Firestone Walker retires Pale 31

Props!

 

To be honest, my money went to pivo. A beer even at 90 days old has the true German hoppy pilsners flavor down perfect. Will that one be next? I'm worried.

Heck, where I'm at, all FW sits and the best selling IPA is a trash english style malt and pine driven fossil, who is seeing 30% growth.(best selling IPA in NM is happy camper FYI).

I remember when 805 arrived around here. Them and all day by founders were going at it pretty strong. I stopped paying attention. 805 never got cheap enough for my liking.

Maybe it's time FW refocuses on their current footprint and drop it down a notch.

 

No hyperbole here. This was my favorite FW beer

 

This is either completely ******ed, or a brilliant strategy to take this off the market, create a demand for it, and then bring it back later--even if only on a limited release basis.

If anything they should put their DBA donkey piss beer out to pasture. That one sucks. Pale 31 was a winner though. This is intriguing.

 

Sorry, but this is a bunch of f***ing bull***t!

Literally, THE beer that got me into a “craft path” back in 2003. I was drinking it back when it was known simply as California Pale Ale; the ONLY dry hopped pale ale to be had on the West Coast.

This beer is a legend! To me, it’s second only to SNPA in the California Pale Ale lexicon.

I was fine with Wookey Jack getting retired. I had to make amends with Double Jack getting put out to pasture as well.

But this? Pale 31 getting the boot isn’t ok.

Oh hey! Union Jack? You just got put on notice. It’s not how legendary you are...it’s apparently: “what have you done for me lately” that matters at FW these days.

 

You don't drink the label.

 

Tell that to Smuttynose.

 

I’m shocked by this.....does 805 sell more than SNPA?

 

Everywhere I have been, Firestone Walker beers sit, or FW simply sends out old(ish) stock, because whenever I have seeked their bottles out, "fresh" meant between 31and 45 days old. I don't get it. This was even in Colorado, before Colorado's boom and the local IPA selection was severely lacking, both local and national selections. For me, it was always between Odell and Firestone....and Odell was always fresh, Firestone never was. While I prefer a fresh Union Jack to an Odell IPA...I always took Odell....because a few week old Odell is better than a 3-4 month old Union Jack, which was likely to become a a 4-6 month old Union Jack before I got through my 6 pack (my drinking habits being what they are....until I got access to Elevated, IPA's were a rotating beer for me).

As much as I agree that Pivo is a fantastic beer....I rarely buy that either. Part of that I do think has a lot to do with having given up on Firestone Walker due to never finding their stuff fresh for so long (and probably a why I also never bought Pale 31). I just got frustrated looking at bottled dates and 97% of the time seeing things that were already 3 to 4 month old, I just cut bait. The more recent variable is the local selection of lagers are great and I tend to be a homer and like to drink local. I love Marble's Pilsner and I always gravitate towards it. Since moving down to NM, I don't believe I have gone more than a week without having cans of that in my fridge,

Off topic, Happy Camper being the best selling IPA in NM is shocking. I get Elevated probably being a bit too much for the low key drinker, but Marble's IPA, or Canteen's Exodus IPA or Sante Fe's 7K IPA are all more approachable (than Elevated) and significantly greater beers than Happy Camper. Tastes....there is just no accounting for them.

 

I've been in the micro/craft beer world since 92 and it's really sad to see what's happening to the US craft beer scene. I do like some of the new offerings, but really enjoy a lot of the legends, but a lot of the legends are falling and I'm not sure things will change anytime soon

 

"70%" seems low, if anything. AB, MC, Constellation, Heineken (including their Mexican brands), Pabst and NAB (6 or the top 8 "beer marketers" in the * have around 83% of the beer market and their beers are overwhelming "industrial-produced lagers" with a few notable exceptions.

Throw in #6 BBC and #7 Yuengling - - "craft" (according to the B.A.) but still brewed in "industrial-sized" breweries - and you've got a quite a few more lagers - probably kicks it up to 85% or so.

 

You guys stop putting on a show like this breaks your heart. This beer didn't sell point blank. Love Firestone Walker but they know that these larger craft breweries like themselves have to trim some fat in this day and age. I'd even bet Union Jack could be doing better what it does. Taste buds change and there's alot of other options for craft shelfies these days.

 

I buy it all the time, particularly in the summer. I can't keep up the demand for one beer on my own though.

 

I really enjoyed this beer, it was one of my go to camping beers. Sad to see it go.

 

805 blonde just showed up at my local Trader Joes. I only found it before in a mix pack. Pale 31 was always a bit hard to find.

 

It does break my heart. It’s tragic that one of the largest,
premier breweries in CA can’t generate enough sales volume on a really good pale ale....particularly when they sell so much of the 805. 805 is fine, I guess, and maybe a gateway beer for the bud/Miller/coors crowd....

But I bet 9/10 folks on here would say Pale 31 is superior to 805. The masses just weren’t crossing over fast enough to another approachable, superior beer.

 

if the title isn't filled with buzzwords, or if it's not new then it loses luster, unfortunately.

On the bright side, this forces bigger breweries to make new stuff more often, which I would enjoy. Having constant new releases from big guys like Sierra, Founders, Stone, etc., is very welcome to me.

Also, I should definitely buy up the last few 4-packs of Founders IRS at the local store before they're gone.

 

I have a feeling Union Jack will be the next to go. People simply want something "new" on the shelves.

 

Good beer, but like others note, haven't seen any that were even remotely fresh (1+ years)

 

I thought about picking up a sixer bottled in October but decided to pass as I plan to visit Paso in early April. Hopefully I can still get it on draft then.