Stone Double Bastard to return in 2024

None that weren't brewery/taproom only!

Still waiting on that Old Guardian. Was supposed to be end of July, but my boy who works inside Stone promised he'd text me as soon as he sees one.

 

Would welcome another release of RuinTen. One of my favorite big IPAs.

 

The preferred beer of dogs.

But, it’s not winter! I can’t enjoy this in September.

 

Just in case anyone was wondering, this beer is drinking fantastic right now! Hopped spice caramel

 

Hoping it comes back in 2025, too. I love this beer

 

would have bought it, never saw it

 

Seeing this article on Brewbound (I can't read the whole thing because no sub) that Stone is going to "focus on core" in 2025. Apparently that means discontinuing "unproductive" brands, which includes special releases and the Enjoy By series. I'm wondering what this all means for the future of the fan favorites series and releases like Double Bastard or if anyone has any more info about what else is going away.

https://www.brewbound.com/news/ston...derperforming-brands-go-national-with-pilsner

 

Good. They gotta stop with the bullshit. Keep it local and if they don't distro to your state ask your local to make a clone. If that can't happen then trade for some. I want stone to be around forever so if this contributes to their longevity im all for it

 

Had one last night. Amazing! Best buy of this year.

 

That's sad, because the interesting beers from Stone are listed under their special releases tab, and the offerings visible in your article link as core have 100s of other alternatives in the market (mass produced haze, pilsner, Mexican Lager).

https://www.stonebrewing.com/beer/special-releases

When these regional brands cut back on innovation, it usually also impacts the local taproom. Really don't go to Revolution anymore (cut out my favorite annual offering, nothing really interesting at their taproom unless you're interested in numerous high priced tweaks of BA offerings).

Founders had nothing interesting in their taproom despite 20 + taps. Bell's taproom list also looks weak compared to Larry Bell ownership. New Belgium churns dozens of VooDoo Rangers and little else.

I wouldn't expect Stone to continue to offer RIS and other interesting annual releases as taproom only releases, as there is not enough profit there to facilitate all of the brewing requirements for a few kegs

Be careful what you wish for.

 

The death of Enjoy By makes me sad, one of my all-time favorite Stone beers. Curious to see how the taproom list looks in the coming year.

 

Does anyone know if Stone still releases WootStout? Man, that beer was CRAZY good and I havent seen it around in a couple of years.

 

I don’t see why they don’t just distribute the limited release stuff or special brews in a better way… all 50 states get Stone beer distribution now, but they don’t all get the limited release stuff (unlike the old days). And I have no doubt some cities/states get way more than they need or can sell quickly. Spread it more evenly, let it sell out faster and they can probably sell more as well… heck even if they had to raise the price slightly.. at least give your loyal customers the option to buy the stuff that made us love the brand.
I don’t like that they don’t seem to care about what they’re putting out these days… seems like if they think they can make just 5% more return keeping it tap room only, then they decide it’s worth it to not distribute. What happened to the PASSION we all used to know from our favorite breweries? Shameful.

 

If you were holding Sapporo stock before the purchase you’d have a 64% increase in your line go up.

 

@ChicagoJ I sure hope you're wrong but I'll ask. Im here now in Pasadena having a Fresh Hop Ruination tapped hours ago.
They also have a small batch Marzen, an Imperial Dark Lager with maple, a red ale abd a single hop ipa. Hope these don't go away

Let's see what they say


Edit : distro guys are here and every person didn't know anything about this. They're cutting down distro only and still doing small batch releases at all taprooms.

Enjoy By is one of their top sellers here..all special releases will still be at most taprooms with smaller production runs.
Larger distro on the low abv crap will replace those runs a la Sierra Nevada with XXX Little Things

 

ALLEGEDLY*

 

Nice. Hope the tap room selections hold up over time, as I enjoyed my visit and the offerings on tap while there, and will return if the list remains solid. If they have a small batch system at Pasadena or elsewhere, it will be easier to manage small batches for specialty items.

 

So are they going to rename it Enjoy At The Taproom? I'll be here all night.

 

If Enjoy By lives on at the taproom I can live with that since I’m close by. Disappointing though. That was one of the best beers out there during peak WCIPA

 

It was one of the best in good years. It was (is? I don't remember the last time i bought a stone beer) crazy inconsistent though. One year I had the opportunity to compare a San Diego batch to a Richmond batch and they were completely different beers.

Back when enjoy by first came out, though, stone was in excellent form. And enjoy by was definitely showing that off.

Edit to add: I just remembered that I bought a 6 pack of ssr this spring. It was real good, but like all their stuff these days it was priced right up at the top of the retail market so it was just a two time treat.