Breweries Come & Go in Distribution

For whatever it's worth, the Pannepot stock seems to be dwindling around here.

I had never considered their work until I had a draft of their stuff in Belgium. My friend posted he got one of their newer Reserve beers right about the time I returned and I freaked out. After a month of searching, I realized I could get a multitude of years off of various dusty shelves around town, but new still is rare.

 

Funny I do see that one around from time to time but not really seeking it out. I think the Watneys version sticks out to me because I had a very young immature palate (it was extreme to me back then )

 

Yeah, Stingo is around $12 a bottle in my area.

 

Honestly, I can't think of any brewery that has 100% abandoned my part of MD, but there are many breweries that don't get certain beers distributed in my county where other parts of MD do get. Boulevard is a primary one I can think of where I only get a 2-3 more standard options only. Other counties in MD get much more expansive portfolio.

 

I had one last year.

 

Tooths Sheaf stout

 

I have three; Russian River, Moylan's, and Bell's. Around when I first turned 21 and started my craft [microbrew] beer journey (2005-2006), I remember purchasing a lot of Blind Pig, Pliny The Elder, and Damnation as well as copious bottles of Moylander IIPA, Hopsickle, and Old Blarney BW. Russian River still distributes their sours but no longer those other three. Bell's was a more recent one that broke into Oregon around when Founders, Sixpoint, and Melvin did (2015-16 I think?) and I got to try Two Hearted, Oberon, and Lager of the Lakes but soon after the first waves, it was all but gone and hasn't returned. Still have the memories and I keep my eyes open for draft versions of all of these. Cheers!

 

We used to get Green Bench occasionally around here but it’s sparse to nil.

 

There's always room for Celebration.

 

Rothaus Tannenzapfle is consistently on the shelves of my local beer retailers in SEPA. At 16 bucks a 6-pack I just walk on by and instead buy Pilsners from my local breweries instead. Those beer are just as good and at 10 bucks a 6-pack (and fresher to boot) a much better purchasing choice.

Cheers!

 

When I saw you started this thread the first thing that came to mind was, who has actually pulled distro from NYC? And secondly once we answer that, do we miss them? Having a hard time answering that.

 

Great thread idea, @Ahonky !

Allagash is definitely missed here in Oregon. The only other thing that comes to mind is when we used to get Flying Dog stuff out here, as I find Gonzo pretty enjoyable.

 

I can't believe I forgot to mention Cantillon. Back when I was first getting into craft, I remember seeing quite a bit of it collecting dust on the beer store shelves. Needless to say, the times have changed; haven't seen a bottle of it in years now.

 

I'm pretty sure that it was because the guys at Three Floyds just hate Eagle fans.

 

It has less to do with the liquor laws, especially over the past couple years as they have changed substantially, and more to do with the distributors here in Pittsburgh. Most of them were just resting on their laurels until Steel City Beer Wholesalers came on the scene and shook things up a bunch. Now everyone seems to be doing a MUCH better job at acting on the contracts that they have.

Agreed. My city is pretty cool. Once you get past all the one-way streets and yinzers, that is.

 

Yeah, no shit. When I used to live in Denver in the early 2000s, it would just sit in the cooler and I'd pick them off one by one. Don't even know where I'd find it these days besides trading for it.

 

The sad reality is that in one year, two years, five years this thread will be HUGE! Breweries are opening on every corner and local seems to be getting the dollars! I do love tons of out of state distributed brands though! To add to this thread....I loved me some SKA Modus Hoperandi that used to be in North Carolina! They had a cool looking green can with the Blues Brothers on it.

 

Urban Chestnut showed up here about 2 years ago. Got one fresh shipment and then it was gone. Had the Zwickel and Dunkel, both of which were excellent. Now, I only see it in NY when I'm passing through for work.

 

Don't be surprised, though, if in five years there is an increase in distribution of many regional and national brands as the trend of small, local breweries has reached market saturation and then begun to wane. You know what they say about the only constant, right?