Will buying LOCAL reign supreme?

I don't buy local for the sake of buying local. But if the quality is equal to or better (which in many cases it is with the crop of breweries in and around NYC), then yeah I'm with you.

 

I think local has its advantages, freshness tends to be a big one, but I don't understand those who support local breweries simply because they are local, if they produce great or solid beers then by all means but if you go with friends to the local spot they describe as "meh its ok its local" I will never understand the desire to continue to support it.

 

I disagree. On many occasions I've seen fresher Sierra Nevada on the shelf than the local stuff (Long Trail, Otter Creek, etc.)

Why should I limit myself to only local stuff (even though in Vermont that's a pretty sweet selection), if I can get fresh, awesome stuff from breweries nationwide?

 

I buy local when the local option is the best.

 

In MT local kinda means the whole state. I travel a lot for work so I mostly just get growlers from breweries. Can't beat getting it straight from the source. ultimately though people will always want to try new things so I think buying local and nation wide will always even out.

 

Keep in mind that the big guys are evolving as well. With expansions and additional breweries, you might not be getting their beer from "the other side of the country" in certain cases.

 

Some folks carry the local only banner as if it's a movement, and that's fine if that's the most important deciding factor to them. I carry my wallet as if it contains limited resources, therefore I will always buy what I feel is the best product available regardless of origin - that's the most important deciding factor to me. I believe my days of supporting an inferior product just because it's local have passed me by.

If I had Other Half Brewing as one of my "locals" I would quite possibly never have to buy an IPA or DIPA from another brewery ever again.

 

My local offerings aren't that great, so I purchase mostly regional and national distro offerings. But to piggyback off of @Sweatshirt, when local is the best option, I'm all in.

 

Local is about 10% of my beer purchases. I don't care where it is made, as long as it tastes great and the company getting the money is not doing anything I deem as immoral. I think the whole regional loyalty is a regressive and tribalistic mentality when regional association is the sole underlying justification. There may be other arguments to be made, but none I have found to be very compelling.

 

I buy what I like and what I perceive as a good value, where it's from is rarely a deciding factor. That being said, most of the packaged local brews around here are mediocre and offer nothing (such as freshness or value) that a beer from across the country doesn't.

 

If this data shows we are trending back to the old ways, then yes. Not sure if it quite says that, but, it's interesting to look at anyway.

Number of Breweries and Brewpubs in U.S.Number of Breweries and Brewpubs in U.S.

 

For the last year+ or so, I've been focusing on local just because there are so many choices I haven't tried. Sometimes there is a real winner, sometimes it is forgettable. Being local is not a movement or ethic with me, it is just what I am interested in at the moment. I define "local" to be large enough to include Bent Paddle, which as it happens is a radius from my house that is also large enough to include Toppling Goliath, Central Waters, and Fargo, so it wouldn't be fair to exclude them! (OK, I have to fudge the radius a few miles... it is MY definition of local!)

 

Throw me in with the "I buy what tastes good, where it's made isn't a concern at all" crowd.

 

Easy, on-tap nearby: local (regional)
At home, by the bottle: whatever's good.

 

^ This. I don't buy local for the sake of local. Good local - absolutely. Mediocre (or dare I come right out and say crappy) local - no. I can make crappy beer all by myself...whoa that sounds like a poor representation of my brewing skills, but things happen.

 

For IPAs where freshness is the prime factor, now that we have some great local breweries I buy local most of the time ensuring I get fresh beer. For other styles I will buy what I like best regardless of where it comes from.

 

I spend a lot (too much?) time in breweries around NH, MA and VT. If I like it - and there's a lot to like here - I stock up.

So, not neccesarily local-for-the-sake-of-buying-local, but it does work out that way. Maybe 90%?

 

Greater Washington needs more employment that is not paper pushing, just to keep us all sane. So sure, I make it a point to drink from the Metro area I will not repeat purchase from inferior local breweries, but for now I want to try them all at least once, so I can judge for myself which are best. I believe that is the way to improve l9cal beer, by rewarding the best. Note that in the case of brewpubs, food, atmosphere, and convenience are additional factors.

But I also drink west coast beers, and European beers. I feel I cannot really learn beer without doing that. And as Zid mentioned, some western breweries are moving closer to me. I have recently had SN and Oskar Blues beers made in North Carolina. Stone's new facility will be even closer.

 

Is buying local best? If you live in Minneapolis, San Diego, Boston, Charlotte, Tampa, etc. then probably yes. Enid Oklahoma, maybe not.