Breweries that might need to step it up?

Rogue. Sierra Nevada is fine, they still churn out staple legends, and top notch seasonals.

 

http://www.sierranevada.com/blog/pr...ies-collaborating-on-beer-camp-across-america

 

Schlitz

 

Orval.

It's like make a different beer for once, amirite?

 

If it wasn't for Celebration, I'd agree with you on Sierra Nevada.

Can't really think of any I'm feeling stale towards at the moment

 

I like bigfoot and celebration from Sierra Nevada, both pretty great beers. Definitely Rogue, and in my not so humble opinion, Magic Hat is garbage.

 

Orval is different, every bottle is not exactly the same.

 

Agree with Rogue, and I'd add Stone to the list. I've tried about 25 beers from them including some rather rare offerings and haven't been blown away by any of them.

 

Another for Rogue. And for a local brewery, Rivertowne. I want a new beer canned already!

 

Yes. Double yes. Right on and damn skippy.

If breweries like Sierra Nevada (Beer Camp and Ovila series) and Rogue (Doughnut (whether you like them or not) and Rogue Farms series) qualify for not "adapting to our changing palates", and if Unibroue (La Fin du Monde, Maudite) and North Coast (Old Rasputin, Red Seal Ale) aren't "exciting", that opens the door for responses like Paulaner, Samuel Smith, and Gouden Carolus.

 

I agree, and with that said would like to retract my previous point on Rogue. I will replace them with, dare I say it, The Alchemist. Now I know hate will ensue, but I would like to see them come out with something else. Yes HT is amazing, but can they make another style just as amazing? Or do they only know Heady and nothing else. Maybe I am off the wall on this, but maybe I may be on to something.

 

New Belgium, their sours are good and their Belgians are decent, everything else recently has been average to awful.

 

I would say Sierra Nevada has stepped it up recently by adding narwhal, hoptimum, Olivia, and barrel aged bigfoot. Plus, last two times my buddy has gone to SN he has come back with some one off barrel aged beers, which were awesome! I would like to see them add more BA beers and some beers that aren't ipa related though.

DFH, as their recent new beers have been pretty lame. Great divide as I haven't really seen anything new from them in awhile. Fan of their beers but it would be cool to see some special releases or what not.

 

Boulder. Used to be amazing. Gone through lots of tumult.

 

Locally in Virginia, Starr Hill. They were one of the first big craft brews from VA as they were picked up by major distributors and it was exciting even if the beers were only OK. Now really good beer is flying around Virginia and Starr Hill is getting left further and further behind. In central VA Blue Mountain and Devil's Backbone have surpassed them in quality among production breweries and local draft-only breweries like Champion and Three Notch'd are doing far more exciting beers.

 

But isn't Stone doing what the OP wants- "adapting to our changing palates"? If anything, a lot of their less-than-stellar recent offerings are a perfect example of how that mindset can be a road to nowhere (I will say, for the record that I did think that Gotterdamerung kicked total ass). Classic beers/recipes tend to take more development than is allowed when catering to the 'something new' crowd (even if you get lucky every now and then).

 

Perfect example, imo.

 

Craft beer alliance breweries like Redhook and Kona. Widmer Bros seems to be a small cut above them IMO. Also Pyramid because their core beers are dreadful.

 

If you go to Sierra Nevada and actually try some of the barrel aged and other beer camp stuff that isn't normally available, you will change your mind. They are an awesome brewery, especially considering their size. They do a lot for other breweries that can't afford the analysis tools they have there. They do more for craft beer than you might realize.