Founders announces Solid Gold Lager

They're not the first craft brewer to put out a golden lager. My guess is it will sell well and they'll make that much more margin on it because it's less expensive to make - can't blame them for that. There's certainly a market for it so why not get in on it now? In fact, I think they're late to the game.

 

It's Founders and it's cheap.

I'll try it. And probably like it. And buy lots of it.

 

Never had a bad fresh founders beer... Azacca pc pils all day centennial mosiac promise are all good beers looking forward to crushing these

 

I'll jump on the bandwagon as well.

 

Great price......The beer place I go to sells All day and other 15 packs for $12-14.

I will be on the look out.


Enjoy

 

This may be a 'model' for how the larger distributing craft breweries can compete in today's very competitive market.

Produce a beer that is cheap(er) to produce and will be 'popular' with a broader segment of the beer market (e.g., both craft beer drinkers but also folks who generally drink mainstream (e.g., AAL beers)).

I will be following this beer to see how well it sells.

Cheers!

@RobH @Starkbier @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @Sixpoint

 

Founders claims:

PBR with lemony hops is "challenging what a lager can be?" The marketing speak is making me nauseous.

What are you two basing this on?

 

Good price, but in my experience Founders can't really do anything well that isn't on the malty side. I am in the minority, I know. I'll give this a fair shake before passing judgment, however, and I'm always open to more AALs from craft brewers, as I find the style underrated.

 

I'm not into lagers much, but will try it. I am encouraged by the low price point - that's one huge way craft can compete with macro - come out with a similar and hopefully better product, and get close to macro pricing.

 

So selling "AAL drinkers" an American adjunct lager beer from a non-craft (based on Brewers Assoc. criteria) brewery 30% owned by a large international brewing company with a reported barrelage of over 10 million bbl is a way to "convert (them) to craft" ?

 

The BA has a definition for what they classify as a Craft Brewer, but not Craft Beer. Minhas is a craft brewer, right? Not sure I would call their product craft beer.

 

Yeah, and even before the revised definition of "traditional" allowing corn and rice adjunct beers for a "Craft Brewer", some of them still brewed their old AAL's (F X Matt's Utica Club, Spoetzl's Shiner Blonde/Premium, etc).

Just don't see where much of a "conversion" takes place by selling AAL's to AAL drinkers...

I mean, you could say they are attempting to move "Macro drinkers" to "small US brewers" beer drinkers, but given Mahou's home and barrelage, even that doesn't apply.

 

Back to Founders. They completed their brewery expansion a while back. It included a 300 bbl brewhouse and 1500 bbl fermenters (IIRC a conversation with a GR friend, but beer was involved). They must need another volume product to fill those tanks.

 

Founders has yet to disappoint. Plain and simple.... they make awesome beer. Looking forward to trying it.

 

Well, Pabst is trying to revive the Stroh's brand, but maybe they'll sell or license (if they've kept up the trademarks) Pfeiffer and Goebel? Both rivaled Stroh in Michigan during their heyday (pretty sure Goebel even outsold Stroh at some point, post-Repeal).

Hell, it worked for Narragansett (and just about no one else).

 

This all falls into the big conspiracy theory - micro-brewing became a popular alternative to flavorless dreck that ruled the American beer landscape for so long. Now the small breweries are being bought up by the big ones that were losing sales -- and they're forcing them to make that same dreck with fancy labels.

Next rendition will have no "Lemondrop" character to further the complete 360 turn back to American Swillsner. I'm stocking up on Celebration for my fallout shelter before I fall victim to the brainwashing.

 

I don't know about lemony hops but if they are using corn, why not just make a nice cream ale?

 

Corn is much cheaper than malted barley

 

A lower gravity beer (i.e., 4.4% ABV) requires less fermentables (malt, corn) to produce. Granted, ingredients costs are not the biggest factor in the cost of producing beer but it is a factor.

Cheers!

Edit: @bsullivan posted that corn is cheaper than malt which may be true. I personally do not track these sorts of prices at commercial scales; I only know what I pay at the homebrewing scale.