Are you exhausted with the constant hype?

I get you, but are the hype-chasing consumers really bothering you personally? I'm of the mindset that we should just let people enjoy what the enjoy; we don't need elitist attitudes like some communities have. It doesn't really matter for the people who don't know about great beer, they buy the seltzers because they want to, it's a totally different customer base. Hell, even I enjoy them from time to time

 

I would contend that the hard seltzer movement is more about chasing easy profit than about chasing hype, per se (and I do think there’s a difference), but I otherwise agree mostly with what you are saying. Including the notion that the “down hill spiral of craft beer” (my quote, not yours) started with the NEIPA craze.

I recently spoke my thoughts on this in a different thread so won’t repeat here. But in summary, I actually don’t have a problem with hard seltzer’s in general, but do have a beef with them being produced by “craft breweries”. I could rant here, but it’s probably not worthwhile....

 

“Are you exhausted with the constant hype?”

The answer for me to this question is “yes”.

Permit me to further complain:

For the past few years there seems to be a perceived need from some (many?) of the craft breweries to produce “the shiny new thing’ for their fickle customers. For some breweries (e.g., Other Half) this means the need to come up with new brands on a weekly basis. Are these weekly releases genuinely new beers or are they in the parlance of the craft beer industry SBDL (Same Beer Different Label)? Regardless of the answer here it appears that for Other Half to remain relevant & exciting to their customer base they have to create new product on a regular (e.g., weekly basis).

There is a recent thread about Ballast Point labeling a new beer as “Clear Hazy IPA”. On the face of it this is just a gimmick/nonsense but it sure seems like Ballast Point felt the need to use ‘different’ label verbiage here.

And then there is the recent thread about Kool-Aid inspired beers.

I suppose on one level it would be easy to just point the finger at the various craft breweries for coming up with this crap but perhaps the larger ‘fault’ lies with a segment of the craft beer consumer market which is constantly searching for the ‘new shiny thing’ and the various craft breweries feel compelled to serve these tickers and come up with wacky new ideas.

Perhaps Pogo knows the ‘answer’ here?

 

I get it. It’s evolved through many forms - one day it’s sours, the next day it’s hazy IPA’s, and cost-wise it’s way more than I personally would care to spend on them (IMO) or think that they would even really be worth that much to begin with. I think a lot of people who have been on here for a while have had the pleasure of witnessing the metamorphosis.

Unfortunately, the hype is never going to go away. Supply and demand is a funny thing sometimes. How many of these beers are truly quality examples of the styles?

 

And one more thought I forgot to mention above:

If there are some craft beer consumers that want wacky beers and craft beer breweries want to service their demands that should be OK. Where I personally have a beef here is when these wacky beers push 'traditional' beers off tap handles and push them off retailer shelves then there is reduced product for me. I am not a fan of this.

Cheers!

 

That is a challenging question especially when craft breweries seem to be constantly 'inventing' new styles. For example, what should a quality Clear Hazy IPA taste like? And if a Kool-Aid inspired beer does indeed taste like Kool-Aid is that sufficient to state it is a quality beer of that style?

And have you had a Muddy IPA yet?

Cheers!

 

I guess in that case it’s purely subjective

 

^ Could not agree more with this! ^

 

I actually enjoy a seltzer every now and then, just as a change of pace. I even make my own. I say let people drink what they want. If you don’t like it, don’t drink it. Generally, I feel more choices is a positive thing.

 

I agree with you OP and have also in other threads share thoughts on this so I won’t repeat things I’ve already said. But in the end I think the market will right itself.

I personally think we may soon see some of the hype chasing breweries downsize, close down or dare I say be bought out.

In the end I do think the breweries that remained true to themselves all along will be in a better spot than the trend chasers. They attracted people genuinely/organically who will stick around. Trend chasing breweries may have too but they also attracted a huge amount of well “shiny new thing” buyers as jack put it. Will those consumers continue to support or just move on when they’ve had their fill? Time will tell I guess.

 

Dang it. I was planning on spending my stimulus check on pastry seltzer.
Now I’m conflicted.

 

The breweries that put out new beers every week or month that have made hundreds of different kinds make me think that they must not have found a good recipe yet.

 

well...no one can accuse you of having no strong opinions. The emphasis being on "opinions". to answer your question..."no". There are a whole slew of more significant activities in life that are poised to "exhaust" me. Beverage hype does not even make it to the list.

 

I would disagree with that. Well there will be some hype, but the degree to which it sustains I think is in question. The meteoric rise of craft beer can’t last forever, it’s probably already on the decline, and I would say the current trend of hyped styles would actually be indicative of the fact that the beer hype is already fading. It’s hard to view these new style fads as actual beer, I mean juice “IPAs”, pastry “stouts” , milkshake “IPAs”; for the most part don’t even have any semblance to actually beer.

I guess some would propose that it’s just an evolution of product and that the same could have been said with American IPAs/DIPAs, adjunct/barrel aged stouts, American Wild Ales. But I would contend there’s a big difference. At least American DIPAs use actually beer ingredients, adjunct stouts may use some different ingredients but you can still pick up base beer typical stouts flavors, and American Wild Ales/other new age sours at least have a precedence with historical beers like Lambics/Guezes and to a lesser degree classic Goses.

 

Personally, I rarely choose to buy the same beer more than once, so I appreciate breweries that release new beers frequently. I also do appreciate well crafted traditional beers although I don’t buy them as frequently. Seems like people like me are a newer realm in the craft beer market. New beers sell. It also seems like the market is expanding and reaching different and new customers through these non-traditional styles. The internet has changed the way everything gets hyped. Have you been to a National Park lately?

Hearing this repeated complaint about “not beers” really reminds me of those stubborn AAL drinkers who aren’t into basic craft beer and never will be. As long as the more traditional craft scene doesn’t fade away (why would it?), then everyone wins.

 

I don't agree with this. There are multitudes of "good" variations on a recipe, whether it be beer or any other consumable. I am not a brewer but I do make food and I can very easily relate to those who constantly wonder "what if I do xxxxx to the prior formula?". I contend that number of recipes has no correlation to the number of good results.

 

Consumers voted with their dollars, and stood in line for whatever crazy concoction was on sale this week. Breweries are responding with crazy concoctions.

I've never stood in line for beer, and I've never bought into the crazy hype.

I have been able to enjoy some great beers thanks the growth of the industry. If some consumers want to chase the next big thing, let them.

 

By the way, the most “hyped” beer I’ve ever chased is Pliney the Younger. That was definitely pre-haze craze.