Where does Sixpoint stand today?

I was a fan of Sixpoint and in particular I used to buy a lot of The Crisp, but I picked up some last fall (it was fresh) and it tasted off, a little thinner and slightly metallic. Their other new beers are just hazy IPAs that I ignore because I'm tired of hazy IPAs, in general. I liked Shane Welch's contributions here in the past, and I'm sure that impacted my opinion of Sixpoint some. I never begrudged Shane/Sixpoint selling to ABV and I actually looked forward to having it brewed in PA, closer to me, but things seem different in a worse way. I don't know if that's just in my head, or the beer, other competition on the shelf, or a little of everything, but whatever the reason my purchases of Sixpoint have reduced.

 

I don't know. I have had 11 of their beers in the past and I rated all of them a +4 with The Crisp being my highest rated. It makes me sad if their beers are no longer highly regarded.

 

I never even saw Alpenflo fresh and I coveted that beer....I would buy Resin when I saw it fresh and enjoyed their stuff but I never see it anymore...

 

Extremely difficult to find there products fresh in Western PA.

 

Haven't thought of them in years even though I really liked many of their beers looking at my reviews. Just seemed to have gotten crowded out by a lot of local and less expensive regional breweries. I remember after I gave Crisp an average score review, Shane contacted me directly and asked what specifically I did not like in the beer as it was a highly regarded beer of the style. Don't remember my response.

 

I remember when the 4 Beans, 4 Beans Rye version and 5 beans were released in 2017. There was a thread going about the beers at that time, and I said something like 'I'd love to try them, but unlikely to get distro'. Sure enough, Shane reached out and sent me 3-4 packs. Really generous move and something that will always resin-ate with me

 

Used to love their beers. Would pick some up at Specs when in Houston. But that has been yesrs.

 

I liked 3beans and original jammer. Drank various Sixpoint beers every once in awhile for a few years. I think for me they just got lost in the shuffle of shelf beers. They are not local place I'm buying directly from and they do a lot of things okay but nothing stands out in terms of cheaper or better

 

I remember so much hype around beers like Hi Res it was very exciting. I remember when Jammer got announced I was so excited. Very different time in beer as well. Traditional gose was the top beer style at the time trending.

 

The brewery always claimed that it wasn't a cream ale. See this post (and follow-up) from Shane Welch aka "SCW " in 2014.

 

I was a "NE Ohio" sales rep for Sixpoint when they came to the Ohio market in early 2012 - got to visit the original brewery on Van **** St in Brooklyn, meet Shane and others there, and enjoyed my time working with them. Their canned "nano-keg" beers were being contract brewed then by The Lion Brewery in Wilkes Barre PA - quality was an issue - they switched later to City Brewing in WI ( I believe) before Shane sold out to ABV.
Some nostalgia SP memories.....3Beans, Autumnation, Diesel, Harbinger, Apollo, Rad radler, Spice of Life draft series - sigh.....good times!

 

Close - they used the City brewery in Memphis ('aka' Blues City Brewing Co.):

...built by Schlitz in the '60s, later owned by Stroh and then Coors. Yuengling "kicked the tires" but eventually passed on it (place had been hit by a tornado after Coors sold it). City bought it soon after the Yuengling deal fell through.

 

Close (but not close to Brooklyn) - they brewed at the City brewery in Memphis 'aka' Blues City Brewery:

...built by Schlitz in the early 70s, later owned by Stroh and then Coors. In 2010, Yuengling "kicked the tires" but eventually passed on it (place had been hit by a tornado after Coors sold it). City bought it soon after the Yuengling deal fell through.

 

Hey Steve

Righto - on City Brewing - I guess I was "dis-remembering" the plant - or that City Brewing HQ is in La Crosse WI - thought I remembered some of the early batches coming from the La Crosse plant before they moved it to Memphis, but I could very well be wrong.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Brewing_Company

 

Yeah, it's certainly possible. Seemed strange they never used Latrobe - a lot closer to Brooklyn than Memphis - but there must have been a reason. Seems many more beer brewers (CBA/Kona - Dixie) used Memphis over Latrobe - IIRC, the latter had problems from making so many FMBs, and the flavoring was screwing up some of the equipment.

IIRC some of the quality problems they had at The Lion was (at least, rumor had it?) because Sixpoint wasn't tunnel pasteurizing their cans, which is chancy decision to make in a facility that old and which has long relied on pasteurizing its packaged beers.

They had "Alternating Proprietorship" arrangements at both those contractor breweries, using their own separate TTB brewing permits:
BR-PA-MAD-15000
BR-TN-MAD-15000

"MAD" being short for their official corporate title, MAD SCIENTISTS BREWING PARTNERS LLC. That's why, when responding to criticism re: contract-brewing, Shane would often stress they were "our facilities" (paraphrasing). Yeah, legally, for a specific time period - like that hotel room you stay in on vacation was "yours"....

 

I really miss them man. Abigail, Kold Shauer, Tesla. Plus the customer service I purchased an ein mas from them and had an issue and Shane fixed it himself. First brewery I truly loved. I would have loved to work there but was happy just being “street team” whatever you call it

 

I remember when I applied for my "solicitor's license" from the State of Ohio Liquor Control in Columbus, a guy calls me and couldn't find "Sixpoint" on the list of approved brewers selling in Ohio - it was because the official co name was "Mad Scientist Brewing Partners" - my sales contract with them and checks also came with that moniker on them! I liked the NYC skyline and Statue of Liberty they put on their UPC codes - innovative!

 

My first beer from Sixpoint was Abigale (A big ale), a Belgian IPA. After receiving recommendations to try them, this was the one I started with and I thought, wow, this will be my new go to. Over the next few weeks I purchased a few more packs. Then it was gone, and I learned it was a one-time brew. I think of that beer every time I see their products.