Boycotting 10 Barrel & Elysian

Cheers to that, but if they turn into Ninkasi...you can have it. They make Ninkasi look like CBA beer, now.

 

I never said they were going to become Ninkasi, I just said the Ninkasi route. I could have said the Founders route (pre-buyout), the Deschutes route, the Harpoon route etc etc etc.

 

Just shudder when I hear Ninkasi compared to beer I enjoy, is all. I knew what you meant, & the comparison is apt...less the quality aspect.

 

Yeah I shoulda just said the Deschutes or Fremont route, everyone loves Deschutes and Fremont. It's just Ninkasi comes to mind since it's the most recent.

 

It's one thing to fear the effects of the InBevs of swallowing up craft breweries and using their names to force other breweries off the shelves, but it's just plain silly to live in fear of your favorite breweries getting bigger. That is success. It improves access. It means maybe you can get a Breakside or Barley Brown's at a run-of-the-mill sports bar or restaurant instead of being stuck debating between Mirror Pond or Hop Czar.

I can't figure out if Ninkasi actually got worse or if their stuff just doesn't seem as good compared to the next wave or two of IPA's, but bless them at least for putting out a serviceable Oktoberfest in a 6-pack. Not enough Oregon breweries do 6-packs.

Anyway, I'm drinking a Night Owl right now and it's still pretty solid for a pumpkin beer. I have Punkuccino in the fridge right now, and after that can swear them off for another year.

 

Huh...I find that the lack of sixers in OR helps gate production. Kegs should be the target (see BBs) of any local quaffer. Local meaning populated OR, here.

Wow...Claudia's is a dive sports bar in PDX & had FH Simcoe two weeks ago. Silly? Maybe prescient...how do you know what Breakside's future holds? Barley Brown's couldn't/can't show up to TWO OR FH events b/c they just don't have the kegs. That ain't growing. That's floundering. Growth interrupting status quo is the quickest path to miffed regulars...but growth doesn't care about us. If I must, I'll just make my beer. I'd rather leave it to others...provided they make it good.

 

Man, you should see what sports bars and restaurants have in other states. Our selection in most of our sports/dives/restaurants are pretty good compared to others, a lot of the time they'd would double as a beer bar in other areas.

Yeah, I prefer kegs too and prefer our pub/growler culture.

 

Bless crowlers, for this reason! I have my last FH Cascade waiting...won't make it past Weds.

 

Of course - sixers involve a lot more production to begin with, both in terms of brewing capacity and the bottling itself. It's more common for a brewery looking to go regional at most. And while I agree with StragestBrewer about liking that the kegs contribute to bar culture, sometimes I just want something when I'm out camping or going to a party and don't want to mess with a growler.

And Claudia's is the sort of thing I'm talking about. As StrangestBrewery points out, in many places you're looking at a stuff like Bud and Coors, maybe Blue Moon or Dos Equis or Guinness. But you can get a Fresh Hop Simcoe BECAUSE Breakside stepped up production and opened their Milwaukie facility.

I guess I'm not sure what your actual complaint is. You're upset that Barley Brown's doesn't have the capacity to meet demand, but also upset at Breakside hiring new staff to keep pace with capacity increases to meet demand. Do you just not like good breweries becoming more popular in general?

 

I don't think it's floundering at all. They're focusing on keeping their locals sated, anything else can go out. And, with GABF moving their date this year, put it directly in conflict with the Hood River fest. A brewery can't go to every event, every where, every weekend. From a brewing point of view, the chance to get together and network with so many other brewers/owners at once is probably a major reason for choosing GABF over HR.

 

Makes sense. Jealous/emotional from all this phytoestrogen this FH season. I'm gonna shut up, now.

 

Uh, are we still talking about beer or business? I've got my business socks on and all but if an INDEPENDENT brewery is making great beer while they grow, allowing more craft beer drinkers to enjoy the beer, where is the problem? Mudhoney and Nirvana, man.

I love Ninkasi and Breakside and Deschutes and I applaud their success....after all, I don't hate on people when they get a promotion...if a beer is brewed by an INDEPENDENT brewery and is imbued with quality, I'm in.

 

To play devils advocate if the fear is not about the success itself, but being able to continue a quality product, supply key accounts in a timely manner, and still be a part of the local community I get the fear of that. Scaling up production does not always equal success. Just to play devils advocate.

I'm actually all for AB-Inbev buyouts if they continue to allow the companies to act autonomously. I know AB-Inbev has had some questionable practices in the past, but if all they're doing now is infusing these acquisitions with cash and distribution channels, great. Large companies don't have to act unethically, "holds breath." There's actually a lot of room for them to do some really great things in the brewing industry. I guess time will tell.

 

Never truly boycotted either one, but much less motivated to buy their beer. I'd rather buy something independent if given the choice.

 

Hit both my arguments on the head...thank you.

 

& I have personal ties to 10 Barrel. Won't be ashamed to stop drinking it, as sparingly as I already do, should the product suffer.

 

They haven't been allowing these co's to act autonomously...look what they've done to Goose IPA

 

Do I think it would be "OK" if AB-Inbev bought all of the craft breweries. Well that seems pretty far fetched that they would go out and buy 4000 breweries, but lets say they do. If they let them act autonomously and just infused them with capital and distribution channels as in the scenario that I had laid out. Than, yeah.

I've never drank from any of the breweries with any sort of regularity before and after AB-InBev bought them out, so I'm only operating on what my friends from Chicago have to say, which is no complaints. That could be 100% un-true.

Destroying competition through constructs such as law, barriers to entry, etc is not good capitalism from my viewpoint. Competition drives innovation, quality, and/or market expansion. Different argument.. sorry.

I would say that lobbying for laws to the determent of local economies, craft movements, etc is deplorable, but I have not heard of them doing such recently. So is buying up shelf space, hop contracts, etc, but I have only heard hearsay arguments about this and have never seen any real data. As for their Super Bowl commercial I think that we as beer nerds have started to foster an elitist community that has turned us into the bad guys or bullies and not them. I think that people are starting to actually be afraid that they'll try a beer at a bar/brewery/etc and be "wrong" if they don't like it, and that in my opinion is sad.

I said that there is room for them to do great things. I didn't say that they had, but if they decided to embrace craft instead of fighting it. I think their shareholders, the general public, their company, and all other stakeholders would be a lot better off for it.

BTW. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I really appreciate your viewpoint. I'm all for intelligent banter especially when it can help drive the collective beer community forward, and I am in no way saying I'm not wrong either.

 

Kill.This.Thread. Options abound...buy what you like.