Has Ballast Point's quality changed post-sellout?

I haven't noticed a change. I recently had a Red Velvet which tasted somewhat watery, but it was my first time trying that particular beer by them, and I admittedly didn't check the bottled by date.

To be more specific, I've recently purchased several of their beers since then including Commodore and Victory at Sea, and have found them just as enjoyable.

 

The beer is brewed by the same people. Why would quality change just because of who owns them it tastes the same to me before and after.

 

The folks who purchased Ballast Point were Constellation Brands who also own Corona in the US.

The thing to watch out for in those reports you've been hearing is that some folks automatically assume or think that there will be or has been a decrease in quality when a craft brewer sells some or all of it's business to a larger company. So far that hasn't been proven true since the reason those companies bought the brewery in the first place is to compete successfully in the craft beer market, not to destory the brand they just spent big bucks to acquire. There are folks who choose not to buy such brands based on some principle or another, but as I said, the new owners didn't pony up big bucks to kill off the brand by decreasing quality.

I personally have not noticed any quality change in the occasional beers I've had from BP or in any of the occasional beers I buy from the brands acquired by ABInBev or Duvel Moortgat. In fact I'd say the quality of the Brands owned by Duvel Moortgat (Duvel, Ommegang, Boulevard, Firestone Walker) has definitely remained the same or even gone up. Also their distribution is much better so they are easier to find. Similarly Lagunitas and Founders don't seem to have lost any of their appeal either and Anchor still makes high quality beers which I continue to enjoy every bit as much as I did when they were new to me. (When I can decipher the date code closely enough to know I'm buying it fresh. :-))

 

Not really, after the sale the head brewer quit along with the CEO, co founder and general counsel.

 

Ballast point was one if the breweries I drank a lot years ago, and continue to drink today, however, not as much. I haven't noticed a drop off.

To me it's more a big beer/sell out mindset that if a beer isn't as good as expected or how they remember its big beer's fault.

I would ask those people how often they drank said beers and how they differ.

 

Quality is still good but gimicky flavor additions are way up.
Victory at seas is a staple in 6 packs whenever i fancy a nice stout. I'll try anything they put out but none of their other beers are regular purchases.

 

Hard to say, their prices make it hard to purchase anything here to compare to when I didn't buy their stuff pre-sellout.

 

I still drink Ballast Point (though not often due to $) and Lagunitas, both of which were sold to other companies. I am not getting into that, however. I will say that I think those that have noticed a dip in quality have every right to their opinion, but I have not noticed any such thing. The beers are still amazing, and stayed true to what they were...

 

I was really into Sculpin for awhile and the Grapefruit was a phenomenal invention. I have not had it in memory since the buyout, but this is not a conscious thing on my part, just too many other things to try.
This thread has got me thinking I should have it again and make a judgement. I agree with people that have weighed in and said Constellation did not buy this to decrease quality in search of profit. On the other hand I think they have exploited the IPA adjunct idea to a point where they have lost some respect. What's next, banana IPA?

 

Never really thought BP was that great, seems exactly the same as before to me.

I like Sculpin on draft if there's limited options, but there's no reason the 6pks need to be $15 and up, I never buy those. I saw the Sculpin variety 12pk at Wegmans the other say and it as like $28.99, even worse! VaS is the only other beer they have that's "good" but it too is very pricey for what you get. I haven't bought any of the new junk they've put out with tons of adjuncts, no interest in those at all.

I haven't head anyone saying the quality has gone up or down, I see tons of it at every retailer, and I imagine OOD issues will come along soon enough as they flood the market with stuff that isn't selling.

 

There are numerous references of Victory at Sea being bitter, and charred this year. I'm not saying it's a function of the buy-out, as the beer I had was just post buy-out.

I did lose some face with co-workers after recommending the robust, resoundingly great Victory at Sea from a year ago, only to get comments back that it was one of the worst porters they've ever had. So I'll blame that on the buy-out.

 

BP was never really that good and their prices were outrageous.

 

Victory At Sea has remained very tasty. I'm happy that this is now easy to get and totally delish.

 

I still buy VAS and its variants, but as for the IPAs, I haven't touched them in a while. Mainly because the best-by dates on the bottom hardly make any sense most times. I'm pretty sure they're just batch codes (correct me if I'm wrong). I miss gettin fresh Grunion :/

 

As of last month, they were simply julian dated with the year first and day after

17030 would be 2017 january 30th. 16365 would be December 31st 2016.

Sadly I saw like 6 month old GF Sculpin just recently. As of last month, I finally saw some 2017 dated GF Sculpin. It seems to be similar to what I fell in love with (I was trading for GF Sculpin constantly). Right before they got bought out, they made their way to my state. I was seeing 7 day old GF Sculpin constantly and drank tons of it. its tough now to get a true comparison of pre buyout vs. post buy out since it never seems so fresh

 

This and it seems like I they have quadrupled their production. I can get Sculpin just about everywhere that sells craft beer, a few years ago it was only select stores and in limited quantities.

 

Tastes the same to me. Grapefruit Sculpin has always been and continues to be one of my favorites.

 

Thank you for the clarification!