Getting “Locked-In” on One Brewery

Great question! For me, it's an obvious "yes' as that brewery is Other Half in Brooklyn. Yeah, they're killing it right now and their brews are among the highest that I've rated on here but toss in the line share at their weekly releases, the beers that I've traded for while waiting in it, and the friends that I've made over the years from being in it nearly every week and no one else around here even comes close to having their place in my heart.

That's not to say that I *don't* like other breweries, but they have the zeitgeist factor that I have yet to find anywhere else. Brooklyn has been my home away from home since I started driving a yellow cab nearly 8 years ago and my Saturdays wouldn't be the same without seeing everyone there, buying my week's allotment, and touching base with everyone. For me, it doesn't get any better than that!

 

Dude, what is missing? Just in the Puget Sound, I-5 corridor, I think we have every style covered. Lagers? Chuckanut focuses on 'em, and a lot of other breweries make 'em. Murkbombs? Structures, Skookum, Urban Family, and Matchless. Belgians? Sound sorta focuses on 'em, and lots of others brew 'em. Stouts, everybody.

The only couple styles I see a lack of are Hefeweizens and Wits, but there's usually a few around.

 

Not locked in, as I am a big fan of variety, but Jack’s Abby and Notch get a lot of my beer dollars. Would be even more if I lived closer to either of their taprooms, but the lagers they send to distro are still some great stuff.

 

I used to be all about trying the latest and greatest beers. After being burned over and over again by awful beers, I have streamlined my purchasing from 3-4 breweries. Between them they have about 10 beers I love, and I only drink a 6-pack's worth of beer a week, so that is more than enough to keep from getting bored.

 

Man, I never said we didn't have good beer. As a matter of fact I said we are producing great beer. I also never claimed that there were under-represented styles. The thread is regarding getting locked into one brewery, and your reply reiterates my point: we have great brewers that either focus or excel at one or two styles. I personally could only get locked into one brewery if that brewery alone did pretty well at the other styles, as I can't drink one type of beer constantly. If you're happy with just stouts or just murkies for months on end, then sure, one WA brewery could do it for ya.

 

Well, true admissions and all, I have consumed more Budweiser in my life than any other brand, by far, not even close, for about 7 years it was my go to, so Anheuser Busch. Since then? No, just the opposite.

 

I'm locked in on Jack's Abby, in my home town. They make a wide array of beers all at a high level of quality, put them in agreeable packaging, price them affordably, and make them available at any beer store around me with better freshness than other in-state breweries, AND donate $$$ to charities in our town. But aside from being a homer, I buy their beers out of principal that other breweries can't/don't figure out how to deliver on even half of the points above.

 

Again, I ask, where are we missing these parameters, regardless of style?

 

Yes. I needed to clarify that I meant consistency across styles produced by one brewery.

Most of the folks I visit breweries with or do bottle openings with share my sentiment, but it was not my intention to speak beyond my local peer group. We all have our opinions and bias.

This is mine, I stand by it. It is the reason why I love WA breweries and a lot of their beer, but have never “locked-in” to one brewer to drink mostly or solely their brews for any noteworthy period of time.

Again, the thread is about personal experience and drinking habits; not a testament to the ultimate truth of the Washington beer spectrum.

If you felt I was attempting to speak for all of Washington, my apologies again.

Otherwise, there really is nothing to disagree with here, so I’m not sure what you’re gunning for.
To each their own.

 

Nope, not locked into any brewery, although I will buy any Modern Times brew I run across, which are few and far between here in NW PA. I do try to drink a Schlenkerla marzen every evening - I just scored three cases between Shangy's and State Line Liquors so I'm good for the next two months.

 

Yes and no. The one local brewery I tend to drink the most from, and rarely miss a release is Bellwoods. In terms of local consumption, they are probably 75% or more of what I drink. That said, I do drink from some other locals, but less consistently, and I do a bunch of trading for out of market stuff.

I doubt, with all the great stuff available today, I could ever get fully locked in to any one brewery.

 

Does BA have a safe space? Asking for a friend...

 

When I began beer drinking my area was dominated by two local breweries which owned nearly every pub. But they were excellent breweries which would be called craft these days and we never tired of their beers. As is the case with good session beers each pint tasted better than the one before and we never felt any desire to change.
Choice is somewhat overrated, it enables you to find something that you like, but we already had that.

 

sierra fucking nevada

 

So what are you listening to on your fucking Walkman?

 

"I NEED YOUR SKUUUUUUUUUULLLLLS . . . "

 

Get with the times kid......Modern Times

 

Walk among us

 

I guess I could say we were 'locked in' to a couple of local breweries, both have some really good beer, but there are 40 - 50 others in the area that also have good beer.

The fiends and the vibe are the more of a factor than the beer. There is a group of us, probably 20+ that we have become good friends with through the tasting rooms. We follow the specials that some breweries offer on different days, and on any day there will be a dozen of us gathered around a large table.

Beer purchased for home consumption spans a wider range of breweries, Almost exclusively local breweries though, but that includes SN, NB, and OB