My favorite beer used to be Fat Tire by New Belgium Brewery. They changed the recipe and now I can’t stand it. How many people used to love a beer before they changed the recipes.
It's sad what happened to Fat Tire. My example is Field 41 from Bale Breaker. It used to be a light, crisp, easy drinking, 4.5% Pale Ale that had a huge hop punch and you drink all day. Now it's just another 5.5% IPA that's called a Pale, not as smooth, and not as easy to drink.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-...You know the rest. Quite common, especially when a brewery scales up and goes through rebranding. I loved the original New Belgium Rampant DIPA recipe. Then they rebranded, retired that beer and came out with the Voodoo Ranger line that we all know now. It, unfortunately, just happens. Especially with larger breweries. Welcome to the site
Eventually one of two things happen to a favorite beer. The beer changes for the worse, or disappears completely. Often, the final disappearance follows several changes. Falling sales or a beer changing owners could prompt a change of recipe. It's always a possibility that a beer will improve. But I have a hard time identifying an occasion that that has occurred. Now I'm at the point that I have several good-enough beers that I rely on. Still looking for another perfect choice.
Shout out to North Coast Brewery. Old Rasputin, Scrimshaw, and Red Seal are still as good as ever even 40 years on. My local, Mad River, sold to new owners a good couple years ago and their core beers were never the same. Like @moodenba said, change is inevitable it seems. Even things as stable as budweiser have shifted over the decades. Just be grateful for the good stuff that's in your fridge today
Prima (although I'm still 'in like with') Grant's Perfect Porter (went from 'unlike anything else ever peaty' to 'chocolate milkshake' to gone entirely). Pete's Wicked Ale (I will never forget reading the words "changed incrementally with each batch as to acclimate the consumer" + rebranding the stubby bottle to the long neck with a trident on the label, ooooh, the devil's pitchfork, how wicked = you just killed the brand). Honorable mention for rebranding Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale as a Dark IPA. No, It's a hoppy Brown Ale. A really good goddamn hoppy Brown Ale but still a hoppy Brown Ale. They didn't change the beer, they just reclassed it, but still.
Every year I grab a couple of cans of Nugget Nectar and it falls flat. I remember it being very hop forward (weedy) now it is very malt forward, is it my taste buds or the beer?
I had Stone IPA first back in 2016 I believe and it was pretty outstanding. Whatever happened to it when I drank it the last time one or two years ago it was overly bitter and put me off. Might be my taste buds but I am unsure.
I know my palate has changed over the years, there have been several beers that I used to love, that seemed to fall flat for me once I re-visit them. Same with beers I used to dislike, after giving them another shot I found that I actually enjoy them
Its not a popular take but I honestly believe Newcastle Brown Ale got better when Lagunitas made it. It became less thin and watery and more medium bodied and was more close to a craft beer style brown ale which it was. Also, Bud Light Lime got better when they changed it whenever that was.
Just had a 2024 Old Stock this weekend and can confirm your statement. Good call. I miss old recipe 60 Minute. Great stuff, that. Stone's just another sad story IMHO. More old school Old Guardian and Ruination, PLEASE!
Wow, great memory, I remember liking all 3 of those beers, but Grant’s Perfect Porter is a very distant memory, it’s probably been 25 or 30 years since I’ve had it. I also don’t remember Pete’s Wicked changing the recipe, did it get less hoppy?
I agree that the Lagunitas version of Newcastle Brown Ale was better than the original for the same reasons you mention. I also think the Irish version of Guinness Extra Stout that we’re getting now is better than the Canadian version that we used to get.
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is not what it once was when I first tried it many years ago. I was excited when they first started to get distributed in my state, only to be severely let down.
