Founders & The Pacific Northwest

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by JasonJYoung, Oct 13, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. JasonJYoung

    JasonJYoung Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2015 Washington
    Trader

    It amazes me how many craft beer consumers throughout the Pacific Northwest (Washington & Oregon in particular), regardless of beer geek stature..... have NEVER heard of Founders!

    I sorely miss Founders to say the least. The anticipation builds with hopes that the Pacific Northwest is on the horizon after hearing the Nevada and California distribution news. Yea yea, I know........the Pacific Northwest has an abundance of good stuff without stressing over Founders.

    Sorry but here is a personal list of breweries that would look good infiltrating the Pacific Northwest:
    • Founders
    • Bells
    • Denver Beer Company
    • Surly
    • Yuengling ( will never happen)
    • Jester King
    • Dark Horse
    • Great Lakes
    • 3 Floyd's
     
  2. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Would like to see Smuttynose, Troegs, (a return of) Allagash, Brooklyn (which is available in BC), and a few others from my old stomping grounds. We do get Genny for when the rare nostalgia beer mood hits, so it doesn't hurt to not get Yuengling. Although, I do occasionally jones for some cans of Black & Tan.
     
    TheBungyo likes this.
  3. unhyped

    unhyped Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2015 Oregon

    founders is good(for dark beers), but like you said we just have way too much good beer to drink and discover locally to worry about founders or other breweries, i doubt people would pay much attention to any of those breweries. many people in portland and the northwest dont even know what beer advocate is, there for they dont know or care about the hype that comes with those breweries. that being said I do enjoy dirty bastard and backwoods bastard quite a bit.
     
    Aestro, BBThunderbolt and TheBungyo like this.
  4. yemenmocha

    yemenmocha Grand Pooh-Bah (4,116) Jun 18, 2002 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah

    But those aren't local, man.
     
    Strangestbrewer and GetMeAnIPA like this.
  5. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Not from the Pacific Northwest but talk to anybody who doesn't travel or frequent sites like BA and founders is 100% foreign. If you think about it how else would somebody is Oregon, Washington know about a brewery that doesn't distribute to their state. Heck, there are so many breweries that are available it's hard to keep up with that.

    I have plenty friends who drink "craft" beer over bmc but don't use BA and don't have a clue about founders or 3 floyds, Great Lakes, new Glarus, etc. they didn't know about bells until they starting distro here in CA.

    The vast population isn't concerned with the plethora of brewers that sell out their area.
     
    Orca, rab53, sharpski and 1 other person like this.
  6. Aestro

    Aestro Devotee (360) Nov 29, 2009 Oregon

    Founders was here in Portland for the Craft Brewer's Conference earlier this year and their events were very popular. There was a lot of talk about whether they would come into Oregon and the general thought was "too crowded already". I'm inclined to agree, though Washington might be a little easier to break into. Seattle is a larger city, and while still obviously a great beer scene it isn't quite as saturated as Oregon (yet).
     
  7. Beervana

    Beervana Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2014 Canada (BC)

    I'd bet Smuttynose will make its way to the PNW soon, it's up here in BC.
     
  8. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Brooklyn has been up there quite awhile, and we don't see it down here. One has hopes though, one has hopes.
     
    Moose90 likes this.
  9. dirtylou

    dirtylou Grand Pooh-Bah (3,352) May 12, 2005 Oklahoma
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Poor smuttynose would be a perma-terd here. Founders is just Spanish schwill anyway.
     
  10. Aestro

    Aestro Devotee (360) Nov 29, 2009 Oregon

    Anyone have any idea how Six Point is doing here? Different from the Midwest stuff, but that might be a good gauge. They had a pretty good push when they first hit the market and I've been enjoying their offerings.
     
  11. EdwardAbbey

    EdwardAbbey Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2015 Washington

    I'm of the mind that there can never be too much good beer in an area; and Founders makes good beer. I can understand their not wanting to go to the trouble of distributing to a region they feel is already over-saturated, but my hope is that they will eventually decide in favor of limited allocation in key NW markets. They could sell that much more beer, and we'd have that much more to choose from and enjoy. Win win.
     
    woemad and BBThunderbolt like this.
  12. JasonJYoung

    JasonJYoung Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2015 Washington
    Trader

    Great responses!
    Can't believe I forgot about Brooklyn. That would also be a personal favorite.

    Some of the responses had me thinking back to when I arrived in Seattle and Portland from the Midwest. It was borderline overwhelming and took me weeks, if not months to figure everything out (beer scene/culture and offerings). It was literally like shaking a tree and having a brewery/ craft beer fall out NON-STOP.

    Only thing I can compare it to might be the BBQ scene in KC and Texas. It's practically non existent up here and I'm suffering like crazy :slight_smile:

    BTW: Only been here (NW) full time for approximately 4 1/2 months. Still much to learn.
     
    BBThunderbolt and EdwardAbbey like this.
  13. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The same thing could be said about our breweries and why people other places don't know about them.

    If Founders came here, people would respond just like regions where Deschutes has recently started distribution: Initial excitement, then shelf turding and "when's the next limited release coming out?"

    Also, Surly has a distribution license for WA. They can send stuff whenever they'd like, but only do it for random events at Brouwers and Toronado.
     
  14. EdwardAbbey

    EdwardAbbey Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2015 Washington

    Yes, what the Midwest and South are to BBQ, the NW is to craft beer. As a vegetarian and beer-lover, I'm perfectly happy with the situation. Maybe, as a carnivore, it will improve for you in time. For now, at least, you have good beer in abundance to soften your disappointments. That ain't too bad. :wink:
     
    BBThunderbolt likes this.
  15. mudbug

    mudbug Pooh-Bah (1,762) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    It would only give the multitude of comparable local breweries an excuse to raise their prices to match the imported stuff.
     
  16. EdwardAbbey

    EdwardAbbey Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2015 Washington

    You may be right, and I can only (as always) speak for myself; but if Founders was here, I'd buy their Imperial Stout, Porter, Breakfast Stout, and more limited releases (like KBS and Backwoods Bastard) whenever I saw them. I'd also at least try all the other beers from them I've yet to have.
     
  17. Bitter_Better

    Bitter_Better Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2015 Oregon

    Just wait...after barely a year here, for me, CA seems like worlds away...I try some local WA faves just to have some imports.
     
    ballardbeer likes this.
  18. rab53

    rab53 Initiate (0) May 1, 2005 Washington
    Trader

    Having moved to the PNW only a few years ago, I too miss being able to get Founders regularly (also Jack's Abby, Ithaca, Captain Lawrence, Maine, Tree House, Allagash, Troegs, etc).

    While it is true that there is an abundance of great beer in WA, I have not found anything that compares to Breakfast Stout. Although the fresh Cowiche and KDS will just have to do.
     
    ExVashonGujy likes this.
  19. WhiteJordan

    WhiteJordan Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2012 Washington

    KC style BBQ food truck sets up at Chuck's CD every Thursday.
     
    ballardbeer likes this.
  20. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Ive seen a few East coast /midwest brewers try to break into Oregon over the years.
    Its hard as their stuff seems to be a good few dollars more than the PNW beers for the same kind of beer.
     
    BBThunderbolt likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.