Are you exhausted with the constant hype?

This resonates with me. I still remember an uncle of mine on X-mas eve in the late 90's taking a sip of a Sam Adam's beer from the winter variety pack. He grimaced and asked if my dad "had any real beer." He was used to drinking Milwaukee's Best Light.

 

I think that’s a little different scenario you are using for comparison.......

 

Can't we all just get along and share a beer or seltzer

 

The haze craze is one of the only new trends that’s at least connected to an actual beer style, so there’s that I guess.

Most of what we’re seeing though does seem to be trending to a redefinition of what beer is, further away from more traditional styles. I might be jaded because I’ve heard so many people go on about the “craft bubble burst” that was around the corner, and now how many years later it’s still rolling on.

 

Sure, it is a little different.

However, when someone is claiming their preferred style(s) is “real beer” and something they else is “not beer”, then it’s pretty darn similar.

Like any craft, there are purists and there are those who push boundaries.

 

I'm not a business person and I'm not in the beer industry, but it seems to me that many decisions to add a hard seltzer are short sighted. A brewery's most valuable asset is its brand identity, and making a hard seltzer will have a detrimental effect on the identity of most breweries, at least in the eyes of serious craft enthusiasts. Breweries spend a lot of time and money to build a certain identity, why blow it for a quick fix?

However, in tough times, sometimes you might not have much choice if there's an easy revenue stream you're ignoring. And hard seltzer, I'm guessing, is an easy revenue stream that brings in people who otherwise might not be customers.

I don't know the answer, but I do know that if I walk into a brewery and see a hard seltzer, it's not a good first impression. But maybe my desire for breweries to cater to a niche crowd of beer geeks like me is becoming antiquated and unrealistic.

 

The hard seltzer’s don’t bother me. The fruited smoothing make everything sweet drinks masquerading Around as beers bothers me more. At least hard seltzer says I am not beer. And when my local brewery does them better than the bud light version I am ok with that. At least the guys who are trying to lose weight have an option.

 

on the topic of next best thing...what do you think it may be? I personally do not foresee anything like what we’ve seen in the past few years.

The interesting thing to me about beer now has I don’t hear or read about the chasing anymore. I’m sure there are beers that are exceptions. But there were lines everywhere a few years ago.

Heck other half beers are sitting down the street from my house gathering dust. Some are 4 months old! Other breweries that used to have lines have stockpiles of perishable IPA sitting around. I don’t know, will lines and hype ever be the same? I don’t think it will.

 

I feel the same. Who cares about hard seltzer? It’s a totally different drink. The frustrating part of the industry, in my opinion, lies with the production of beers for people who don’t really like the taste of beer.

 

I'm even a bit afraid my NA will be hyped up . It's unbelievable how much is popping up at online shops, here and on Untappd. No chance to really keep up, so be it. I will dig deeper and enjoy. Will have to accept there also will be beer with a big question mark around. The word 'beer' is a big selling argument, doesn't have to be BEER.

 

Yes.

 

I don't have a specific guess but it sure seems like craft breweries will continue to produce products that do not taste like beer. Some examples being non-bitter beverages that have 'familiar' flavor profiles like Kool-Aid, stuff that comes out of juice boxes, etc. Now, will segments of the craft beer market support these beverages by buying them in large amounts? Or will that segment get bored with these juicy-juice beverages and demand another 'shiny new thing' to replace them? You got me here. I personally do not understand the segment of the craft beer market that continually seeks out wacky beverages.

Cheers!

P.S. I wonder when the market for Marshmallow beers will burst?

 

Naw. I just stick with what I like. Jumped off the hype train years ago.

 

That's the way to roll. If I see a beer menu with four 8%+ abv IPAs, three fruited sours, two pastry stouts, one milk stout, and Brooklyn Lager, I'm going Brooklyn Lager eight days a week.

 

These breweries aren't "chasing hype" on a whim. They're trying to make as much money as possible in the way that they see as the best fit.

Consumers fuel that demand.

If you don't appreciate the output, then don't contribute by being one of those consumers.

That's about the extent of your impact on the trend, so I'm not sure whether I see any utility in posts/sentiments like this one other than to blow off some steam, I guess... (unless you want other consumers who to feel emboldened to make similar choices, maybe).

 

But what if the beer retailer decided to replace the Milk Stout and Brooklyn Lager with a Kool-Aid 'beer' and a Clear Hazy IPA. What would you order then?

Cheers!

 

There is a bit more that can be done. If you go to a brewery's taproom and are disappointed in what products they have on tap (e.g., because you prefer to drink 'traditional' beer) you should speak to the owner/manager and let them know what you think. Hopefully they should want to also serve the demands of customers who prefer non-hyped beers as well.

Cheers!

 

Certainly, that's one option (although I can't say I know many people that would take that route). I'm not sure this is particularly effective though, in most cases -- I would expect, reasonably, a polite: "Why are you telling us what type of beer to brew? There are other breweries, go there" in response.

Have you ever done this? Maybe you want to share your experience?

I'm not sure why breweries would want to necessarily serve of demands of customers who prefer X beer, if those customers don't make up a sizable portion of the brewery's goal customer base.

Either way: I'm still left a little confounded at the consistent sentiments like this... because we're still left with the options of making an impact as (1) utilize your power as a decision-making consumer, or now (2) tell the brewery/owner that you would prefer they operate their business differently. Venting here doesn't appear to serve the same ends, unless I'm missing something.

 

I'm not sure I understand this logic at all. Why is the presence of a single great brewery in some cities the best scenario? It seems like, regardless of all the goofy beer adjacent barrelage, our current scenario of almost every city having at least one great brewery (and many having more than one) along with a number of good breweries, as well as good breweries all over in smaller towns, is a pretty great situation for beer lovers.

 

Yeah, I think it's quite easy to tell which places cater to the trend chasers from those that are casting a wider net. There's a very simple solution, unless you're literally being forced to go to the former and not the latter.