Look how far we have come.....

Thank you, first of all.

I agree - but the fear is that super-proliferation results in beer just going stale on the shelf. So as with most things, it is a two-edged sword.

Completely agree about the food angle - to some extent it is still true where I live, but there are fantastic options now available in casual settings that we never dreamed of even 10 years ago. Twenty to thirty years ago forget about it. When I was a real young 'un, we never at out, period. Changes in disposable income have also had an impact - on beer and on food.

Huge factor in this is the instant information we all have access to, whether it is beer, food, or other. All it takes to be a participant in what's around us is an open mind and willingness to try new things. I work in the food industry and am a Food Network addict (like BA wasn't enough) - the amount one can learn is endless. I guess it always was, but now we can get any information easily and immediately.

 

Best of luck finding out. I was communicating with the Cigar City person in charge of brewing operations on this topic and his response was abba dabba jabba wabba.

Cheers!

 

Damn. My 'abba dabba' is not what it used to be.

 

Sculpin was overpriced at the brewery years ago...I think it was 14.99/six in 2011 when I was there.

 

I used to know which days local liquor stores got their beer delivered and tried to get there on those days. Now, I can count on one hand how many times I've bought beer in those stores the past 6-8 months. I go into these stores every few weeks to get a bottle of wine and always go check out the beer. I have a short list of beers I would buy, but I've been bypassing them due to freshness. There are too many breweries not too far away where I can get fresh cans and/or growlers. I often wonder about the repercussions for these stores if too many people start to do this.

 

There has been so much change. I used to drive to a neighboring state to "stock up". It usually consisted of buying 2 mix-a-six packs for $7.99 each and buying a bomber that was around $6.99 or $7.50. And I felt like I was breaking the bank. I spent so much time debating whether the bomber was worth it. Now I regularly grab bombers that cost that much or more almost every time I go grocery shopping. And I build mix-a-six pack that run $14 on the low end.

 

Two of my favorite IPAs that I can now get anytime rather than having to trade for them. Union Jack and Head Hunter. This is why times are good. Now get us some Surly here and I might giggle like a school girl.

 

Looking at posts from 2013 a ton of beers are there that I don't see being posted about anymore. Established breweries have fine tuned their game and have better distribution/production of their once limited beers(hopslam,kbs)and made them more widely available to the masses.Personally that is how I see the change.

 

What the OP described is just plain old trend chasing. Today's darling is tomorrows shelf turd as people chase after the next big thing.

 

That and the price is absurd. It's $15-16 for a sixer here.

 

And somehow both ways were uphill.

 

How far? Far indeed. Started really before the craft beer boom, Before Sam Adams and Harpoon ipa. In HS went with molsen, tuborg gold and lowenbrau dark, ugg. Still a fan of drink fresh, drink local. In Boston, great choices abound everywhere. Now might be a case of the emperors new clothes? Trillium? No thanks. I drive by it at least twice a week and don't stop by. How is it an ipa with no bitterness? Cloudy milkshake? Really I want to like them, just not for me. Whatev. Someone else will enjoy. Had a Sam lager and a couple of Harpoon ipas in the last month. Still great. As always. Sometimes it seems beer has become a fanatic obsession instead of a great beverage to enjoy. Did swing by the Alchemist on the way to Nembafest( mt bike event in VT) last week, 2 people line on a Thursday @ 11:15 am. Nice. Focal banger, Heady, Crusher, a stout. Very nice. Enjoy and chillax. It's just beer.

 

Well, that is certainly more true with the beer geek crowd (e.g., BAs).

The more casual craft beer drinkers seem to understand this. Boston Beer Company beers like Sam Adams Boston Lager does not seem to be popular with BAs but needless to say there are lots of other folks buying this beer in massive quantities. You could add Yuengling Traditional Lager as another beer that sells in large quantities.

Needless to say but the quantities of Trillium, Tree House,.. type beers is a 'drop in the bucket' in comparison to Boston Lager, Yuengling Lager, Fat Tire,...

Cheers!