Sierra Nevada Changes, Rumors & News (2022)

I'd sell my brand too with fans like the ones in this thread...

 

Well, I can imagine it.

And I imagine the members here will be quite civil and appreciative of his response, whatever it may be.

This is BA, after all, not instafacetwit.

 

so you're saying that this puts them in the rarefied company of true legacy Americana brands?

 

Yeah us silly consumers, only buying what we like and not buying what we don't. We should just shut up and be brand loyal and buy whatever is placed in front of us.

 

If you are going to play that card, Sierra Nevada is doing exactly what it should. It's selling products that make them money, not products grey beards want.

And once again, Sierra is making all the beers that you want. It's just they are no longer distributing them nationally likely because of financial reasons.

 

What would be the point of making them, but not letting consumers buy them (by not making them readily available)?

 

Because shipping large quantities of beer is outrageously expensive right now?

Why would a brewery have a small foot print and only distribute locally?

 

Because they're a small brewery, with a low output, that can only satisfy a certain geographic area. They are not a brewery that distributes a lot of product nationally, and has done so for quite a long time. It doesn't cost more to put a few pallets of other product onto the train cars that's already going from Chico or Mills River to KC or Minneapolis with other product.

 

So Sierra Nevada should just eat costs on Summerfest or Oktoberfest so you can have it?

It's obvious those beers aren't selling. They are moving what sells and making smaller batches of what they like to brew for the loyal fans. You can order a case of their beers and support them if you'd like instead of complaining about it.

https://shop.sierranevada.com/collections/beer

Porter, Summerfest, and a bunch of other goodies are all available online in multiple states.

 

As far as Oktoberfest is concerned, I think the buy local “movement” might be involved in that decision. I’m guessing damn near every local brewer to you does an Oktoberfest, and if I guessed right, there’s a lot of competition.

And that’s independent of freshness, which my entirely scientific analysis of “feeling what people are saying” indicates isn’t as big an issue for many with Oktoberfests as most other styles. Though I bring it up to say, combined with all the local options, I have bought no early July-dated SN Oktoberfests in September/October (when I enjoy the style more). I will and have bought them dated in September when I see them, which has happened in the past with the operations in NC, though I don’t think I saw any last year.

 

SN always has Oktoberfest events at their breweries. At a minimum they will brew enough for those events and likely a little extra.

 

Please explain why Ken Grossman personally chooses to force everyone to but hazy ipas

 

Me personally, no, I don't buy those beers. But, if they are making the beers anyway, why not send some out into the network? Call it part of the customer relations budget; maybe the folks grabbing a sixer of one of those beers will get the warm fuzzies about SN, and grab a sixer of the latest murkbomb they put out too. Again, the trucks and trains are going out full anyway, and they're making the beers so locals can buy them, why not ship some too?

A poster upthread mentions he has issues find SN stuff in Mid-Massachusetts, let's call that Springfield; a quick look at Bing maps tells me that it's 862 miles to Mills River, how much sense does it make for him to drive there to grab a 12 pack? None, right? How much sense does it make for him to pay the exorbitant shipping SN charges from their on-line store? None, right? SN should just admit that they've ceded these styles to smaller, local breweries altogether if they're not willing to ship some through their existing distribution channels. Just admit they don't want to make the beers, for whatever reason, and stop producing them. No more of this charade of "limited, brewery only, special release" bullshit.

 

It's actually not his favorite style of beer, but we/he also know it sells.

 

So, create your own trend. Make a stand. I and many others here would be supportive.

 

Sad to see Oktoberfest going away for a wider distribution. I always looked forward to seeing who they would collaborate with and to trying it. I only bought a six pack or two so can’t complain to much. Look forward to trying it whenever I’m in Asheville.

 

You wouldn't blink an eye if this was a smaller brewery doing it, but because it is Sierra Nevada and they used to do it it's "bullshit".

I imagine state distribution laws in the states that are not listed on their website make it more complicated financially to self distribute. But yeah, I'm sure Sierra Nevada who has been distributing these styles for years is just doing it because of "bullshit".

Sierra Nevada is staying true to their roots as they always have and selling products that make them money like any business their size has to. The reality is they employee 100s of people now and need to make decisions that support that versus smaller breweries that can switch on a dime.

 

Yes, I would certainly call bullshit if one of my local breweries gutted their lineup of the beers that made me love and respect them in place of another half-dozen identical tasting murkbombs. And, I wouldn't have to do it on the internet, I'd be able to walk into the taproom and tell them straight up. In fact, I've done that very thing. When local brewery Wander made the decision to take their Baltic Porter off of full time status, and into seasonal, the owner and I discussed it over a pint.

Listening to customer feeedback is an important part of any industry.

 

I know I'm beating a dead horse, but SN would see, IMO, a jump in sales across the board if they would just redo their distribution system to have even semi fresh beers on the shelf. I can never find even stalwarts like Pale Ale and Torpedo less than 3 months old. Deschutes, Odell and others do it, why cant SN?