Official Northeast Merger Discussion Thread

This is amazing. Kudos @Todd for combining our great regional communities.

 

He's from CT, I wonder if he's a Pats fan?

SB 42 was the infamous Giants upset of the Pats undefeated season...

@William_Navidson

@forum8417

Hmm, interesting. @JackHorzempa ?

For Czech Styles I was speaking about...

• Světlé výčepní
• Tmavé výčepní
• Světlý ležák
• Tmavý ležák
• Polotmavý ležák

...to name a few. I not only see these now, but I see more than one brewery doing them. And doing them well.

 

I thought you were replying specifically to a question which supposed you were (1) in Philly, where F&M and Human Robot are both pretty plentiful and (2) not necessarily looking for something “on shelves.” In that case, I think they both fit that bill.

That’s a shame that the rural areas and -burbs don’t have the wealth of options the city does, but my point is that there’s still plenty of “trendy” breweries out there pumping out more traditional beers for customers who love them.

Tired Hands (your favorite) released a lager last week that, anecdotally, had higher demand than many of their other recent beers.

Maybe the market is just more segmented based on locale?... ie where there’s less competition, breweries are catering to a “lowest common denominator” rather than focusing on styles that might make them stand out in particular niches? I think that’s definitely possible.

 

There is a large selection of high quality German style beers (e.g., Helles, German Pilsner,...) in the Philly area brewed by local breweries. Both from 'old school' breweries like Sly Fox, Victory, Troegs,... but a plethora of newer, smaller breweries like Sterling Pig, Root Down, Mainstay,...

There are high quality Czech beers in my basement:

• Světlý Ležák (but I prefer to label this beer as Bohemian Pilsner)
• Tmavý Ležák

One of the new, smaller breweries intended to produce a commercial batch of my Tmavý Ležák last year but then the pandemic hit so that created a situation of business chaos. Maybe once things get 'back to normal' we will see a locally brewed Tmavý Ležák in the Philly area?

Na zdravi

 

It was a continuation from my original lament about the beer store shelves clogged with NEIPAs.

Yes, only "in Philly" to someone that lives in Massachusetts, no I'm in the Harleysville/Lansdale area at the edge of the suburbs. I drive a half hour to get to F&M, driving past probably a dozen beer distributors that 10 years ago I could have picked up all those styles of beer at. So not an improvement as a beer consumer. F&M sells at a farmers market in Philly once a week, but "plentiful" in the city seems like a stretch...

So it would depend on what you're looking for- I say the bulk of the distributed beer to stores and bars is basically the same. Depending on where you live in the city you could have multiple breweries in walking distance which is a plus, but there are just as many quality breweries out in the suburbs as in the city limits.

I think that makes sense for physical taproom locations, but where is competition more intense than on retail shelf space? You would think focusing on niches would be good instead of chasing the trends, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

“You would think focusing on niches would be good instead of chasing the trends, but that doesn't seem to be the case.”

For a one date point study let’s consider Neshaminy Creek Brewery and their two lagers:

· Trauger Pilsner

· Churchville Lager (Vienna Lager)

The Trauger Pilsner got nixed and according to a post by a BA the Churchville Lager is now a seasonal vs. year round.

The core lineup for Neshaminy Creek is now dominated by hoppy beers (APA, IPA and IIPA).

On a related note in the fairly recent past I was a fan of Trauger Pilsner but some sort of change occurred in brewing that beer a year+ ago and I was not a fan of this ‘new’ Trauger Pilsner. The fact that they decided to discontinue this ‘new’ version is A-OK with me.

Bottom line here – hoppy beers are what customers want and Neshaminy Creek is willing to oblige.

For completeness the other beer that is listed as being a core beer is Wayward Wheat (formerly branded as Highwater Hefeweize). I wonder if this beer is truly available year-round. Maybe some BA knows the answer here.

Cheers!

 

My general impression is that many taprooms are doing well and that many stores are struggling. Catering to a "lowest common denominator" to keep sales stable makes perfect sense to me in that atmosphere, as does breweries and taprooms focusing on niches.

I go out of my way to go to a brewery that serves a niche very well... I don't think many people go out of their way to visit a brick and mortar beer store that only specializes in particular styles.

 

The cynic in me is saying this is an ad revenue play. Nothing more nothing less.

 

And if the folks who regularly participated in the New England forum decide to no longer participate or reduce participation will ad revenues increase?

Cheers!

 

I’ve been through many mergers in the corporate world. Survived many and been a casualty. If there is one thing I’ve learned about “mergers”. Things never, ever get better. I imagine this is no different.

 

I here you, I moved from Philly just to avoid this nonsense.

 

I stand corrected on F&M's availability then. I guess during COVID they changed their model to include distribution to make up the lost in-house volume. I had beers delivered at the peak of the travel restrictions so I knew about that, but they have ended deliveries.

Again, my beef with the "selection" at beer stores (and most bar draft lists) is that they have prioritized maximizing the number of breweries/brands available, and since most breweries are focusing on similar IPAs, this means a severe lack of diversity in the beer styles available.

This is not a local phenomenon, I see it all over when I try to pick up local beer when I travel for work or vacation.

I don't see direct shipping being a sustainable option for most people at the cost premium that it adds.

 

We'll have to wait and see if that pans out.

I think seeing Todd post two beer release threads since the merger confirms my cynicism since the amount of eyes effectively double by merging forums.

 

British or US version?

 

Yes

 

I don't doubt that the regionals needed cleaning up, but, personally, I would have preferred for the areas to stay the same with sub-forums carved out for the heavy traffic, major metro areas.

 

Whoops! Meant to say Penn.

Sounds like this discussion simply boils down to where you live.

 

Very different shows but I (a Brit) like them both!

 

I like the merger. Having friends in CT and MA it makes it easier for me to do research and see what's new up there. Plus i love what comes out of Vermont. If having more threads bothers you then just bookmark a couple of your favorites.