Are breweries producing too many beers?

Are you saying there is some sort of tasting panel that decides if a beer can be distributed to retail outlets?

 

Not exactly. All beer is tested by the Liquor Control Board. Anything new to the province goes through testing before it can be sold at either the government stores, the macro-brewery owner monopoly or grocery stores. It can often delay releases by months.

 

If a brewer puts a new IPA on tap every week. I try the first one and its sucks. I go back intrigued to see if the new one will be better, it sucks. Do I keep going back week 3 for IPA# 3 DDH with lactose added? Hell No. Maybe, just maybe I revisit that brewer again in 6mo. to a year if someone credible tells me they've improved. Otherwise they didn't pass my taste test and I've moved on.

 

I have lost all interest in places that have this "round robin" mentality.

 

Well, I’d generally agree, but imo Resident Culture seems to nicely pull this off. I’d think they might be the exception, but I love their beers, some more than others, but I find the experimentation to be interesting. And they do revisit past hrs.

 

I live in the San Diego area and I have noticed the exact opposite. I have gone to some breweries that seem to have the exact same lineup now (or even fewer beers on tap) than five years ago. I have seen much less experimentation even from the newer breweries.

But what I have noticed with at least one brewery in San Diego was that every time they messed up a batch, they would just release it as a new beer so maybe that’s some of the over-typical experimentation

 

When I started drinking we had three middling sized local breweries each just producing one mild and one bitter. All cheap and on cask and we felt that we lived in heaven with a mass of lovely pubs to visit, each keeping their beers in different ways and in different conditions.
Nowadays I visit a pub and see a row of strange names on the pumps.But the beer is not better and often has been spoilt by injudicious additives (though sometimes these work well)

I acknowledge that there is vastly more choice these days, but however long a menu is you only eat one meal. I can buy beer from 2000 available breweries without travelling far but to be honest I don't find my enjoyment jas increased. And my wallet has decreased because the price these days is ridiculous.

 

Are you talking about a government agency???? You must be joking. I'll decide what to buy or drink. I do not want a bureaucrat making that decision.

 

Really thoughtful analogy. And agree 100%.

There is a "foodie" diner in my town that has only like 5-7 taps and a $4 pint happy hour Mon-Friday (normally their beers are ~$7-8 a pint). They only put on the "best of the best" of the local area brewers on tap at this place which shows some credibility both to try to stay local and weed out all of the riff raff. It's much better than going to a place with 20+ taps with mostly avg. stuff and when you ask for the only beer you are excited about only to have the barkeep/waiter say "that beer is no longer available". That happens to me well over 50% of the time. Even at the most credible beer places. My wife laughs at me every time, because its so true.

 

There are so many choices out there I really can't get worked up about breweries that do this. I feel there is a good equilibrium at least where I am: my local brewery Proclamation sometimes gets deep into collabs and one-offs. If I get sick of these, I'll go to the beer store and get some tried and tree dialed in beers like DFH 90 minute, Jack's Abby lagers, etc.

 

That said, in the early days of the latest craft beer boom, there were more brewers than businessmen involved. The brewer-led operations were interested first and foremost in having a reliable handful of flagship beers that could sit on a shelf and be a reliable purchase. At this point, everyone realizes the business aspect of things as well as the shifting culture towards FOMO/experience-based. Many folks want to be "first" and get on their social media app and say they were first to try "X new beer". Combined with more lax taproom laws, a brewery can still send flagship beers for distribution but drive business and a big chunk of their profits by getting customers in the door to purchase draft of the latest and greatest.

 

Friend of mine just rolled through Charlotte a week ago and hit up sampling beers at both Heist and Resident Culture. Said Heist beers tasted "off" from last time he visited, but Resident Culture was making some very top-shelf stuff. Also Heist had no beers "to go" either which was kinda disappointing.

 

Especially considering what @Coronaeus stated in post #40:

“Up here that is exactly what happens for all beer not sold directly at the brewery. If you enjoy IPAs with a healthy 4-5 months of aging in warehouses without climate control, I recommend a visit to Ontario.”

Permit me to quote Ronald Reagan here:

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”

Cheers!

 

I feel the same.

Most of my locals don't have a core lineup and just randomly drop beers, sometimes it's a new beer sometimes it's one that's been done before, seems to be about 50/50.

One of these breweries has no tap room, no growlers, no tastings, no single cans, so in order to try something you have to buy a 4 pack which usually run $16-22. This is the latest brew from them: ...a Sour Ale with Blackberry, Lime, Vanilla, and Milk Sugar. I have no problem spending ~$10 on a 6 pack of an IPA I've never had but it's an easy pass when it's $20 for a 4 pack and I need to drive to their brewery to buy it.

 

Seeing something new on the menu board at a local brewery has broadened my tastes. I could easily get in a rut drinking my favorite or 'go to' brews during a visit. I have never been to a brewery that won't give you a taste, and I have tried and enjoyed many styles as a result.
There are some beers, I just don't like. I don't think they are a bad beer or a bad batch, as others like it, just not my thing, and that might be a style I normally consume, such as IPA.