http://seattlebeernews.com/2017/01/sad-news-big-al-brewing-closing-in-white-center/ Only had a handful of beers from them, but my experiences with them tended to be good. Sad to see them go.
I mentioned it in the Vistiting Seattle thread yesterday, but it deserves its own topic. I used to spend a lot of time at Big Al's back in the day. I had friends who lived in Delridge so we'd often have birthday parties in the private space upstairs, or stop in for beers before burgers at Zippys. Sad to see them go. I've got a Time Capsule bottle from a 2014 release, I'll be opening it tomorrow during the Hawks game in their honor.
A bar I used to work at here in town was one of, if not the, first place outside of Seattle to pour Big Al beers. Alejandro would often drive up with the kegs, and I got to know him a bit. Helluva nice guy (even if he is a huge soccer fan ), and I'll miss seeing him around, especially at fests. The Time Capsule he served at Belgianfest was the best beer of the fest, and probably one of the top 5 of last year for me.
Can't say I was ever much of a fan, but the news still bums me out. Also makes me worry for other less heralded breweries like Big Time or Maritime. If Maritime ever closed the Jolly Roger I'd be crushed. They might have my all time favorite pub food. Looking at the reasons they're closing Big Al is kinda scary because he's so spot on.
This is a bummer. Big Al's was already pretty ubiquitious around Seattle when I started paying attention to craft beer around 2008/2009. Like most I'm sure, I kinda came to take them for granted. They made solid NW style ales, almost always a reliable option on tap. Also had the distinction of making the first Sounders beer.
Damn, that statement Al made at the end was hard to read. What a great guy. I have some time capsule bottles still and will be opening one tonight.
I hear you. Makes you think about what's entailed when you start up a business. There's a lot of people out there who don't get what it's like to open a new business.
Not picking on you homes. But, I think Al is ahead of the curve here. We're all excited about all these out-of-state breweries coming into "town". Well, there's only "X" percentage of us that are totally loyal to our truly "local breweries". If consumers (us) choose foreigners, as opposed to to invaders, so be it. Every pour of Founders (for example) is a pour of some regional brewery that doesn't happen, and, extrapolated, a job lost. I know that I sound like a guy who can't adapt, but, I've been through this before. Spend wisely. Or, whatevs.
Fundamentally, I'm a capitalist at heart. As for Al, every beer I had from him was just meh. I never bothered with his one off's (or special series, as it may) because I found his regular lineup just meh. If Founders offers me a quality product at a fair price, I'm likely to buy it. Bottom line is this: Al should have made better beer.
Fair enough. But, choosing an equivalent "away" beer, over a given "regional' beer, versus an "invader" has direct, clear, unquestionable results. If you (or whoever) thinks that we suck so much, then, so be it. I don't think we're so good that, if our breweries started shipping that way, that those consumers would drop their locals, in favor of ours. I also don't think the opposite is true. I think I'm just going to play in traffic.
I hear you and I don't disagree. Not defending myself but I probably drink two dozen 'regional' beers for every 'invader' beer. Hell, I probably drink half a dozen Fremont and Reuben's beers for every 'invader' beer. In other words, I'm not sure where you're getting that I think we suck. With that said, I won't agree that a Founders beer and an Al's beer are equivalent. Founders is much better.
I'm with you on this Terry, but if one extrapolates your thinking to its logical conclusion, I feel as if that's puts me/us in an impossible position. There are already far more local breweries who I think make great beer than I can reasonably support. Every time I buy a glass of Pallet Jack, arguably that's one less glass of Hop Venom, Notorious, wanderlust, Phaedrus, Sticky Hand (and on and on and on and on) that I could have purchased instead. Should I then feel a sense of guilt and remorse every time I order a beer? In the end, I think consumers should drink what they want, no matter where the beer happens to be made. I know in my case, I'll still always drink local first, but I think it's OK if sometimes I might be in the mood for a glass of six point 4 beans, Racer X, PtE, or maybe FBS. I'm resigned to the fact that I can't do all the heavy lifting myself, and that others are going to have to do their fair share to keep local breweries in business. Know what though? I'm not too overly worried about it, as most of the breweries in our part of the world make damn good beer that folks want to drink, and the arrival of Founders, Bells, Great Lakes or whoever isn't going to change that. In the case of Al's, I'm sure there were a myriad of reasons why he went out of business, but in the end, I suspect what Buckeyeone noted is likely the primary cause. If Al was making better beer, more folks would have drunk his beer (regardless of Founders or whoever else comes into the market), and he'd likely still be in business.
It's heartbreaking to see anyone forced to give up on their estimable dream, especially after they'd risked and invested so much, and kept that flame lit for a substantial period of time against great odds. Capitalism is great, except insofar as it turns everything into a rat race, and hurts good people who can't quite keep the pace. It's why I'm a Keynesian, or, without formal training in economics, something like that. That laissez-faire bullshit is not the be-all and end-all... I agree with John. And I think he gets to the heart of the matter of here. The main "problem" in the Northwest the past decade hasn't been the introduction of "invaders"--who have, in truth, been fairly few and far between--but rather the explosive growth of local craft breweries. Eight years ago, or even three to five years ago, Al's local competition wasn't nearly on the level of what it is today. His challengers then were relatively slim. Now, it's a completely different matter, and god pity any brewery, like his, which has had to find ways to stand out and grow in this highly competitive market. If Al and his team couldn't quite keep up, it's sad, but possibly fair. If there are people who truly regret their loss, perhaps the answer would have been to have reviewed, touted, and talked about their beers more. They were seldom discussed here, and seldom reviewed. I, personally, as a relative newbie, barely knew about them until this thread.
I also had never heard of Big Al until now, but It sounds like some breweries close to me in Portland (based on what it says on this site about Big Al's) in being mostly production, with a limited or no taproom. It seems to me that this would be the hardest to sustain in a competitive market. There are definitely a few breweries in Portland I think wouldn't be around if they didn't have tap rooms with food. Even better if you tap into the families with kids market (Elliot Bay in Seattle fits this too, doesn't it?) The reality is that more and more (myself included) are heading to tap rooms with tons of handles where variety is the draw, rather than going to small brewery taprooms. Especially if the beer there is ok at best. As for non-local breweries, I'm not convinced that's the problem. There have always been a rotating cast of outsiders. We used to have Flying Dog and Allagash, Southampton etc etc. They come and they go. If you factor in the major attrition in the presence of international beers available I bet there's way more local beer available than there ever has been. And way more local brewers.
I think what makes me sad is that White Center/West Seattle didn't support one of only three neighborhood breweries, and the worst one isn't the one that shut down. I don't know how West Seattle Brewing stays open. Their beer is not good.
Sad when anyone's dream ends, but I had not heard anything about this brewery in forever. Things are changing rapidly in the local brew scene, especially now since i believe many areas of the PNW are at saturation point as far as local breweries are concerned. You have to differentiate or otherwise make a name above the horde. My favorite local brewery hang out has slightly expanded, opened up partially to families, a careful selection of bottled beer, and has food all in the last 2 years. They are booming and crowded many nights. Another of my favs has not and seems stuck in a rut with smaller crowds. I think gone are the days when you can basically sell your home brew in a location and locals will stick with you. Even in Salem we have choices now. PS..i think brewers also have to take into consideration that women drinking craft beer is also expanding. I see loads of ladies ordering craft at my local..usually sours and the like but still. And a good brewery taphouse should also try to include a couple of wines and a cider .
West Seattle Brewing did shut down for awhile, but reopened with revamped ownership. I'm sure being right on busy Fauntleroy Way helps a lot compared to where Big Al was located. I think the main thing if you live in the West Seattle area and you want good beer, you go to Beveridge Place and Beer Junction.
They did and even opened a location on Alki. Their beer is still not good. Beer Junction and Beveridge are both 21+. With all those young families with kids in WS you'd think there would be more options other than Elliot Bay and West Seattle Brewing.
As someone not fully familiar with every brewery in town, my two cents are: There are a handful of breweries making beer that would be successful in any market. Top shelf product, so to speak. But it seems that Seattle in particular has A LOT of mediocrity and death by market saturation has probably been overdue for a lot of these beers. So many times I have gone to fantastic restaurants and the tap list is full of uninspired local IPAs. I can't speak to the quality of Big Al's, I only had one of their beers, but the popularity of beer in general is going to cause purging of some of the old heads that aren't pushing boundaries. The introduction of more and more national product every day will just compound that. TLR-we have too many options available now, so unless it's truly great, we don't need to buy it. The bar has been raised.
Had two versions of Time Capsule at WA Brewers Fest, both excellent. Always sad to see a place like this go, we'll see more of it.
