How Important Is Local/Micro?

I'm sure I have a bias towards local stuff but I'll drink anything that's good

 

For me the quality difference is the real question, not who owns the brand. One of my favorite brands is unibroue. They make fantastic Belgian style ales that are always consistent and top notch... They also happen to be owned by Sapporo and brewed in Canada, but theyre good.

I'm also not against a nice Stella or Molson Canadian now and then, If the beer tastes like stale cardboard I dont want it but if it tastes like an AAJ/Euro pale lager should than it can be very refreshing.

With all that said I have also had some horrible craft beers that If I was left with a choice of Molson Canadian, Budweiser, Stella ect... or the bad craft I would choose the macro every time. Enjoy-ability is the only thing that matters...

 

I like to support my local breweries due to quality and convenience. I like the idea of having really good breweries nearby.

 

Having a nationally recognized brewpub two miles from home is a source of pride and great beers. They don't have bottled or canned beer, though, but plenty of PA brewers do and I try to support them, which isn't difficult because there are so many good choices available.

As for the giant brewing Monopoly, I try to avoid their products because I don't ascribe to the "bigger is better" business/economic model. I prefer to help the little guys.

 

I like my locals just fine. I like everybody else's locals just fine, too.

 

Taste and affordability are the things I look for.
Local would be great, but does not always fit the criteria.

 

I drink what I like, and unfortunately, there hasn't been one local brewery that blew my mind. Ithaca is pretty close and pretty great, though. If I had to pick a local/semi-local brewery, they win by far.

 

Not

 

We have one microbrew place in town, Bier One, the place is often packed after6

 

I definitely enjoy local beer as it gives me a sense of pride in my community, especially since Seattle has so many great breweries. On the other hand, I echo what someone else wrote above, which is beer is a hobby that I enjoy and therefore I am not looking to make any political statements based on the beer I drink. Part of the fun for me is trading and trying out of state beers that are not available where I live, not to mention the friendships I have made with those I have traded with. I wouldn't experience that aspect of it if I only drank local beers.

 

As said before, I enjoy supporting local breweries (Hangar 24, Ritual) because of sense of pride in my community but it helps a lot that they make great/good beer. I do very often find myself drinking their beer. Though I stand by "If it still tastes good post buyout, I'll keep buying it." when it comes to semi-local stuff like St. Archer. Speaking of which, their Mosaic IPA and Coffee Brown still taste pretty darn good.

 

To me it's not about some imagined struggle against the man or the delusion of grandeur that somehow by buying beer that I am keeping people out of the welfare line. One benefit of drinking local beer is that you can try beers that don't hit major circulation. Sometimes you find a gem in the rough. Instead of having hundreds or thousands of people telling you how great the next bourbon barrel blah blah is or the super dry hopped etc is, you are out there hunting for something that hasn't been uncovered.

For example Dogfish Head has a brewpub where they sometimes sell experimental beer in small batches that you can't get through their regular distribution like "Beer for Breakfast" which is brewed with scrapple. It sounds absolutely disgusting but I would try it. Who knows if I might end up liking it? Maybe I'd hate it but at least if I was a local to Rehoboth I would get to try it.

So in essence it's not the importance of something being local but rather the opportunities it provides that make it an intriguing option.

 

I buy good beer regardless of the source in general. If a source screws me or my friends over, they risk losing my business. Would I like to have a world class micro near me - of course.

 

I like to support breweries who's main goal is to make great tasting beer instead of pumping out thin, sub par versions of real beer. Pumping money back into my local economy is very important as well. I'm not one of the "I DON'T CARE just as long as the beer tastes good" kind of person.

 

It means nothing to me.

I drink what I think tastes best, regardless of where it is from. After that, price and availability (including freshness availability) are the most important factors.


Drink best, I say.

 

If they know how to brew, deal with people, and offer variety - then it's important.
If they don't? R.I.P.

 

I support the brewery that has the best tasting beer for a particular style I want to enjoy at the time. If there is a major difference in price with relatively similar quality, then I always choose the cheaper one.

 

I almost always choose what's best or which style is most appealing over thoughts of what is local, especially when out at a bar or restaurant. That said for my at home consumption, I am spoiled in that my work is a 10-15 minute walk to Trillium and my house is 10 minute ride to Night Shift and these locals tend to get most of my beer money. They earned it by making awesome beer, though, not by being close to my sphere of influence.

As an exception, when I am on vacation I do make an effort to drink beers local to the area that I can't get back home. I like to get a sense of the local flavor, but I usually do go in having done some research to have some idea what to look for.

 

We really like to beat dead horses here on BA, don't we?

There is something to be said for buying locally, but I think people (OP) miss the fact that non-local ≠ big corporation. When someone says they're "fighting the power" they're also 'fighting' other breweries that were also once only available to their respective localities but were good enough to survive and expand. If a local brewery is any good, they will likely expand distribution, perhaps- gasp- across state or even country lines. Are they then one of the evil big breweries?

And if one's local brewery isn't good enough to expand... well, die-hard locals can enjoy their crap beer. I try to give every local brewery a chance to earn my business, but I'm not going to have some delusional local-loyalty to it if the product sucks.

 

I drink / buy almost entirely craft. The exception would be BCBS, and occasionally the Sisters from Goose Island.
As far as local goes, my local is Jack's Abby and Trillium, among others...
Actually, if the beer is equal, I will go local over from elsewhere, but if it's a beer I haven't tried or I like, it doesn't matter where it's from. That is, I'll happily buy Sierra Nevada, Left Hand, Stone and plenty of others. Would I buy them if they got bought out? I don't know. If the quality stayed consistant, then, maybe? For nearly all of those beers, though there is something craft and often fairly local. I guess I prefer not to give money to ABInBev, MillerCoors / SAB whatever, but I'm no zealot. I am still thinking about the Ballast Point sale, though I almost never bought anything from them anyway.