The Problem with Turning Beer into Dessert

Cheers!

 

Hmm, there seem to be a lot of ideas being tossed around in this thread. While I can appreciate the feeling of disappointment when a brewery you liked starts moving in a different direction, I take a much more pragmatic view. I readily admit to being spoiled by the number of breweries around Chicago and the diversity in styles they're producing (and that’s not even considering what’s available through distro). My response here may be glib, but that quality is not confined to beer.

When you say “things I love” are you referring to specific beers that are no longer being brewed? Or is it that your romanticized perception of “craft beer” is running into the economic realities of the world?

So, they’re like 80% of the people I work with, and say 90% (if not more) of the adult working population? Even musicians complain about the need to play their hit songs over and over. Not sure why brewers should be exempt from what is the standard state of affairs for the vast majority of people. And when you say "forced" is that because the brewery is on the verge of insolvency or because rents are going up or because they want to upgrade their canning line or because the owner is tired of driving a 3-year-old Tesla and wants a new one?

My question is why said brewery would have to pivot like this. Did they actually have a clear business plan driven by a solid understanding of their potential market? Were their growth projections based on reality or were they deluding themselves? What was their marketing strategy? What channels did they plan to use to get their beer into consumers’ hands? People buy these kinds of beers and the idea that “slumming it” in the world of slushies is the only way to be viable is BS. A shift like that could be a temporary necessity based on the impact of COVID, but you seem to be discussing this differently. Breweries have several options:

1. Create a market for their product
2. Make their product viable with a limited market, maybe by scaling back growth projections
3. Creatively find a way to operate within the existing market, say through hybrid/compromise styles
4. Give into the masses

And every time I hear/read the phrase “They’re brewers, not marketers” I say “then they shouldn’t be opening a brewery.” At that point, they’re business owners and they need to operate as such. If they don’t or won’t, that’s on them. And if the only way they can move forward is to jettison everything that made them good, well they're just bad business people and it's time to move on.

That's actually a good analogy. It’s a LOT easier to find popular music, just like it's a lot easier to find breweries doing pastry/milkshake/slushy beers. I need to hunt to find classical music. Back when CDs were a thing, there were fewer shops that had a good classical section. There aren’t as many online options for discovering new classical music (again, compared to something like pop and especially hip-hop). I’m sure new things are still being produced, but not nearly in the same quantity and accessibility as other genres. The publishing houses and labels that do specialize in esoteric content have found a way to make it work, just like breweries that specialize in "left of the dial" beers will need to.

That’s a pretty bold assertion. And even if it’s true, what’s the issue? That they’re chasing additional profits? That the decision-makers there have different priorities and goals than you? Maybe take this as a learning experience of what you choose to love, because as much as some here might wish it to be true, a brewery (or any other company) owes consumers nothing more than the good or service being exchanged for currency. For sure, some go above and beyond, and yes, let’s celebrate when that happens. I wholeheartedly think that you should publicize those who operate with integrity and share your values. But all of this hand-wringing and the constant “woe unto us, the sky is falling, the industry is changing and these companies care more about money than my personal opinions and feelings” sentiment is staler than the bottles of Enjoy By 7/4/20 sitting at my local liquor store.

With all of these "waah waah why can't I get what I want the way I want it?" threads, it's hard to know if this place is being overrun by boomers or millennials.

 

I think this perception is just that, a perception that we (the type of nerds that spend time talking about beer/beer culture online) tend to have because we spend time talking about the minutia of the market.

Maybe if you count raw numbers of breweries theres a rising amount sticking to these modern hip styles, but when i go to stores that's not the case. If I'm at a grocery store its mostly ipas, most of them are the sort of "hybrid" modern style that isn't some kind of thick milkshake but is less aggressively bitter than the older wcipa. Then there's all the AAL and the regional craft lighter styles. Maybe you have some stouts/porters and maybe a couple fruit sour options.

If I go to a fancy beer store then there's more selection and these disparaged styles definitely increase in prevalence but I have to go to the source if I want a situation where ALL that's available is milkshake ipas, pastry stouts, or slushie sours.

 

Ya know I, along with @BBThunderbolt, questioned ”diesel”. Then your post came with a sip of Secret Broadcast from War Horse Brewing. I immediately understand what diesel is now. BTW, Secret Broadcast is okay.

Anyway, you may now return to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

Re: HF. While they may not make thiccc milkshake IPAs, their IPAs have definitely evolved over time. I’m pretty sure a 2010-2012 era and a current era version of the same beer side by side would appear & taste markedly different.

 

Just stopped back to share the observation that in my time on BA we have gone from discussing desert isle beers to discussing dessert aisle beers.

I'll see myself out.

 

Yes. Being haughty in any way about craft beer means absolutely zero in the human world of beer tastes and consumption. Sierra Nevada has been compromised, but not completely.

 

Let me send you an old Aventinus? Cheers.....

 

Done deal. Gimme any info.

 

I am in the strange situation of having the remains of my cellar in the process of 70% of them declining in quality due to I am unable to drink them as often as necessary to prevent it, about 1 every month or so. I still have 90+ bottles and I hope to live long enough to finish them, but it seems unlikely at this rate and my health/age.

I may be old, but I love a good (bad?) pun, and especially to inflict it upon others. Cheers!.

 

From my experience the one thing in life that stays the same is change.
I'm alright with brewers letting traditional beers out of the corral to graze free range. Trends come and go and I believe brewers are listening to people and watching market trends. They are certainly not non-profit organizations so go for the dough bro! Our lovely lagers and simple ales will always be around. Cheers!

 

Other Half beers...ACE = All Citra Everything

Yeah, the few other half beers I had last year weren’t up to par in my opinion either. Yet 2021 they seemed to have things dialed in a bit more (yet oddly enough these OH beers came from the FLX and DC locations...Mylar Bags also being extremely well done)

 

On one hand, I recently had a pastry stout from Collective Arts that was good, but I kept thinking it would eventually give me diabetes. On the other hand, I was lucky enough to try German Chocolate Cupcake from Angry Chair at Hunapu Day a couple years ago, and it was beautifully decadent. As with most things in life, there is the good, the bad, and the ugly. Seek the good.

 

Opened one of those stupid thick syrupy smoothie beers (Sweets 'Blueberry Lemon' By Mountain Walking in Montana, to be specific) last night. The kind you have to shake the can a bit to get all the sludge out. The kind that doesn't produce a head because the carbonation just can't keep up with how thick the beer is. The kind that leaves bits of fruit on the glass instead of lacing.

And guess what, it was delicious! Never had a better representation of blueberries in a beer, or really any other beverage. The lemon was perfectly married to the lactic acid to the point you couldn't tell where the beer ended or the fruit began. Just a cohesive vision executed perfectly.

Always a wonderful day for dessert beer!