What the hell happened to Stone?

This. A thousand times, this.

@unlikelyspiderperson - I definitely have found some Stone beers poor, but not flawed. I know there were some barrel aged beers had infections but that was the extent I was aware of.

 

For the record I don't think stone is actually struggling any more than other brands their size. They have lost a lot of their appeal to the microsliver of the market that really obsesses about their beer, but their still nationally distributed with two breweries and multiple tap rooms. I think they were a top 20 brand for sales again last year for craft brewers.

I'd say the answer to the question in the title is that they made a play to be a major player in the "craft beer space" () and the realities of pursuing that goal requires that you shoot for the broadest appeal possible. That clearly clashes with their original brand identity. And I think that makes their drift (which follows the same arc as breweries like Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, and bell's) a lot more abrasive to people who have been fans of theirs from the early days

 

I disagree a bit. SN I think has been successful in the leap to national brewery. Deschutes really hasn't left behind it's original fans ( me included). I can still get my six of Obsidian Stout easily in the big grocery stores. And their rare limited edition stuff really hasn't changed that much. Granted I think they have put expansion on the back burner

 

I mostly agree. But with the caveat of excluding Deschutes. They had big expansion plans, but pulled back at the first sign of the market softening.

Of the 'Big' Small breweries I think Deschutes is the top of the pile. But, if I had consistent, steady access to Bells (as I do Deschutes) my opinion might change.

As it happens, I'm wearing an Anderson Valley T-shirt today. I can remember when AV was considered an exciting, fun, fresh brewery that we sought out when they were available. Sadly, I also cannot remember the last I had, or even saw (outside a couple core beers that were badly out of date), their beers on tap. Some stuff does show up in grocery stores.

 

As a recent Chicago transplant with in-laws from Detroit, I didn't notice Bell's expanding distribution of experimental beers. I could check out one-off items at their brewpub in Kalamazoo but they appear to have decided to offer their perfected core offerings and keep humming along. Sort of like Great Lakes, their stuff isn't ground-breaking but it's good stuff nonetheless.

It's funny, 5 years ago Hopslam would create a chaos and truck chasing and now it's an afterthought. Yet, today Two-Hearted is chugging along as an absolute classic that's stood the test of time.

 

Again, their beers are fine but I’m not going out of my way to get them. They used to be that way for me. It could be because the beers aren’t as good or the competition is better now. In the age of CA breweries shipping me fresh beer to my door, I can’t say Stone is something I seek out.

 

OK, we agree on that. We've arrived at the same point via different routes. I just got there earlier, and for different reasons. Shrug. Such is life.

 

I remember calling liquor stores circa 2004 trying to find Oaked Arrogant Bastard when it was first released in bottles and being over the moon when I finally found some. That was probably one of the first Stone beers I searched out. The last one I remember searching for was Enjoy After Brett IPA some 7+ years ago.

 

I agree that Deschutes seems to be managing well and i appreciate being able to get black butte and obsidian. But their brand is still mostly represented by a series of hazy or hazyesque ipas, just like Sierra Nevada. Bells is honestly the best of the 3 in my opinion but they have also got several hazies heavy in the mix as well as fruited kettle sours.

all three of those breweries have handled themselves better than stone in my opinion. And not starting from a place of claiming to be too good for most pedestrian palates probably helped that.

 

Yeah Deschutes have hazies..but to my tastes they aren't the typical NEIPA style. But at least here in Oregon that doesn't seem to be a big deal as Deschutes seem to sell to older people like me . As far as i can tell not much buy their Hazy IPAs. Way too much competition for the young dudes money.
But they have to be careful Full sail was in that position 10 years ago. Now they real down.

 

God, I remember my first Hop Ottin' . If that dates me, I'm ok with that.

@unlikelyspiderperson , I think Deschutes is better off than you give them credit for. I really think they've turned the ship around, with a blend of bold moves (year round Abyss?!), and continued focus on execution - a fellow BAer who introduced me them in 07 mentioned that some of the best FH beers at the Portland FH beer fest yesterday were from them. Their mass releases are weird sometimes, but their core never wavers.

Someone else on this thread mentioned chasing Stone beers, and perhaps @John_M can commiserate. I remember my first Stone IRS, back in 2007, when it used to be a 2 bottle/person maximum in the DC area. Stone expanding to MD, so I wouldn't have to drive 45 minutes to VA, was a huge improvement. Anyway, I've rambled on enough here.

 

Ya I was actually thinking about mentioning that stone, I have heard, actually still appears to have a pretty kick ass line up available at their physical locations down south. From what I've heard it sounds like they are acting like a solid local brewery out of their tap rooms and acting like a national distribution brewery on store shelves.

I think this is the case with a lot of big regional/national breweries. They have one identity in their home base local market and often a much different one out at the edges of their distribution footprint.

Ya I love Deschutes (and Sierra Nevada and Bells). And I don't think any of them are struggling - maybe stone is internally with reforming its self image - in any serious business sense. Unless they've got massive debt loads that we're unaware of then the types of dire headlines that generate chatter about bubbles bursting on this site are usually about slower growth. That may be dire straights for investor driven public companies but at the size of these places there is still plenty of money flowing in.

My prediction of a stone sale comes mostly from a place of it seeming like there isn't really much passion there anymore. I don't know the folks that run stone obviously but Greg is certainly rich enough to retire and if the original stone ethos was actually his passion project then I wonder how much his heart is really in the business nowadays.

 

Every once in a while I will pick up a 6 pack of one of their core beers. Never disappointed because it’s solid for its style and a great price. Nowadays there’s too many options for special or seasonal releases at stores that core beers just don’t excite people. Unfortunately, Stone doesn’t brew the beers I really loved anymore. I wish they kept doing their core beers nationally but also did more of the classics for the local market.

 

I used to really like Stone. Enjoy By, Ruination, etc.

But I haven't bought any in years now and honestly hadn't thought too much about it. I suppose the answer is competition?

 

Well, the beers I bought from Stone, starting like 15 years ago, were Old Guardian, RIS, any other stouts, Belgians and porters (I still recall when I could only get the Porter with Vanilla bean on draft only, and it was a TREAT!!). I might even still buy those IF they even made them. But they don't. So, Stone kinda left me high and dry. But hey, tons of other breweries stepped up to fi the space. Zero clue what Stone is even up to nowadays.

 

I'm forever a **** for Xocoveza. Excited that it's nearly that time of season.

 

Aren't they only doing that dulce de leche version of Xocoveza this year? At least in package?

 

They made a point to say they didn't brew beer for the masses or trends, then they started chasing trends and highest possible sales. Their prices were higher than most other comparable breweries so perhaps they should have looked at that rather than chasing trends. They held on to bombers even when other breweries were ditching them because they realized people didn't want to buy a $10 bomber of IPA. They ditched the beers that people like us bought every year because they chased the "newer is better" mentality of too many craft beer fans (who stopped buying Stone for precisely that reason, to chase newer breweries). They made a beer that imitated Blue Moon.

 

Hop Ottin' was my first IPA, and made me a hop head. Their oatmeal stout was another favorite back in the day. And I, too, can't remember the last time I had something from AV or Stone.

 

Crap, if that is the case, OP is right. What the hell happened to Stone?! Lost their damn minds.