A local experiment

I live in VA, and might just try it. I actually tend to agree with yemenmocha, and buy whatever I think is best regardless of where it comes from. I agree that bad-to-mediocre breweries, local or not, should go out of business. But I like to keep an open mind, so I'm curious how this would turn out if a skeptic like myself were to do it.

Virginia is perfect because we're probably right in the middle as far as the quality of local beer.

 

I could but I wouldn't(also live in MA) Some good stuff happening in MA but a lot of the new guys are Nanos and a bit pricey. I did but a 4 pack of Hoponious Union today though.

 

If I lived in Chico, CA I would say, "Hell Yeah!"
Actually some good breweries here in OK (Coop Ale Works) but damn I love my Torpedo! Not to mention Bigfoot, Ruthless Rye and all the other honorable mentions from SN…Cheer no matter where you live, good brew, good times!

 

we don't have a ton here in NM, but what we do have is really solid. It would be possible, but with all variety we get from out of state i really wouldn't want to.

 

I've got Bruery, Bootlegger's, Beachwood, Monkish, and tons of others within 45 minutes of me. I'm all good.

 

I'm in Massachusetts as well. I coild do this - heck, I could go a month drinking only Jack's Abby and Mystic. However, over the long term, tgere are too many excellent brews from elsewhere I would miss. Ommegang, Victory, Troegs, Ithaca, Stone, the trappists, etc, I don't think I could / would totally shut off.

 

I wouldn't be willing to do it in Indiana. FFF has some good stuff and lots of mediocre stuff. Most of the beers I drink are from the great state of Michigan.

 

Hey I have no knowledge of your situation, which is why I made the modest point about how I may be viewing my area differently than yours.

Please enlighten me about "grasping the basics" that I'm lacking. In fact, tu quoque. Barriers to entry is a very simple economics concept and I think it applies perfectly in a niche market like craft beer. In AZ, most non-beer focused restaurants only bother to carry 1 or maybe 2 local beers, and it's the same 1 or two breweries everywhere. And even worse it's usually the exact same beer. These two breweries are really embedded in the broader market here where a local option is barely a possibility in the first place, since Arizona is really a BMC & chain restaurant state. This can make it very difficult for an unknown newcomer to get into the market and do well, where it's already tight in the first place. This is true regardless of whether something is a better product or not, or operates under a "more sound operational plan". That's a factor, but you need an educated consumer base to recognize that superior quality (we lack that). And there's far more to success than superior tasting product - hasn't BMC taught us that lesson long and hard since Prohibition?

Reaching San Diego - in spirit I do almost every night as I pour a bottle of one of their fresh IPA's that are incomparable, as far as the local options go. And no, you can't infer that I find "absolutely no enjoyment from local options". They're just not worth it when it comes time to buying product at the retail stores, or ordering pints at a beer bar. I'll take one at a restaurant over a BMC, but that's about it. It's rather simple - drink what you like the most, and not for some other ideological reason. Drink best, not local... unless local = best for your location.

 

I could but wouldn't want to. There aren't a lot of local beers that I enjoy more than non locals and we have a lot of fairly expensive bombers that I feel just aren't worth it.

 

I could do it if I had to, but in actuality I can't do it because I don't have to. I could see making such a pledge, but then hey I just found out Heady Topper shipped to MA and I've got a four pack waiting for me and I'm going to be buying that four pack tomorrow pledge or no pledge.

 

That's the core point of the "buy local" dogma - they want you to buy whatever your local option is, and not something you find superior like Heady Topper.

 

I try to go local with as much stuff as I possibly can, even if it's a little more in price. However, to do this with beer would make the hobby pretty lame for me. RI's beer scene is whack. No offense to Newport Storm/Trinity/Revival Brewing, but compared to other New England states we are chumps.

 

-Easily. Home city even. Olde Hickory's got my back. I could even make it a month or two with the stuff I have cellared from them!

 

I don't think the barrier to entry is particularly high for a brewer. Here in MA new breweries have been popping up all over the place. Of course the environment may be different in AZ, but I have a hard time believing that any local newcomer with an excellent product would have a hard time getting traction, especially in your market where there is apparently little to no local competition. The big national players are definitely the ones we have to look out for when talking about setting up huge barriers to entry, but they are the ones you are supporting.

 

I'm on that page too with an open mind. I try every single new beer from every new brewery if it is bottled, or on tap when I visit the brewery. Even breweries I've dismissed in the past I'll try again if others give positive feedback.

I just think the best policy is to "drink best", or in other words drink what tastes the best to you.

 

we'd be fine...

williamsburg
o'connor
starr hill
st. george
hardywood
legend
beach
smartmouth (opening soon)

 

Only one or two breweries I support fits that description though, unless something like Stone or New Belgium is creeping into "national brewery" territory.

While barriers to entry is more common for large industries, it's also very relevant in niche markets. I think craft beer can plausibly fit that description still.

 

No chance of this happening for me. I'd be all set for maybe 3 weeks and then The hop-withdrawels would have me curled up in the fetel position in a corner, shaking and wimpering and begging for a glass of Double Sunshine.

 

I could do it, in Georgia... Don't know if I would choose to do it though...

 

VA is tough. the biggest problem is the distribution. In richmond you have to really try to find something other than Legend or Hardywood(and they don't bottle that I'm aware of). Heaven's to betsy I couldn't drink Star Hill for a month