Breweries you're tired of people putting down

I've seen some poo pooing of Ballast Point that has me a bit confused. Disdain toward Great Lakes is also unwarranted in my opinion. So many great beers from both of them.

 

Gansett is a really underrated brewery. Preach brother

 

Dead Guy is good. They can make very good beer, that's why I don't get all the stupid crap they do.

 

This is also what I thought of. They've made some terrible choices with some of their limited release beers, but the vast majority of their lineup is solid. It's just that the only beers of theirs that get talked about here are the dumb, gimmicky ones, which makes it sound like all of their beer is pointlessly gimmicky. In reality, it's a fraction of it. And even if they do make gimmicky beer, so what? You don't have to buy it. You could also say the same thing about Dogfish Head; they make some ill-advised experiments, but most of their catalog is pretty great.

 

Yeah, different threads. But there's no question that there are Dogfish head haters on this site. Been in an argument with at least two of them.

 

Dogfish yeah some of their beers are weird, but I really like a lot of their beers.
Sam Adams, can never get enough Boston lager.

 

For the most part, people don't understand the concept of objectivity. A prime example is Great Lakes (for me). I've never really been able to "get into" the brewery. I've tried many of their offerings but none of them have really done it for me. But my subjective tastes do not change the fact that Great Lakes objectively makes quality beer, at good prices and it's widely available. Just because I don't like something doesn't make it bad, and I wish more people understood that concept. This is the same for Sam Adams aswell. Disappointing to me, but look at the history and the consistency of the product. There is no denying it.

 

Their Amber is also very good.

 

+1 for Filosofem.

 

Sam Adams, hands down!

 

If it's a brewery who has served beer to more than 10 people there is someone out there who hates on it

 

I have only had one beer from Smuttynose (their standard IPA), but it was on point. Really great stuff.

Schlafly is one of my favorite breweries. They are close, easy to get fresh, have an awesome history and presence in the St. Louis area, and they make awesome beer. They are very good at making great go to beers of a multitude of different styles. Which is right up my alley. I love craft beer, but I fall somewhere between Macro beer drinkers and the collector/connoisseur/barrel aged everything craft beer drinker. Schlafly really fills the gap between both ends of the spectrum quite well.

 

That Oktoberfest was killer for the money, as is Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout IMO. Barely $1.25 a can around here.

 

I'm going to add a +1 to Goose Island. I'll admit that I also had gotten tired of them a couple years ago, they didn't seem to be doing much, but in the last year or so, they have really stepped it up:

1. The imperial series: The Muddy was an out of this world stout, awesome packaging, easily available at a reasonable price.
2. The new Four Star Pils, perhaps I'm just a sucker for overly hopped styles, but I get a lot of the classic German flavors out of it that I really go in for that I think mix well with the hops.
3. Oktoberfest: I thought it was a great Oktoberfest, I think them brewing it as an ale made it a strong fall beer.
4. 10 Hills Pale: Simple and honest pale ale which drinks easily. Warning - If you aren't paying close attention, you will realize your glass is empty and you won't know where it would all have drank.

Blah blah blah, bring on the "Budweiser is evil" crowd, I can't wait to hear the anti-AB stories you got from the movie "Beer Wars" 5 years ago. You can argue business practices all day long, but you can do that with many breweries (gasp, do you really want to drink beer from a brewery run by a drug addict like Tony Mcgee of Lagunitas! The man smokes more illegal drugs than Cheech and Chong!) but the current Goose beer is great.

 

Absolutely! Lots of those tools roaming around.

 

It has to be Rogue. I find too many complaints of their prices and quality, yet even my worst personal experiences with Rogue beer would be described as mediocre, and this is coming from someone who enjoys ticking and reviewing new beers from across the spectrum.

But the biggest offender I find are comments which puts down Rogue as a whole over experimental doughnut beer. I have read a tiresome amount of these same comments, and to me, that has become a put down that makes stupid people click "like", and something that supercilious people write.

 

I think their Brew Free or Die IPA tastes almost like a mini-barleywine--nice tune up beer if doing a Barleywine tasting.

I have to say New Belgium and Sam Adams. When someone brings FatTire or Boston Lager to an event, I often think "Nice work...its not Natty Ice." While I don't mind either, they don't deserve the bash that often ensues.

 

I'm down for a Sam Adams vote also.

Why do so many hate on Rogue in Seattle? I've only had their Porters, so maybe I missing something.

 

Stone, but then they get a whole lot more love than hate (rightly so).

Green flash for sure. People really got sand in their vaginas complaining about C3 Silva Stout. Nobody's perfect people, and they make a lot of other nice beers

 

people put down great lakes? they're not my favorite but they're definitely solid.

 

Ok, I am gonna say it..............Rogue.........Most people hate them, but sometimes they put out some great brews........Double Chocolate Stout, 7 hop IPA................

 

Exactly!!!! I don't need to wait in line and pay an exorbitant price for some mega-limited barrel aged super high ABV offering to get good beer. All I have to do is go just about anywhere and I can find Sierra Nevada. They can do no wrong in my eyes. Price, availability, and quality. That's everything I need.

 

Well, it is a decent brown ale, but naming it Salted Caramel Brownie leads one to expect at least SOME of those flavors. So in that sense I found it totally underwhelming and a disappointment.

However, New Belgium in general is awesome! Abbey Ale, Trippel, 1554, La Folie, Le Terroir, all fantastic brews.

 

So one of the key aspects of all these particular breweries is that they are mostly "big craft," any of them get a little non-local and hyper-localist traditionalists start complaining like hipsters losing their most obscure band to the masses. I think that generates the heat.
The other point is that often some (not all) of these big craft, yes New Belgium and Rogue (for me at least) are among them, lost their focus by just emphasizing volume growth. NB has, for what it's worth, tried hard to return to the joy of their original scale of brewing (Lips of Faith, for example). So, will I drink Fat Tire? No. But Le Terroir? Heck yes.

 

Most recently Ballast Point, since their buyout.

 

Most.

 

I'm not a fan of people putting down a brewery because they are big... and I'm not a fan of people putting down a brewery because they are small.

I hate when people put down a brewery because others are doing the same... because it's the cool thing to do.

 

Victory.

There was some fuss last year over Dirt Wolf, but generally they don't get enough credit for a core lineup that ranges from solid (HopDevil) to outstanding (StormKing).

 

if only that was the case. Their quality control has been abhorrent lately. Sour Christmas ale (yes, the regular, not the BA), the BA Christmas fiasco, infected Blackout and Winter Fitz, diacetly Dortmunder.

I like Great lakes, but the issue isn't that they make classic beer...when compared to another brewery mentioned in this thread (Goose Island), I see a MAJOR difference. Great Lakes never grew and diversified their lineup. I went to Goose Clyborne and tried like 20 beers I've never heard of. Goose does Sour Sisters, Fulton series, etc. Great Lakes has like 2-3 pub exclusives at a time and no other 'lines'.

 

I agree. And they've recently released some great stuff! Definitely stepping up their game.

 

yeah New Belgium doesn't really make bad beer, and I love supporting an employee owned company.

 

I feel like this may incur the wrath of BAs PC Principals (and Assistant Principals, etc. etc.) but GF branded Alpine: I've had a few of their beers now, and those beers are pretty damn awesome. Yes we can complain about price and poorly run buyouts and changes to the brews, but I wish more people could separate the consideration of taste/quality from beer politics.

And with this particular brewery, maybe swap in "putting down" for "taking a dump on."

 

Really, any brewery that's been bought out since their buyout. I rarely heard a single negative thing about Laguinitas before they were sold, but now everyone's talking about how they never liked their beer anyway. It's like a switch was flipped.

 

to the Other Half haters.... SILENCE!!!

 

I'm pretty sure if all these companies only catered to the "whalez bro only" crowd they would be out of business.

Great Lakes is one of the few larger craft breweries who always have multiple lagers as part of their regular lineup, and to me that makes them one of the few options for "one brewery for life". Also, their beers are not hard to find for the most part which is a plus to me. They even make some brewery only small releases too, for those who really just LOVE waiting in line to buy beer.

Oh and looking over their seasonal lineup...I can't wait for Rye of The Tiger to be released again in the spring!

 

While I agree that Schlafly is great, but I don't think they get put down a lot. I'd put Schlafly on the same level as Sierra Nevada. They both make great beers and rarely if ever miss. IMO Schlafly makes some of the most solid true to style beer around. They don't have a lot of highly coveted beers, but for people in the Midwest Schlafly is one of the best "go to" breweries.

 

Sam Adams; they make good beer even if they have grown big.

 

For starters I love Great Lakes ! Also, I have much appreciation for Sam Adams.

Not neccessarialy put down or disrespected but Ommegang as well as Smuttynose are just flat underappreciated !!!

 

Ballast Point got 1 BILLION dollars. If the people who benefited from that really wanted to, I'm sure they have enough startup money to make another brewery once they were legally allowed to.