Can someone confirm or refute this? I heard that this beer was discontinued amd I hope that it isn't true.
FWIW Weihenstephaner Helles is still listed as being available for sale at my local Wegmans supermarket. Perhaps this is an example of:
That's a weird one. I feel like the stores near me that happen to carry it only carry it. The other stuff is nowhere to be found. The places that carry the other Weihenstephan items (all in bottles) never seem to have that one. I think it's because it's a weird can-only SKU.
The local, independent, big retailer is still carrying it (along with the full brewery lineup). Who's passing you bad info, a local distributor?
I went to Total Wine this morning on the hunt for some, trying to stock up for the upcoming holiday weekend. I asked the "beer guy" and he showed me his handheld inventory gadget and it said it was discontinued. I'm betting maybe that the local distributor may no longer be carrying the beer, which I would find strange, but it wouldnt be out of the question, as they have also stopped distributing beers such as Ten Fidy. Ahhh.......To Be Continued. Thanks.
I have to wonder if it's a regional TW decision? Maybe based on sales? Are there other Weihenstephaner products on the shelves? FWIW -- I just checked the TW website with pick-up set for the Milwaukee area and they don't show the Helles available either. They show every other Weihenstephaner product, though. So maybe it's a TW decision.
When I went this morning, they had the hefeweissen (both bottles and cans), Original Lager (bottles), Pilsner (Bottles) and I'm pretty sure I saw Vitus as well. I would think if they were going to stop carrying any product from them, it would have been the original lager before the helles got removed. But, what do I know?
Again, I'd point to sales. The Original has been around so long, I imagine it's more recognizable to the every day consumer. On a personal note, I like the Original better to-style than the newer Helles cans. The Helles is just to thin overall to me.
From our TBS rep that covers New England "this isn't a discontinued product". If you venture up I-84 to Sturbridge, we have plenty of 4pk cans in stock.
Yes, sounds like a retail Total Wine decision, not from the brewery themselves - happens all the time at retail = strictly sales driven - if the sales are not where the buying staff at corporate want them to be - they get dropped..... (I have decades of retail purchase management experience under my "working days" belt....just not in this industry)
IMO if the beer guy showed you his inventory/scan gun and it says discontinued, that's wholly an internal thing specific to that company. For a larger chain that probably means discontinued at the regional office. I'm selling both the Helles and the Hefe in cans, and I have no issues getting them from my distributor. At the moment, anyway.
