...just like a brewery. If no one is available to package, then no beer moves out of the cellar...no beer moving out of the cellar results in no tanks available to brew into. No tanks available = no production.

Like every other industry, breweries need to keep production going and will therefore react to the whims of the distributor which (in The States, at least) largely dictates the ebb-and-flow of product.

My 2cents.

 

Hindsight is 20/20. 7-8 years ago I’m skeptical that anyone foresaw any future luster-loss with KBS

 

Are we specifically talking about Good Morning here?

 

There's that too, sometimes the labor and effort involved simply isn't worth the trouble when the same amount of work can produce two or three batches of a lesser beer that's popular and sells fast.

 

I thought the thread "ended now"?

 

I feel there are a lot of things to consider. I feel there is production threshold for beer to loose its "cult status". Treehouse for example seems the have the means to produce a large quantity of beer, but they keep it brewery release only, I think keeps their hype (for lack of a better term) high. And Founders for a example, once KBS became readily available (quality may have dropped) people kind of stopped caring about it.

But then I also think of breweries like Floosmore Station's Wooden Hell is like one of the biggest whales of all time, but that seems to be the only thing that brewery is known for. I think they never remade that beer because the next batch would never match the same standards (yes I know it was just re-released). This also is the same with a lot of lambic and wild breweries sometimes blends and barrels are just well "magical" and its impossible to recreate something like that.

 

Yeah, KBS cult status seems to have evaporated. Before 2017, in many markets you would be lucky to get a 4-pack or even a bottle. In 2017 they seem to have ramped up production, and it was easy to get a case if you shopped around. In 2018 they again seemed to have ramped up production, and here we are a few months after release, tripping over piles of cases in stores.

It will be real interesting to see what happens in 2019. They would already have committed to 2019 quantities before 2018 hit the shelves. About the best approach might be to just make it year-round like BB, and cut the price. Or, after 2019, they may need to suspend production for a couple of years, or maybe consider variants. Either way, cult status is gone, and I expect that over time the ratings will drop.

If they had only increased production slightly each year, they could have reached the sweet spot where it is still cult, and there is still hunting happening, but more people are laying hands on it and profits are up. What would happen to diamond demand and prices if a huge mine started producing 10x the current supply? Folks would move on to other gems.

 

And beer.

 

If he needs a volunteer to cook 20 pounds of bacon, have him give me a call. 24/7/365.

 

You're a brave soul, that's a lot oof splattering grease. (Unless you're baking it of course...)

 

Sounds like a job, I'll bring the beer.

 

Funny how that works!

 

With 3,352 reviews at the moment, it might take some time to drop, but I expect that if you just averaged the last few hundred you'll see it dropping.

 

It never crossed my mind. For bacon, however, I believe that following a comprehensive quality control checklist.is essential.

 

It would have, but we were waiting on you to provide us some much needed insight.