The breweries you miss when you move

Great topic. My wife worked in the Houston area for a year in '19/'20. I enjoyed exploring the many options but the ones that I really miss are Saint Arnold, Spindletap and Holler. I can pick up some of Saint Arnold's offerings here in San Angelo, can get Spindletap as close as Austin, but dearly miss sitting at Holler on a Sunday afternoon sipping on a Margaret Thatcher Naked on a Cold Day.

 

Since I got into craft beer I haven’t move. As long as my best friend, and family still live near and I can still surf don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I could answer the question hypothetically. Not sure if the distribution on said breweries but I would miss Pizza Port, Beachwood and Green Cheek.

 

well sometimes I wish I lived somewhere cheaper but the pros outweigh the cons. It would be really, really hard to move away from the ocean. I go weekly all year round.

 

Moving from Virginia to Georgia (Atlanta) was initially a major change and advantage. My little town was a dead zone for good beer. I left behind a few small things I can’t get here.

There is a few breweries beers on the regular that got distribution I miss, but I frequent up that way a few times a year enough to get my fix. Those being Troegs, Alesmith, some NC breweries, NoDa specifically. This was all before Veil and Triple Crossing, so I can’t say I miss them because I never had them prehand.
But my brother being in Richmond sees things I wish I could get definitely…

But, being in a larger metro area even deeper south we seem to get things now I wouldn’t have never dreamed in my podunk town. Even though Richmond has a few excellent spots, it all boils down to I can’t get Tropicalia in Virginia…

So, I’m happy with my distribution.

 

Our long-term plans to retire on the central coast of CA pretty much cratered as a result of 1) wife deciding that being closer to family was more important 2) the current medical insurance we like won't cover us in San Luis Obispo County 3) our specific home address there was classified as "extreme fire hazard" area with the related insurance headaches to go with it, etc. etc. so we sold that house and I'm stuck in our original house in SoCal; only 240 miles away but a different planet from the central coast. Anyway...It has only been 6 weeks and I already miss going to and having the beers and food at Central Coast Brewing (San Luis Obispo) and doing the same thing at a nano-brewery called 3 Stacks and a Rock (Morro Bay). To most people those names mean nothing but the brewers made some great beers and they were great venues to visit.

 

My last move was over 16 years ago, and I wasn't much into beer at that time. My next move will probably be back to Columbus after I retire, hopefully soon. About the only brewery I'd miss would be Toppling Goliath, but their stuff seems to be available everywhere now. Even so, the beer scene in Columbus would be a more than acceptable trade-off.

 

I moved from Upstate NY to NW WA 21 years ago now. I still miss Troegs, Brooklyn, and Ithaca. But, if I had to move away from Bellingham, I'd miss all but a couple of the 15 breweries we have in town, the handful we have out in the county, and in neighboring Skagit county.

That's not including the rest of the state, and several Oregon breweries I love. I know there's great beer pretty much everywhere these days, but I still think the PNW is in a class of its own. Well, outside of Belgium anyway.

 

Lost:
New Glarus
Racine Brewing Co
Public Craft
R' Noggin
Harbor Brewing
Good City Brewing

Gained:
Calfkiller
Various Artists
Jackalope
Good Idea
Czann's
Bold Patriot
New Heights
Barrique

 

I moved from Indiana to South Carolina, I miss having access to Three Floyds, Two Brothers, Sun King, and Tyranena Brewing.

I have really enjoyed having access to Olde Mecklenburg, NoDa, Westbrook, and Highland

 

Moving from FL to CO 16 (?!?) years ago was definitely a move in the right direction for beer.
(Disclaimer: at least where WE lived in Florida, before someone comes after me with a chainsaw and a gator).

More recently, and yes as some of you well know (too much), moving between CO and some temporary teaching gigs in Chicago (fall semester of 2013 and 2017) really makes me pine for my CTA + brewery jaunts I used to do. [Half Acre, Revolution, Corridor, Maplewood, Spiteful, a few others....]

We also spend a good bit of time in New Mexico and I miss Cumbre a lot, Bosque a bit, Marble, and Santa Fe Brewing too.

But most every state has some good stuff now (sorry if you live in one of the "beer deserts").

 

When I left Vermont in 2000 I missed Magic Hat, Otter Creek, Long Trail, and Shed.
When I moved back in 2012 I returned to Lawsons, Alchemist, and a nascent Hill Farmstead.
It turns out I missed what I knew and preferred what was new. Funny how time changes things.

 

Moved earlier in 2021 from Phoenix to Western NC just south of Asheville. Definitely been an interesting trade off as i love the fact that most towns in NC have a brewery with food available as we hike and explore our way thru the wonderful nature WNC offers. The greater Asheville area has an insane number of breweries and the city i live next to, Hendersonville with a population of maybe 15,000, has six breweries. PHX had IMHO crazy distribution from out of state brewers, at least from the perspective of a long time BA!

From an Arizona perspective definitely missing Tombstone BC IPAs and Pilsners, world class IMHO and i have not come across any brewer local/regional in the four-plus months we have been here that are on par with the Tombstone Czech Pils, DIPAs and TIPAs. Some other locals i miss include Simple Machine, Walter Station (nice lagers), Goldwater, and Wren House. And we miss the Peoria Artisan Brewpub where they made solid beers and some killer burgers!

From a regional perspective i have seen some Deschutes distro in WNC but i suspect it will be a reach to find a couple of my favorites The Abyss and the Black Butte Porter Anniversary series which more or less have become shelf turds in PHX. Same goes for Firestone Walker and their Luponic Distortion (definitely under-rated) and Barrel series. And i miss LaCumbre (Albuquerque) WCIPAs.

Other brewers distributing to PHX that i miss but have found comparable quality includes Modern Times, Half Acre, Odd13, Moonraker, El Segundo, Surly, and pFriem.

And the cool thing is there are some brewers i still have access to including Founders, Bells, Boulevard, Westbrook, Victory, and Bearded Iris that i would definitely miss if i did not have access to them!

Sorry for all my rambling but i do have passion for good beer!
Cheers,
Tom

 

I miss Great Lakes Brewery

 

We moved from southern Maine (York) to southern New Mexico (Las Cruces) three years ago. I miss Allagash, Foundation, and Tributary quite a bit. Here I have La Cumbre, Bosque, and Santa Fe. Not quite a trade-off, but close enough

 

Moved towards State College from Harrisburg back in 2017 (actually moved again, but not too much further).

A few breweries I can’t get now come to mind:

Ever Grain
Pizza Boy
Zero Day

 

Strictly hypothetical as I've never lived outside of a 45 minute radius of where I currently am, but I'd miss the hell out of Tree House and Night Shift. Not necessarily my favorite breweries, but the numbers speak considering they are my two most reviewed breweries. Very rarely disappointed by either. I'd miss Jack's Abby as well, but from what I understand they have decent distro. I do love this thread topic though, interesting to hear everyone's take

 

I moved from literally being across the street from Kern River Brewing Company (hey @KRBCEric) to the Chicago suburbs. I would say I traded consistent excellent quality for above average quality and extreme quantity. There are 6 serviceable breweries within a 10 min drive. If I drive 45 mins into the city, the quality goes up.

It’s a toss up for me.

 

Currently living in the suburbs of DC after having lived in some heavy hitters for craft beer: Grand Rapids, Richmond, Philadelphia. Can't say I really miss any brewery, but I do miss connections I had made with those in the industry.