Sierra Nevada "not craft enough"

Your younger bike riding friend is a huge toolbox. That's all that needs to be said.

 

Actually not really - when a brewery starts really messing around - making low abv styles imperial, adding mosaic or pineapple to anything just for the hell of it - I write off those breweries, avoid their beers and buy what I like.

 

You need to vet your biking partners more stringently.

 

Did you ask him which locals he supports?

 

I live in a town house, I'm grilling some rib eyes and baked potatoes. My neighbor who I can't see asks if I want a cold beer, of course I said yes, he hands over an ice cold can of Coors Light. It worked great on a 90 degree day in front of a grill. Unfortunately some just don't have the sense to just take and enjoy a cold beer. I'm sorry but if a cold AAL offends you your not much of a beer lover.

 

This article from my in box seems quite germaine to this discussion. Probably deserves a thread unto itself?

Regional brewers hardest hit

 

And, he could have been done after the first two words "no thanks". By going on about why, he's getting on a soapbox for someone who doesn't need to be preached to. Kind of like religious fanatics that feel compelled to preach to you about their beliefs.

 

Not supporting breweries like Sierra Nevada is what allows terrible beer to thrive in the United States. Sierra Nevada got so big by making awesome craft beer.

It's funny, I was spoiled because I used to live next to Westbrook in South Carolina and honestly could drink almost anything on the tap list. Then I come up North and go to Bell's and once again enjoy almost everything they make. Then, I start going to small "local" breweries and some knock it out of the park, but honestly there are so many that I only enjoyed 1 to 2 beers out of a 6 beer flight. But of course those breweries are always packed and sell a ton beer "locally".

I get that people have different tastes in beer but I think we can all agree there is a good number of breweries popping up and many are making mediocre beer yet getting away with it. There is a reason why all of your bigger craft breweries are big. Because time and time again they release awesome beer, and generate huge profits from it.

 

I love me some Sierra Nevada beer.

And bring the Kolsch back already goddammit.

 

It was just a light-hearted comment; a joke. I actually agree with you. (Although I don't usually avoid the brewery, just those beers...)

 

As long as it's hazy

 

Graciously, accept the beer! Then, if the date is ancient, or you don't like the taste, or have a problem with the company...you are in a better place to have a discussion about it.

 

Sierra Nevada tastes pretty manufactured to me these days

 

I can't imagine turning down a free Sierra Nevada beer. Especially not one I've never tried before, you don't even have the "no thanks, I really don't like that one" possibility if you haven't actually had the beer before to know if you don't like it. I've never had a bad beer from them, or even an "eh" beer -- even the weakest beers I've had from them have been maybe on the lower end of the good-to-great range at worst -- so a new-to-me Sierra Nevada beer is a pretty safe bet in comparison to "Mystery Beer #35976" off the shelf or "Even We're Not Completely Sure What's Going To Pour Out Of Tap #8" at a smaller brewery you've never tried before.

I mean, sure, I like the idea of supporting the little local breweries, and I do support my local breweries both by buying their beer at stores and by having some beer directly from the source every now and then (especially if they make good beer -- safe to say I will be making many return trips to Great Valley Farm Brewery after discovering them this past weekend!) But even most of the current "big guys" started out as little local breweries. You don't support a small local brewery just because they're small and local, you support them because you like what they're doing and hope they keep it up (and sometimes, if they keep going long enough, they end up expanding enough that they're not a small locally-distributed-only brewery anymore. And as long as the beer they make is still good, that's never a bad thing.)

Heck, if I'm remembering right Sierra Nevada makes a few beers that they pretty much only distribute locally -- the "Old Chico" series. Even after becoming one of those breweries whose beer is always available in grocery stores, they still do "small local brewery" level stuff for their hometown and the surrounding area, too.

 

I just finished Ken Grossman's book, 'Beyond the Pale.' After reading that, there's no way that anyone could even consider stating that Sierra Nevada isn't "craft enough." This trend amongst young craft beer drinkers (I'm 32, just FYI) really disturbs me. I'm worried that the hyper local movement is going to cause stellar brewers such as Sierra Nevada to experience major problems down the road. I can't imagine someone tasting a fresh Torpedo, Summerfest, Celebration, Bigfoot, etc., and actually thinking, "This isn't worth supporting." It really bums me out that this new generation of beer drinkers can't seem to appreciate nuance, subtly, or history.

 

What if your local brewery is Sierra Nevada? If you lived in Chico I guess the only thing you would drink is SN, unless local means a much smaller brewery.

 

Wow I think we're over thinking this...who amongst us has not been picky from time to time?
The kid is only pointing towards the future and we all must adapt.
Btw I am a big time SN fan.

 

Naaa. Your good. Drink some bcbs.

 

Don't you think the Brewer's Association brought this on by choosing the word 'craft' in the first place? This attitude was inevitable the very second they chose to go in that direction and make size, or lack of it, a virtue.

 

A future that doesn't celebrate the best beers, worldwide, is not one that I want any part of.