RIP Summerfest

Wow. And the spring seasonal could be released in October. Doesn't matter because Im not buying any.

 

If the beer isn’t selling, I can’t blame you. Just sucks, this year’s Summerfest was especially great, maybe it was the pandemic boredom, but I just loved it.

What about putting a pale lager of some sort in 15 packs? Obviously a different scale, and it’s local, but Jack’s Abby has quite a bit of success with their Helles-like beer, House Lager, in 15 packs of cans at a good price.

Sorry, my comment about the seasonals was meant to be tongue-in-cheek because three out of their four seasonals are hoppy beers (I think Wanderland is a hop forward beer).

And my “f the people” comment wasn’t directed at you, hope you didn’t take it that way. I just feel strongly about Summerfest! Here’s hoping we see a solid year round lager from these guys.

 

No worries man I got it ! Im a big Summerfest guy (was) as well. I still believe if they canned that exclusively it would have sold more. It was the perfect beer to pack for fishing, Hiking etc. Cheers.

 

I would think SN would do well in the 15 pack arena if they wanted to, I would have loved Summerfest and pale ale in this format. Seems like it works for Founders and Victory. @SierraTerence have you guys ever considered this format?

 

This would be incredible if it could happen. Fresh beer (even if it's 'niche' beer, which apparently covers lagers these days ) direct from SN? Make it happen, please!

 

Well, I can testify that the 15-pack format of Victory Classic Lager 'works' for me. I have purchased four of these packs so far this year (and the year ain't over yet).

Cheers!

 

I absolutely loved Sierraveza!! I can't tell you how many brew days I had this summer and that was my beer of choice, right next to Summerfest! Finding it in my local market consistently was difficult. I'm a sucker for almost any sort of seasonal beer so I'm excited to pick up their new one. 7.5% ABV will be nice to ward off the chilly last few days of winter as I look forward to spring.

 

I wouldn't want to step on any toes, but I believe it's been mentioned in the past here by either @SierraTerence or @BillManley that 15-packs are less desirable for big grocery chains such as Kroger due to shelf configuration.

Also I would've loved for a nationwide Southern Gothic to be the year-round lager from Sierra, but I believe that's been axed as well. And besides Summerfest, I'll also miss Hop Hunter next year, though I guess Dankful is a solid replacement in close to the same vein.

 

How?

 

Personally I like the handy 18 pack

 

BBA Narwhal in this format would be great!

 

So the 'solution' is 18-packs as depicted in post #110 above!?!

Cheers!

 

I drank a ton of Southern Gothic while in the OBX a couple years ago. Couldn’t agree more, that’s a solid beer.

 

16 ounce cans -- perfect for that "lost weekend" fishing trip.

 

Aww shit, another one bites the dust. And getting replaced by ANOTHER hazy IPA, and a session on top of that, barf. What's that make like 12 different hazy IPAs? They trying to compete with Toppling Goliath? Way to go SN.

 

So variety packs are up, but not seasonal variety packs? Still hoping your seasonal variety packs come back some day. Any chance of that in your opinion?

 

I think the key point for this disco is WHICH seasonal the Summerfest is (Summer...duh) - This is the highest volume seasonal for most brands (won't say all, but for sure its most). Sales are stagnant to down and they've got Hazy Little Thing growing like crazy. Makes sense from their perspective to basically do a line extension on that to capitalize on the hazy trend while recognizing their own growth category.

Personally - I hate this. I'm so beyond burnt out on the hazy thing. Everyone is doing it, they're all the damn same beer. But, I've also been called a beer curmudgeon - so I'll be in the corner drinking Jack's Abby House Lager or their excellent Sunny Ridge pilsner.

SN (with rare exception) doesn't make bad beer - it is always good, drinkable stuff. I just wish they'd try some more innovation instead of following the trend in this particular case.

 

I believe it was the NC brewery's equivalent to the "Old Chico" beer - a locally available beer only.

 

Yes, I do get the business case here - they are chasing the hazy beer trend/gimmick. And if it turns out that this new Hazy beer sells well the business leaders will say something like - see, we were 'right' here. If it doesn't meet sales volume expectations they likely will say - it is a new seasonal brand and it needs several cycles to meet objectives. A 'win-win' here since they have their butts covered either way?

I am with you here. I do periodically drink a hazy IPA from time to time but I drink waaaay more 'regular' IPAs. I am just getting a bit tired of this Hazy thing.

Now, I emphasized your statement above in bold because I think it is very important/critical for 2021 (and beyond). There are just so many damn Hazy beer brands on the beer retailers shelves right now. How many more can be profitably accommodated? Why would the Haze Bros decide to purchase a new Hazy brand from Sierra Nevada when they already have so many others Hazy products to choose from (e.g., Tree House, Trillium, Other Half, Tired Hands, Veil,...)? Does a beer branded as Summer Break from a larger, distributing brewery entice them to give their money to Sierra Nevada vs. the plethora of products already there? Maybe we will learn more a year from now? I used to learn about brand sales volume from certain posts on Brewbound but that site now requires subscription. Some folks will report IRI data but I do not view that as a complete information since important retail sectors are missing from that data source (e.g., Pennsylvania sales data is missing, etc.).

I agree that the brewing prowess at Sierra Nevada is top notch but the brewers are only permitted to brew the beers the bean counters allow them to produce. The fairly recent decision to discontinue seasonal variety packs is a travesty IMO but I am sure some finance/accountant person at SN is happy about this change.

The other issue with Sierra Nevada is that they are dependent upon their partner Wholesale Distributors to 'manage' the freshness aspect of their year-round beers and in my area there is just too much old SN product on the beer retailers' shelves. I instead choose to buy from small. local breweries since I can consistently find those beers fresh. My last beer purchase was a six-pack of Sterling Pig Shoats Pilsner and that beer was canned two weeks prior.

Cheers!