Beer Availability by Region

Based on my perceptions/assumptions - I certainly don't know this to be true - it seems like the strength of our market, especially related to our huge variety of locals, can also at times screw us when companies, like Bell's, choose to not bother with competing in our state and move on to our neighbors (like Arizona).

But I can't complain. Sure it would be nice to be able to enjoy some Two Hearted, but I can't complain too much when I can just turn to some Odell's IPA to take my attention away.

 

I've lived in 3 states: CT, MA and PA.

CT - not nearly as good as the other two, though up and coming, pricing is generally worse than any state I've bought beer in and freshness is an issue in many stores I've been too. The stores that sell craft beer often seem to have waaaaaaaaaaaay too much beer on the shelves and it's hard to see them selling it all before it goes bad. I've often gotten a malty IPA.

MA (brookline) - Pretty good selection overall, fair pricing, and pretty good beer culture leads to finding good craft in many regular restaurants as well as bars.

PA (Philly burbs) - by far the best selection I've ever seen, pricing is getting better as grocery stores have entered to compete. Silly beer laws but there are enough exceptions where I don't complain too much anymore. The only downside is intense competition from other beer buyers for rare treats as there are a ton of beer lovers here and the case law doesn't help as distributors often only get a few cases they have to sell to a handful of customers rather than spreading the love.

 

I really enjoyed stopping at Hop Jacks down there, massive tap selection, 111 taps i think? biggest ones where im at are in the 40-70 tap region i believe.

 

"... It may take some time for better beer to "catch on" in areas where BMC is revered [translation: NASCAR territory]..."

As jesskidden often points out, American Adjunct Lager (aka BMC) is around 90+% of the beer market in the US, so I'd say it's pretty much revered everywhere.

And, just FYI, here are locations for races on the 2012 NASCAR schedule in addition to the races held below the Mason-Dixon line: Joliet, Illinois; Loudon, New Hampshire; Dover, Delaware; Kansas City, Kansas; Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Fontana, California; Long Pond, Pennsylvania; Brooklyn, Michigan; Sonoma, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Watkins Glen, New York.

From that list, I'd say good beer has "caught on" in NASCAR territory too.

 

I have no complaints about distribution in my area of Southeast Virginia, other than we get stuff in the northern part of our state that doesn't make its way down this far due to a different distributor handling things up there and I don't find that fair.

 

New England impressions:
MA - many top national craft brewers distribute here, but many don't. In particular many heavy hitters from the Midwest (Bell's, FFF, Great Lakes, Short's, Surly) don't make it here. We have a good local brewing scene, which helps mitigate that. What browns me is that beer is expensive here. Why is a six pack of SA Lager a dollar more here, in its home state, than it is in Washington State? Taxes are not the reason.

VT - Vermont is not exactly the beer paradise that one might imagine given the world class breweries there. Distribution of Lawson's, Alchemist, and Hill Farmstead are limited to northwest and north central Vermont, due to those breweries' tiny spigots. Reading the Alchemist blog can be quite endearing ("if all goes well we will send a palette to NYC next week!"), but it's frustrating to be in Vermont and have to drive 50 miles out of your way, with non-beer fan passengers in the car, to make a pickup (well, maybe not as frustrating for me as it is for them).

CT - My impression of my home state is that selection is limited and prices are slightly higher than Massachusetts.

ME - Not as big a selection as Massachusetts, but with many great local breweries it's not so important. Most of these breweries manage to send beer to Massachusetts.

RI - Have I been there? It's so small . . .

 

Illinois is great easy access to good beer Founders,Great Lakes,Three Floyds,Bells etc.......
Many good bottle shops Binnys has incredible selection but there are many other smaller bottle shops that are very good

 

Well, that's actually beside the point. My statement wasn't about which part of the country liked NASCAR more, it was to indicate that otisp's suggestion that somehow NASCAR fans don't live in areas where good craft beer is produced and consumed was off the mark.

 

MA (Boston) Lots of Great bottle shops. Good distribution. Great variety of local/regional breweries and styles. Shitty State excise tax, awesome beer bar scene, very few brew pubs. Overall one of the better regions in country.Also no beer in supermarkets or gas stations. Very strict laws.

Vermont some great local beer, prices are high, not great distribution/variety, everything is far away! Majority of beer available at pubs is vermont/local beer.

NH - Low prices in bars and shops, some decent brew pubs scattered in various cities (Portsmouth is good). Poor distribution, some grocery stores have decent selection, weak relative to rest of country.

SF/Bay Area, Tons of awesome beer available, insane amount of regional/cali microbrews. Prices in stores are low, prices in bars can be pretty high. Very easy to find good beer anywhere (Hooray BevMo!). Probably the best beer area I've been too.

CT- Prices Suck, Not a ton of great Bottles shops but some exist, distribution is somewhere between Mass (Real Good) and NH (poor).

 

Massachusetts actually has one of the lowest excise taxes in the country.

See here: State Beer Excise Tax Rates

 

It's a quirky state no question, but I feel fortunate to live here in PA because we get alot of good stuff in addition to great resident brewers. For example, I don't know many places on the East Coast who get the Pliny bro's on tap.

 

Chicago area - maybe the biggest selection of beer anywhere, some places stock around 3000 skus, basically here it is all about having everything for most liquor stores. There are also smaller "boutique" shops that buy up all the rare beer, I would say it does not get evenly spread throughout the metro area distro chain.

 

http://www.seekabrew.com

 

the problem with that site is that it doesn't sort by market and doesn't include importers

 

I agree completely. I'd like to see it updated with that info.

 

OH (Toledo), Pretty good selection, 7-8 stores that I go to (3 I visit on a regular basis) and grocery stores are starting to get a decent craft selection. Have been able to get some great beers (Cantillion/KBS etc.) and have easy access to my favorite brewery Jolly Pumpkin. Also pretty close to Michigan so able to cross the border to get some of their beers. Biggest problem is OH has 12% abv law on beers so we miss out on some good ones.

 

Johnson City, TN here. Honestly a pretty terrible selection around here especially for beers over 6.2% due to them having to be sold in liquor stores. Prices also tend to be high. There is one decent bottle shop in town but the selection is still nothing compared to neighboring states. We have no Bells, Founders, DFH, Victory, Great Lakes, etc. The biggest thing that eases the pain is my close proximity to Asheville, NC and a decent bottle shop in Bristol, VA where I can pick up Troegs and Ballast Point brews.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "sort by market". However, if you click on a state it shows you all the brands distributed to that state. It then allows you to pick a second state, and shows how distribution to both states compare. I just looked at MA vs CT - pretty grim for CT.

 

What he means is in states like Florida, the distribution is not even. Some markets IE Tampa/Orlando get far more choice beer wise than Jacksonville. Miami is even weirder I hear but its so far away from me I no longer know first hand. I think its quite clear in many states 1 part gets things the other part does not, so a site like seekabrew is right that the state has it but if you have to drive 150 to 200 or more miles in that state the distribution is not really even.