I've watched so many liquor stores that had a large selection of imports and regional favorites, balanced with local breweries, fizzle out to only a few imports and old everything else. A store that was my go-to for years has recently suffered this fate, the good news is that I've found a "fresh and new" store a few miles away. I think the beer store scene in Rhody is strong overall. Southwest Florida is another story, only the big chain stores seem to have what I'm looking for at reasonable prices down there. Cheers.
Well, we're certainly refocusing on bars and restaurants here, but it's certainly related to the broader retail discussion, so I don't think it's off the rails. As far as the target audience ... well, in the cases I'm thinking of, yes, I do think I'm in the target audience. I just don't know if I share the same exact interests. If your orchestra puts on an evening of Mozart pieces, I'm certainly your target audience, but - spoilers - I'm personally just not freaking interested. The local bars I have in mind are absolutely trying to cater to beer geeks of our ilk. I don't think their target patronage is more of the local yokel ilk who want something from CT, but don't necessarily have a refined palate. These places are getting great state-wide beers (or region-wide for some). The problem is that they're doing that to such an extent that they're not seeking out anything from anywhere else. That's probably not the case for more in-the-middle spots (or for us locals here, literally The Spot). For them, I think you've got it nailed: we're not their audience, and so a local focus is probably overall a draw, not a detriment. They're probably more focused on food and atmosphere, frankly, but they can at least point out: "Hey, we've got great beer, and it's local!" That's a pretty familiar tale likely to all of us. But for the spots catering to beer nerds (retail or on-premises consumption)? The ones we've watched evolve over the years and in which we've observed this shift? No, I think they know who their audience is, and they ensure their staff is educated enough to deliver the goods, so to speak. Yet, the same evolution is present in this space, perhaps even more so. I don't think it's so much the demand side of the equation ("what does the customer want," or, "who is my target audience") so much as the supply side (holy crap, I could pay $XX per keg of this WC IPA, or I could get two kegs of local hazy bullshit for the same price). It used to be that certain spots made their hay pointing out that they could get beers from far and wide - they had an "in" with distro that others didn't. When they, too, shift to favoring locals not just as a feature, but to the point that they crowd out all others, I tend to think that's not so much that they didn't realize their target audience and misaligned their advertising the entire time, so much as it's that they realized where their largest profit margins can be realized - and then try to highlight it as a "feature, not a bug!" in the oldest traditions of consumer manipulation.
Wisconsin has always had a favorable historical beer scene. With its brewing heritage, and its proximity to Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, world class beer has always been attainable for residents of America's Dairyland. With current in-state options, and regular distribution, we are quite spoiled. I very much believe Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has regained its title as Brew City. 1840 Brewing, Eagle Park Brewing, Central Waters Brewing, Lakefront Brewery, and a host of other incredible breweries, have brought the title home.
As this is how discussions work, I'll turn into another devil advocating another take. Are there enough of you / us left to maintain this model of "peddling rare quality?" I realize the question was how we feel about our local scene, and I am not trying to say your feeling is wrong, I just really oddly felt like discussing your expression of it - and have had fun with it. But I feel I should weigh in weigh in with my opinion, too. I love having locals producing good things, and like seeing them on the shelves for more to be exposed to. I like that I have a good mix of breweries producing new stuff all the time and some producing known entities. I have also seen a lot more beers from all over the place in my "good beer place" and, for me, there is just too much. It has been for years. It's one thing for an Aslin or Commonwealth to produce 10 new beers each week, but add in the "it" brewery from 3 other states or regions, and it's too much. We get "special drops" from breweries outside the area that also produce 10 new beers a week, and getting "a" Trillium or Fidens or whatever apparently is still a big enough draw around here. It just doesn't move my needle any more. I can't tell one Fidens from another or necessarily different than a Trillium. But that's me and as I just typed, I don't seem to represent all beer geeks around here. So I'd say our ideals are the same in theory though slightly different in practice. And I think our local scenes are hitting and missing in similar, but slightly different ways. Again, as the OP likes to state, just my opinion.
Hmmm, as to the question of, "Are there enough of you / us ... " I'd have to say, no ... but that's not even specific to this topic, although it may be germane. We (BA nerds) are well into the minority of craft beer drinkers, much less beer drinkers writ large. As for locals, I love our local scene. It's twice as good as it was 2 years ago, and ten times better than I thought it could be a decade ago. But ... our most revered IPA brewer has shifted to hazies. My most local brewery, while very nice, isn't top notch. Most other CT breweries (I realize I'm speaking hyper-local here, but @JackHorzempa was asking about our beer scenes, to help inform how his experience may differ) are an hour's drive away, and in such a small state, that's actually pretty significant. An hour's drive might not seem like much in PA, FL, NY, or CA, but in CT, you could literally as easily be in MA or RI. (I know that as a DC resident you understand that better than most!) The explosion of our local scene, while fantastic if you want to grab a solid local beer at a random restaurant or swing by the brewery itself after work, has unarguably suppressed the "import" of other beers - and since most local breweries aren't quite up to the quality of, say, AleSmith, Founders, SN, et al, not only do I no longer see "special" drops (I'm not getting Barreled Souls here, for example), but even more accessible "premium" craft beers (think: Enjoy By, Speedway Stout) are nonexistent. Think about that for a second. These beers aren't rare here; they don't exist anymore. You used to be able to know which bottle shops had a broad and deep selection where you could get FW Reserve bottles, Speedway Stout, Bomb!, and the like. Now, they're mostly the same: a shit ton (metric or otherwise) of locals, cases upon cases of stale IPAs, and nothing that sets any one store apart from another. But I agree that local scenes are highly variable and, well ... local. My travel experience strongly suggests that my local experience is hardly localized - that this is a thing occurring on a broad scale across the states, at a roughly equivalent pace. But exactly how that manifests is likely significantly tied to your local scene to begin with. @JackHorzempa may not experience the dearth in lagers that I do, while others may. Regional distros drive a lot of the perception (when I was in Maine, I had much more routine access to certain nationally distributed beers, but less access than others), and result in all of us experiencing this differently. And if your favorite style is more readily available to you than in years past, that bias surely drives your perception and opinion (again, I've had world-class IPAs fresh and readily available to me for about 8 years now, so in that very specific regard, I'm spoiled). But I can't argue against my anecdotal perception that craft beer availability has "shrunk" toward favoring local breweries, in many states and regions, limiting our selection, access to "rarer" beers (however one chooses to interpret that), and reduced breadth of choices. This appears to be a consistent trend: as more and more locals spring up and achieve greater bargaining space within the market, necessarily more intra- and inter-national offerings are squeezed out of the space they formerly occupied. The motive may be as simple as, "They cost lest, and they sell the same." But the impact on the consumer is notable (even if I'm spending just as much, given that a 4-pack of SoS costs $16 whether or not more locals are flooding the shelves right next to it). (Separately, I don't get Fidens or Trillium here! Not that I necessarily disagree with you about those breweries, but it's BS that I'm closer and don't get them at all! )
Unfortunately as I stated numerous times over the years, expensive and mainly IPA/DIPA or Pale ales oriented. I’d kill (not literally) for an affordable good stout here. Michigan and their outstanding ones is a bit of a flight and to settle there isn’t realistically an option.
Funny to see how many people are missing the point of my post. I didn't necessarily say the selection was "better" nor did I say the selection is bad. I said the beer scene and selection were more fun when the scene was smaller. I like imports. I like seeing beers from other states. As a state with more breweries than most other states, our selection of both out of state breweries and imports has dwindled sharply in favor of locals. Often what we see from other states is samey in that it's run of the mill hazies and such. This problem is compounded by locals offering similar beers. FWIW, I love WA breweries and would take the scene in the NW over any other scene. I've traveled enough to know I prefer the beer scene here to most other places.
Silver Branch and Landmade are the only Maryland breweries I really like. I'd like Sapwood more if they stopped focusing on Hazies, Smoothie sours, and dessert stouts, because when they branch out, they make some really nice beers, but it seems to work for them, so I won't knock them.
If you're asking about my immediate area, there isn't one. I was so happy when I found a liquor store that had somewhat fresh Torpedo and Stone IPA. There are no bars/restaurants in the area with any real sort of craft beer selection. I drive across the river to Alexandria for most of my beer purchases. So far as the greater DMV, it depends a lot on where you live. There are 4 different distribution areas (Maryland state, DC, NOVA, and MoCo [I think it's the only county in the US that controls all alcohol distribution]). Anything goes in DC, if you can get it in the building, you can sell it, which is why some of the better bars and liquor stores will have some stuff that you won't see withing a couple hundred miles. You're going to pay for it, though. Usually a good selection at almost any bar/restaurant in nicer areas, even if they're not beer-focused. Nicer liquor stores will almost always have something good. Only brewery I really like is Right Proper, but they got a bit away from doing the stuff I geeked out about, and focus on things that are people pleasers, so it's just sour grapes on my end; I won't deny that they're doing what works for them, and they still do some cool stuff, just not as much as they used to. DC Brau is still putting out good stuff, just nothing exciting. Montgomery County (MoCo) is weird. As I stated, all alcohol distribution is controlled by the county. Even though it comes off the distributor's truck, what can come off is controlled by the county, the distributor is basically acting as an independent agent of the local government. That being said, you can get some good stuff at certain stores and bars. The breweries tend to be middle of the road, I think that they are successful because they're local, not because they're great. I do like Silver Branch, mainly because they will put out good versions of traditional British, Belgian, and Czech/German beers. As I have stated before, the owner of Denizens is a horrible person (first hand experience), and even though they're probably the most successful brewery in the county, I refuse to support them in any context. Prince George County (PG), where I live, is a fucking craft beer desert outside of the area around UMD, and even then, pretty slim pickings. Northern Virginia (NOVA), depends on where you go. You can usually find a bar/restaurant with a decent selection, retail, and even grocery stores have good stuff, even if nothing too exciting. Where I now purchase most of my beer, just because of access. A fair amount of breweries, and some actually have good stuff. Aislin gets a lot of hype, but don't tend to make things I like to drink. Port City is probably the best brewery in area I consider the DMV, and even though they don't make anything too exciting, their Porter and Wit are damn near world class, everything is well made, and I really dig their rotating lager series. So far as beyond that, afaik, there no longer is a homebrew store in the area, but the local homebrew clubs are great. I know homebrewing is no longer as big of thing as it once was (I no longer do it), but I think a strong homebrewing community helps build up the beer community as a whole.
I typically seek out the best beer bar(s) vs. a brewery. There are few breweries that brew solid to great beers across many styles to keep me interested for multiple visits. But a well curated beer bar / packaged section, or a brewery that I can count on regardless of style, will keep me coming back every time / trip. I also have avoided big box stores (Total Wine/Binny's) the past few years, and haven't missed them, though I understand that is a luxury perhaps a majority of the country doesn't have. Halftime and other places that ship beer is a good development for those with limited local options. In terms of local beer scene(s): Chicago: Best Local Brewery Styles: Pale Ale * Barrel Aged Stouts Best Beer Bars & Packaged Sales: The Beer Temple & Beer on the Wall Best Breweries: Spiteful, Revolution, Off Color, Pipeworks Best Dive Bars: Skylark & Sky Ride Tap Vegas Best Local Brewery Styles: Breweries are still a work in progress, but there are a few gem individual selections throughout the Valley. Best Beer Bars: The Silver Stamp and Aces & Ales Tenaya. Best Packaged Sales: Khoury's & Speedee Mart (6703 W. Alexander & 8570 W. Sahara locations) Best Breweries: Hop Nuts, Tenaya Creek/Beer Zombies. Best Dive Bars: The Red Dwarf & Hard Hat Lounge
Retail is adjusting its shelves to the craft beer 2.xx update of breweries changing distribution of their products, or closing, or whatever else is happening.
It's weird here and also depends on what you call local. In the immediate vicinity, there isn't too much, but there's also a very big beer store here that costs me way too much money now, and they have a wide selection of both local and non-local stuff. There are a couple of big stores throughout the region. Just kind of odd that, while it often feels like there's so little here of interest, there is one of those stores right there. And there are a couple of breweries within a reasonable driving time, but not like being able to walk down the block to visit (which is also weird, because working in an even more podunk town, there is a brewery down the block). But you can reach the city in under an hour to get to some high-quality breweries. So, to me, the selection is better than ever, but a large part of that is going to be colored by the time of arrival. "Back in the day" unfortunately means something different than to a lot of others. And it helps being in one of those states where there is a strong scene. You can visit the major cities and find plenty of good stuff, and more of that is hitting distribution. Granted, it's not going to be Philadelphia, Chicago, California, etc, but it could be a heck of a lot worse. A lot of places are willing to ship here, too. Haven't made the leap to that yet, but it's tempting. But I also understand the feeling of seeing shelves filled with competing examples of the most in-favor styles. Here, I think it's kind of saved by local, since it's the IPAs and adjunct stouts that tend to come in most of the time. Couple of local brewers are classicists at heart. Tap selection in the immediate vicinity tends to be sparse, mostly IPAs and the most mass-produced locals. Although you can hit up the closest thing to a beer bar and overpay for cans if you want.
I don't understand people going back and forth about "all local" vs "out of the area" selections. This dichotomy might exist at any one store or bar, but if you don't have stores and bars that offer both then I'd say your local selection is lacking
I'd say the retail beer scene is typical of most places. Locally, we have a pretty strong lager brewery scene that has developed - Halfway Crooks, Good Word, Round Trip, Arches, and Tucker Brewing. But you have to go to the breweries to get those, not much of that reaches distribution. Retail is packed with the expected nationally distributed options and a strong regional selection. Lots of IPAs, Pale Ales, Sours and adjunct infused beers. Imported beer selection has shrunk. Thankfully, I have a couple of close by stores with fairly knowledgeable beer buyers who do bring in some of the Belgian and German beers I like but inventory can be spotty, and you never know when something will just go away completely. For example, I don't have much problem finding Allagash, Founders, New Belgium, SN, Cigar City, Victory, Stone or Bell's at most any retail store. But if I want Schneider Weisse, Reissdorf, or Fuller's, I have to know exactly which stores carry it and catch it at the right time. My biggest complaint, and this would be for another thread, is how little attention most restaurants around me pay to their beer selection. Interested in a Kolsch, Pils, Helles or Dunkel with your dinner. Forgettaboutit!!
I live in a tourism based region with many mediocre to bad local breweries. They cater to people who think ANY micro brew is a good beer. The business is mediocre beer and food, and some of the breweries seem to be doing fine. On the other hand, luckily, I live two hours from Vermont and can get world class beer whenever I want. Cheers!
While I can get pretty much any beer brewed in VT - big exception being Hill Farmstead... have to make the drive to the brewery - I can't get much else that is brewed outside of VT. A scattering of offerings from regional states - mostly MA, ME, & NY - but nothing consistent or too extensive. SNPA is available but finding Celebration is always a chore. Don't even get me started on malt liquor availability. Of course, big brands (Bud, Miller, etc) are readily available as are the various verions of the stovepipes of Voodoo Ranger, etc.
How far is the Hudson Valley for you? I have enjoyed beers from several Hudson Valley breweries with one example being Suarez. Cheers!
Are draft versions of Hill Farmstead available to you locally? I visited Stowe this past summer and I enjoyed draft Hill Farmstead beers at several pubs. I also took the trek up to the Brewery to enjoy a couple of beers there and purchased a couple of four-packs. It is a beautiful brewery setting: Cheers!
Draft versions are available and you can go to the HF site to find them. However, we live in SW VT and HF doesn't really seem to distribute much below the central portion of the state. Also, we only recently (~past yr) got Foam distributed down these parts. None of this is necessarily a complaint... it's just the state of things. Cheers!
