How to REVIVE craft beer?

They make too many bad beers. While I think a handful of their beers are good, I believe they could do better if they narrowed their focus a little bit.

 

Sam Adams' sales are high as ever, are they not?

What would bring back their reputation among craft beer drinkers? Focus more on their stronger brews and make them more available instead of their current focus on more centrist 5% ABV beers.

 

Why would we care? There are so many great beers out there. Try the new stuff, buy the good stuff.

 

Make better beer, I don't know a lot about Sam Adams, but their Boston Lager is terrible.

 

The fact that BBC has lost reputation and/or market share hardly means craft beer as a whole needs to be revived.

 

I think you mean reviving a stale brewery that isn't putting out anything new or world class. Simple, put out something new that is world class. When Sam Adams was hip US craft beer, there was hardly any competition. They were a big fish in a small pond. Now there are 1000's of craft brewers making better product. If they put out world class stuff, the beer nerds will come back around.

 

Maybe it's just you...

There's plenty of people that like Boston Lager.

 

Unfortunately a lot of the Craft Beer scene is about what's new, what's coming out in the future and how rare stuff is and such.

I've seen breweries like Dogfish Head, Sam Adams, Deschutes, Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada treated almost like BMC beers on here and I think it's pretty much only because they are all pretty easy to find with wide distribution.

A lot of people are only about the next beer they are drinking. They want something new, not something they've had before and can get whenever they want.

It's sad, but true.

 

You admit craft beer is doing fine so are you asking how to revive BBC? Are you sure they need revival?

 

They have tons of money. I'm sure they could entice some new, highly respected up and comers with a well above average salary and repackage a new "line" of beers. Similar to what Stone is doing with their Pale Ale & Ruination and or similar to what Port Brewing is doing with their Hop Freshener Series.

They could also repackage some old staples as well. Part of the problem with Sam and others alike is their house profile yeast or malt etc.... where all their beers typically taste the same, just twisted to meet different styles.

Just a thought. Feel free to piss on it if you like. :-)

You have to change with the times if you want to keep up.

 

Boston Beer Company is far from a "failing brewery". In fact, how would you define a failing brewery in the first place?

 

While it's not my favourite and I don't often buy it, I definitely like Boston Lager. There's a great steakhouse in town that always has Boston Lager on tap and would I rather a Boston Lager than a BMC beer?

Hell yeah.

 

I'm in agreement with much of what's been said here...

I'd say Sam Adams is a great gateway brewer - approachable, it can get you from BMC to craft - but once you're into the craft world, you realize that their products aren't often as good as other craft brewers.

Most craft breweries either have a specialty/niche (sours, barrel aging, high gravity, whatever) or they produce a couple of renowned top-tier products in one or more of the more popular styles. Sam Adams fits neither criteria. They pump out tons of beer across the boards, yes, but without distinction (unless mediocrity counts). And they do not have a major IPA, stout, or specialty beer that gets much attention (other than Utopias, which is not very beer-like, and prohibitively expensive).

 

I know everyone has different tastes but really? You think Boston Lager is terrible? How so?

 

I counter this with the following slogan:

"Drink what you like."

I have yet to see any of that derision towards the breweries that you listed on here.

 

Well drink what you like is obvious. But to a lot of people they drink what they haven't had over what they like.

I'm glad you haven't seen any of that! Cause I have.

 

I noticed that SA has produced MANY new beers
over the past so many years. I've tried many of
them which were good. I just can't remember one
that I can say wowed me. I think maybe that
people are looking for the ones ( Pliny, Heady,
KBS, BCBCS, etc.) that knock your socks off.
So as Sammy will make good to very good brews,
you might be pressed to find one that wows you.
Having said that you have a lot of variety with
SA and most times will not be dissapointed. They
are good and I will continue to buy their brews
every now and then. Especially something new
from them.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

They are doing just fine. Not appealing to small subset of a small subset isn't a problem.