Are We Killing Beer?

I think it is not accurate to say that all breweries or the majority of new breweries are only making / focusing on hazy milkshaky IPA's or fruited beers to the exclusion of other beers / styles. We have plenty of new breweries here in NE Ohio and many craft breweries that are decades old, doing great things and making good consistent beer that people love and buy (and they are not all these newer types / styles). Discerning craft beer customers that have been drinking for a while know that shoving a shit-ton of hops in everything, gets old pretty quick and that a well crafted brew will be appreciated and bought, whatever the style. I think people tend to over-simplify things or see them through their own narrow "beer-view" instead of looking at the bigger picture - we have more breweries now than ever before in US history - get out there and enjoy it!

 

There is no reduced pricing going on in NJ or anywhere else in the Northeast.

 

Hey, the more the merrier. If I don't like what they're offering I won't buy it but I like having options.

 

I've been known to kill a few 6 packs from time to time

 

Yes, around here it's more often than that - like every brewery is releasing a few beers every week. Although, it's not just milkshake IPAs and tricked-out beers, there really is a pretty wide array of styles constantly coming out. I honestly feel like we're growing beer not killing it, with all these smaller breweries brewing different styles and figuring out how to sustain their business with local and regional releases and not overreaching.

 

Will be interesting to see if Industrial Arts, and their 15.00 4paks of beer just as good as, or better than, the 20.00+ 4paks, and their ability to ramp up production to meet demand, will have an impact on pricing. I agree that so far it hasn't.

 

But of the same beer!?!

Cheers!

 

Dave, how is Industrial Arts selling their beers? Is it sales solely at the brewery?

Cheers!

 

Nope. In bev. store refrigerators days after canning. They have had a few they advertised as brewery only, but only one or two of them haven't also been sent out to at least some stores. When Chief started Industrial Arts he said his goal was to have the best IPA in NY available, fresh and at reasonable prices, at every gas station and beverage store in the Hudson Valley. He also planned well ahead, and has ability to greatly ramp up production at his present location.

 

There are still breweries out there that focus on quality and not gimmick. Bell's comes to mind

 

Agreed with (most of) above.
We live in an era of beer revolution and it's not dying anytime soon.

 

I think from the perspective of "can I get any style I want and that its good today" things are great. I can walk into my local beer store and there are tons and tons of options. From the perspective of going to breweries, I think there are some issues. I love IPA's but it is getting annoying to go into most breweries and there being 12 different IPA's on tap with maybe one or two other styles. I find it hard to find breweries that I can go to with my wife, she doesn't like IPA's, sours, or stouts.

Another issue that I think is bad for "beer culture" is the almost universal high ABV's. This might bring people in but if everything is 8-12% how can you really stick around and have a few beers without getting drunk? There's kind of reason other countries have great brewery and bar cultures, you can actually stick around for a few beers and carry a normal conversation. Ironically most breweries provide a lot of fun stuff to do, games, food, music, etc, etc. but not many options for lower ABV beers. Now I love high ABV beers don't get me wrong but again without some variety its getting a little boring. If my only variety is which group of hops they used in their beers its not really variety.

So I don't think we are killing beer culture, I just think we aren't really promoting it. Beer is business and business focuses on the current bottom line sales and not on whether we are building culture.

 

I gave up on ticking years ago. You simply can't keep up with everything. I'm not on IG, but can only imagine how crazy things are getting.

From a home brewing stand point, I like one-offs because it spurs creativity. That said, you don't need to add x,y,z to a beer so that it's good.

However, I am with you as a commercial consumer who wants a great beer that I can get fresh anytime.

 

There's nothing wrong with it. Except for the thousands of mediocre breweries in existence.

 

This is a big part of a lot of problems/issues going on today.

 

I have mixed feelings about this, as I used to think of beer as a democratizing drink, available to all. But the fact is, there are some beers that are significantly better than others, and I can't reconcile not paying more for them when I gladly pay for better quality in almost every other consumer purchase. About a month ago, I paid for my first $25+ (retail) 4-pack, a Mumford/Interboro collaboration, and, goddamn it, it was worth every penny. So, these days, I mostly pay $12-15 for a 4-pack of pint cans, which I've grown to find totally reasonable, and sometimes splurge on the $20+ beers. Evolution? Maturation? Whatever it is, it's reality.

 

This is exactly how I feel and you said it better than I ever could have. I used to regularly have the urge to seek out rare or highly rated beers. It was fun but too often I found myself underwhelmed by the beer. Within the last 3-4 years, I have been narrowing down which styles of beer I really enjoy and focusing more on those. Since then, beer has become more enjoyable again. When a brewery makes a great version of a style I love I let them know it with my wallet. And there are more of those kinds of beers available to me now than ever before.

I have been wanting to try Metric Pils, but I have a tough time justifying $12-13 for a 4-pack of tall boys when I can get 6-packs of other really good Pilsners for half that price.

 

There is so much great beer being brewed within and hour and a half radius of me that I can't even try half of what I want to try.

 

Sudog Millionaire -brewed by four quarters brewing- It is a new england double ipa with coconut, pineapple, and glitter......yes glitter. OP-what do you think about this beer?

 

LOL GLITTER?
Now I have seen it all. Do they charge extra for that?