Any breweries you know of that make great beer but decide almost immediately upon opening their doors to have the same beers/ standards week in and week out? One example I'm thinking of is Weldwerks here in Colorado. They've been open about a year and already have a "core lineup," hardly ever making anything besides their standbys. I'd love to see them do different hoppy beers other than just Juicy Bits & Steambarrel every week. Thoughts?
Nebraska is notorious for having a core lineup but only special seasonals every now and then. Going to a brewery means having had everything unless they have something extra on tap for the season...like a barrel aged pumpkin ale (around now) or a dry hopped session ale in the dead of summer. I shouldn't complain though. I came from South Dakota where breweries are few and far between. HOWEVER...I've seen the opposite too...breweries stretch themselves too thin and apply the same concepts to every beer they make, concluding in a disaster that's a stout tasting like pine cones or an ipa tasting like crackers. Learn the style, don't over hop, don't over malt, and take pride in the style. Again, take pride in the style. Please.
I know of a couple that do this however sometimes the fantasy of them doing more isn't so good. There is one brewery local to me that makes some solid beer. They have been making the same 5 staples for years. Once in a while they will randomly try to make something different and so far they have failed miserably. Out of the 10-15 random beers they have made only one was desirable enough to have a second glass. And that one was also the only beer they have repeated besides their flagships. I always have high hopes and well wishes for local breweries that want to try new things but I think that the ones who don't sometimes know that they are giving us the best they've got. Cheers!
tank space is a very real problem. if you don't have space to put your beer. you cannot brew it. that's kind of the end of the discussion for many breweries. their tanks are spoken for and throwing another beer in them can create other problems. it may be good or even great. but it may also not move as fast because what beer dorks may really like does not move in the volume regular joe and jenna beer want. thus. you hit a bottleneck and are stuck.
I'd say Red Oak in Whittset here. The head Brewer lived and trained in Germany for 10 years or so. They make a Helles year round, and a Bavarian Lager. In the fall they make Big Oak which is a Bock, and in Jan they brew a Double Bock. That's it, two everyday beers, two specialty seasonal brews. And they do them very very well, they don't need brew anything else, except maybe a Fest beer. They're really small, require all their beer to be refrigerated , they check all their accounts, and if you don't comply, they cut you off. Not everyone wants to be the Heinz 57 of the beer world like Sam Adams, a few decent beers, and the rest crap.
I think this is pretty normal. You have a core lineup of beers you are really good at making and they are your bread and butter. Then make special ones here and there or collaborations with others in town. I don't see it as a bad thing, I would rather have excellent beers from them than random failures just to be diverse. Then you have another brewer in town making some different ones they are good at, etc. and you have total coverage on all styles mostly. I get what your after but I think most stick with core items because they know them best and want great beers for their customers.
The last thing I want is the beer stores flooded with even more mediocre beer. Breweries with 50 active beers are half of the problem imo. Ex: just because sierra nevada or ballast point brew some great stuff, doesn't mean I want to see shelf space wasted on otra vez, mango even keel, and a sculpin with every adjunct they can think of.
I like the idea of concentrating on one thing and putting all your energy into perfecting that instead of trying to be good at everything. If you make a great IPA, do that better than anyone and let someone else makes stouts or pilsners better than anyone.
I think more breweries should consider limiting themselves. *coughShort'scough* *coughBallastPointcough* *coughSamAdamscough* You get the idea.
I agree too, speaking of which, I'm thinking of a 'what brewery is good at everything' kind of thread... But this was probably started already.
The two breweries in my area (there are a few smaller ones I haven't visited) keep a solid 10-15 beer lineup so there's always a nice selection. They do 2-4 seasonals a year so no complaints. I thInk it just takes time to build up to more selection.
