Are We Killing Beer?

It certainly does. There is art, science, and philosophy in all things and brewing beer is no different. The issue is that there must be a balance of all three or the business will fail.

 

Okay, but i meant the styles they like to creat, which would surely draw people in if well made, and thst was my point, not to brew some off the wall beer and not care if it sold , so apples and oranges i guess. You guys win.

 

Hold on there. Don't give up so easily. Your hypothesis is sound, it just needs a little focus.

There are plenty of examples of breweries that are making beer that doesn't follow trends, like sour/funky only breweries or lager only breweries, but they are niche markets at the moment. The breweries that create these types of beers well are making reputations with their customers, and, therefor, have an opportunity to be successful and grow, despite most craft beer consumers not having an interest in their beer. The trick, however, is to find that niche.

 

Of course i am talking about experienced brewers, not starters, which squire didnt tske into account, maybe i mis-stated, but not going back to re read, but dave says you must brew what sells, well of course! But an experienced brewer has a group of beers he is good at AND loves to brew, and will pick one of those. Like a pitcher has, not every pitch, but his set, and from that will choose the best for the situation, but it will be one he likes to throw.an artist wont paint a vase of flowers just because its popular if he doesnt do flowers, but surely a table of fruit would sell too, and is more to his style. So that was my point.the brewer is doing a beer he likes to brew that also Will appeal to consumers to that style.

 

I re read my origional post, and did not state correctly what i was thinking, but the point is lost now so...

 

Not sure how I'd have worded it, but, Cavedave, I think you blew a chance to make a good "palate/palette" play-on-words somewhere in that "brewer as artist" analogy...

(And, just think, if the bank took possession of the unsold pallets of beer after the bankruptcy...)

 

Haha you are right and as an inveterate punster I hang my head in shame now!

 

There are only a fraction of the breweries here, maybe 20%, doing milkshake, popsicle, pastry stout beers. An equal number (or more) make make boring, unimaginative beers that largely taste generic and offer nothing new or interesting. They don't strive for creativity, or even excellence. The only reason they exist is that they have a loyal following of locavores that drink local no matter what.

I can't tell you how disappointed I am when a new brewery opens and their master plan is to make the same 8 generic beers that everyone else is making- none of which are particularly noteworthy.

 

I think most of us talk in absolutes when we are making points on here. Forums are stilted conversations and its difficult to get our points across. Brewers are either artists or they aren't (as to not conflate, perhaps brewery's). There is certainly artistry in brewing and there are certainly brewery's who are looking to create an environment of art while still making money.

Perhaps a good thread topic is to see which breweries people believe strive for some level of artistry or at least creativity. I think Allagash has an interesting story personally. They built their brewery on Belgian styles when no one was drinking them. Pushed their Allagash White until people bought it and expanded into other styles. They have both commercial successes as well as unique offerings. I believe they were one of the first breweries in the US to build their own coolship. They encourage their employees to create new recipes and do pilot batches that sometimes end up as full on releases. They don't shy away from trends, now canning and making hoppy styles like Hoppy Table beer but they don't necessarily chase trends either. With their size they certainly have the luxury to do what they want in some ways but they also have been very methodical in their growth as well. They are supportive of smaller brewers and really kicked off the Maine craft beer scene. Perhaps I'm biased because they are one of my favorite breweries but I'd be interested to know what we really believe constitutes artistry in the industry.

 

Those are all very good points.

 

Yes, as the market is all-encompassing with different views, perspectives: A different customer base

• Loud/big, bold, flashy and boozy
  
• Soft/light, clean, easy, and balanced
• Etc.

If it taste good (regardless of the method) they will come –

 

I don't think there really are that many breweries making pastry stouts, milkshakes, glitter beer, etc.. We talk about them a lot but realistically the majority of breweries aren't making any of those styles. I think there are a lot of breweries that focus on a very narrow amount of styles (e.g. 12 IPA's and a stout or two).

At the end of the day integrity is correlated to how important income and/or growth is to you. If you want quick growth then you might need to compromise on your integrity a bit. Brewing a beer that brings people in the door doesn't necessarily mean you lose your integrity but if you create a brewery dedicated to say brewing German beers and then you brew mostly gimmicky beers like pastry stouts then I might say you've lost some integrity. I see a lot of small breweries doing very well that don't produce gimmicky beers, they may not double in size year over year but they stay in business.

 

I like beer. I drink beer. Drink what you like and tastes good. I like to support my local brewers, good and fresh, yummy. So many great choices in the Boston area. No so many of the $16-20 4 packs of milkshake ipa. Jacks Abby, Cambridge Brewing, Newburyport and Notch see regular fridge rotation.

 

When you do something interesting you get people talking. It's a good marketing. That's why a lot of the new breweries are making splashes with milkshakes and pineapple beet passion fruit sours.

I wouldn't enter the market unless you bring something of great value to the consumers. I can get tons of IPA's, coffee stouts and simple fruit beers easily. What would draw customers to your beer?

 

Here's a case of a brewery that was successful before adding a single IPA to their line up. (I've had 3 of their beers that were sent here for Philly Beer Week and definitely enjoyed the two non-IPAs the most.)

http://www.orpheusbrewing.com/beers/

This place seems to be doing well with just quality German style beers. (I've not tried any of their beers but have been hearing very good things about them from those who have.)

http://bierkellercolumbia.com

Both of the next two places also focus on doing German styles and doing them well. (While I've not had the OMB beers the Ramstein beers are top notch.)

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19247/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/607/

 

Neat place to visit, as well, if you're in the ATL. Jason's a great dude and they make some outstanding beers. Though, as you said, I'm a fan of the non-hoppy stuff more than the hoppy stuff, but their hoppy beers are also of excellent quality.

 

"Are we killing beer?" I love that we live in a world where that's an actual question.

 

It's fun to debate minutia in the cyberworld. In the real world, not so much. I'd rather just enjoy it.