Style Availability?

I don’t think your observations are too far off the truth. I too rejoice now when I find a weizenbock, English dark mild, or California common. A brewery where one can find some of these less popular styles, done well, can be a real treasure!

 

Since you live in Connecticut it would appear your luck is about to change?

 

Yes, we soured past the sweet spot of craft beer years ago.

 

Usually for a wider range of beer styles I have to go to breweries to try them. For beer store shopping I can still find interesting ones here and there, but it takes time searching through the never ending selection of IPA's and fruited sours with crazy labels to find something I actually want to buy.

 

I would say no. While there is an over saturation of certain styles, at the same time, it has never been easier for me to get a wider variety of beer styles.

A good local Grodziskie? No problem. A Czech lager from a pitch lined barrel? Easy.

With a couple exceptions, there isn’t a style I can’t find more easily today than at any point in the past. Even better, of the hundreds of breweries in my area, most of them will deliver their beer right to my front door. It is a golden age!!

 

I think the range of styles has expanded, but the availability has not. For example, I am still searching for my final style, faro, which I had prior to joining and reviewing on BA. My hunch is with fewer domestic craft beer selections at the time the distros made up for it with a wider range of imported styles.

 

I know there are plenty of styles to choose from in NE Connecticut and neighboring Massachusetts.

 

Yeah, going to a beer store can be a bit of a bummer as far as variety goes. I don't do it much anymore unless I want something specific. I mostly just order direct from a few breweries whom I like and trust these days.

 

I'm guessing you don't mind breweries being creative and inventive but still long for something familiar. I've personally enjoyed the expanded list of seasonals, N/A's, pale and dark lagers, porters and stouts, while looking for old favorites. Found a short list of beers that were popular 10 years ago, still being reviewed here on BA (in 2023), that may be available to you:
-Victory Dirt Wolf
-Sam Adams Double Agent
-Cigar City Good Gourd
-Long Trail Limbo
-Westbrook Gose
-Avery Uncle Jacob

By no means a complete list but you can dig into most breweries taplists and cherry pick something you liked or might want to try for the first time.

 

Unless they are taproom only, I haven’t seen most of those beers in cans/bottles (save for the very occasional WB gose or VB Dirtwolf) at retail shops in almost 10 years. They might be vintage reviews or reviewed from notes from the past. Would be somewhat pleased if I was incorrect though.

 

Might be another reason to move north...

 

Make sure to pick wisely. Most of Canada's craft beer availability is not like it is in @Coronaeus 's area.

Cheers!

 

This is true.

 

Only Alexandr will be available in CT? Guess I shouldn't complain as we usually don't get shit as far as lagers.

 

My guess is that they will start with Alexandr and see how well they are received.

My recommendation to you, and other Connecticut craft beer consumers, is buy up the first drop of beer quickly and hopefully more brands will follow?

Cheers!

 

It seems like style diversity has contracted some what at the retail level (although I still see plenty of options at most decent beer stores I visit) but it has exploded at breweries.

I definitely have access to a wider array of styles now than I ever did in the past, but to get the full picture I'd have to visit a couple local breweries in addition to beer retailers

 

I've been harping on this for a few years now. 10 years or so ago you would find saisons, bieres de garde, alt beers, hoppy lagers, ESBs. And these were at supermarkets, not craft beer specialty shops. Not no more.
The available spectrum has shrunk; gone deeper, less wider.