Sierra Nevada Changes, Rumors & News (2022)

And I have read/heard that the bestselling, by far, seasonal for Boston Beer Company is their Octoberfest beer. Kinda weird that Sam Adams can successfully sell this type of beer but for Sierra Nevada it is a seasonal that is being dropped.

Cheers!

 

Great topic btw. They better never take Bigfoot away from me is all I have to say.

 

I scratched that classic Pale Ale itch when I picked up a six pack of fresh bottles last week. Great beer! Hopefully Pale can defend its shelf space. I have noticed that Torpedo six packs have been torpedoed and the only option at some places are 12 packs.

 

Fingers crossed, hope you find some.

 

Jack,

I would think that’s due to advertising. Ever see SN advertise on TV? Boston beer is usually all over but I have not watched they Telly in a bit so not sure what’s out there now.

Enjoy

 

That really blows if its true they are not going to distribute their Oktoberfest beer.

The next move is probably them being acquired by some big conglomerate like AB Inbev.

 

I'll be a bit disappointed if it's true that they're not doing the Oktoberfest this year but I can hardly say it's a complete shock or outrage. The series has only been around in wide distribution for ~7 years and it seems to me the releases have been increasingly poorly received since the Bitburger collab 3 years ago. I can say from my own habits I had already switched from getting a six-pack or two to just trying a couple of singles every year, in part due to the copious amount of local Oktoberfest options.

I realize it's trendy on this board to bash Sierra for turning their back on mainstays for Hazy Things or other hoppy beers, but I don't think the rotating Oktoberfest was as much of a mainstay as Summerfest, the porter, or the stout were due to its changing year to year, nor do I think it's as big a loss due to all the complaints I've read about recent iterations. FWIW, I was quite fine enjoying Summerfest out of a club store pack last month and I'm still a quite happy with Sierra Nevada compared to other craft breweries operating at a similar national scale.

 

This is sad to hear. I was always down for at least a few 6 packs of SN's Oktoberfest every year and have enjoyed comparing each year's version to the last (especially when they were collaborations). This past March I was in a local Target and walked past a few 6 packs of last year's Oktoberfest. I was surprised that they still hadn't sold them and that no one had removed them from the shelves -- given this news, I guess I shouldn't have been.

 

This will be a huge disappointment, if true. @SierraTerence please chime in when you get a chance. I’ve messaged Sierra Nevada on Instagram for clarification as well. Fingers crossed.

 

I hope they don't do away with distributing their Oktoberfest. That was definitely one of my favorites and something I look forward to each year. I'm sure with the way Celebration sells, that one should be safe!

 

Bigfoot has been very scarce in my area of Central MA. I wasn't able to find it at all since 2019 and it used to be plentiful before that. This year I managed to find one sixpack and that was it.

I'm not much of a fan of their current lineup, like all The Little Things beers, or multiple iterations of Torpedo. Plus finding their beers fresh around here is becoming a rarity. I remember seeing discounted stacks of the Oktoberfest in my local stores last year well past it's prime. I still look forward to Celebration every year and hopefully that doesn't go the way of Bigfoot in my area.

 

Sierra Nevada has disappointed me greatly over the decades.
They stopped production on most of their classic styles, Porter, Stout, now Oktoberfest/Märzen. I'm sure there are a few others. They weren't the greatest renditions of the styles anyway, so I really don't care. Back in the early 90's, they were more exciting because they were new, different and everywhere. I'm sure Bigfoot is next after Celebration goes.
Gotta brew every kind of IPA out there for all the hop heads. No hop left behind.
Hopefully they will keep the Pale Ale? Who knows?

 

Celebration is my favorite IPA of all time , and a style that’s not easy to find here in New England. I’ll drive to get that beer if I need to, but certainly hope that’s not the case.

 

Another thing about SN, the price jump. I never thought I would see the day that a SNPA 12-pack is more expensive than a 12-pack of Fiddlehead.

 

I got the same response:

Hi Adam, Thanks for getting in touch. While we love brewing Oktoberfest we've made the tough decision not to distribute the beer nationally this year. We plan to have it available at the breweries and potentially for sale in our online store and gift shops. Please stay tuned for more details. Cheers!

I can’t get the image upload to work or I’d post the screenshot.

 

Wasn’t Bitburger (2019) the last collab they did because of COVID?

Despite being relatively recent, these collabs were definitely my most anticipated releases of each year. I’m very sorry to see them go. (And, while not my favorite, I liked the Bitburger just fine!)

Celebration is on my short list for greatest American beer ever. Would hate to see that go.

 

Although not typical since other stores in the area have it for around 17.99 a 12 pack- but at Market 32 ...



Anyone paying that price is out of their mind.