No Sierra Nevada Fall Pack?

Thanks for the update, I totally get the move and all, there are loads of beer drinkers and you guys need to target all markets not just one. I am happy with my Oktoberfest right now, tasty batch....

 

4 beers and can get all the time, oh boy. I love Sierra Nevada, but this is a hard pass for me. The fall pack is the only variety pack I buy every year. Guess I will be buying Sam Adams fall pack this time.

 

That is quite unfortunate news @sierranevadabill regarding the lack of a fall variety pack this season. I look forward to that one each year.

 

I second this! I would love to see a pack like that become a thing. Ruthless Rye and the Coffee stout are two of my faves and I have never tried the Kolsch or Tumbler because they are never available here.

 

Ohhh come on SN..... Tumbler is one of the only brown's I'll buy. Plus no fall IPA, Flipside in particular, or anything.... Hmm seems like I wont be buying anything but Celebration from you guys this year.

 

For those lamenting the loss(es) of this or that SN beer maybe the quote below will help. It's from @sierranevadabill in another thread where he points out the disconnect between the beer geek market (i.e. us [and brewers]) vs the larger market of craft beer drinkers.

 

If I had to choose between Glissade or Tumbler getting axed I would kill off Tumbler every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

 

I just saw the SN Oktoberfest for 2017 along with the Victory Golden Monkey Ale (only one month old!) at my local Kroger grocery mix six cooler. Guess what came home with me!!!!!!!!!!

 

Is there any info available on the fresh hop pack due for release later this year?

 

@sierranevadabill

I understand the reasoning behind the Drinking Buddies variety pack but my question would be, why can't both variety packs be released?

I'm sure coordinating and packaging two fall variety packs on a large scale is difficult and could be the reason why the fall variety pack isn't being released. However, I wonder if the sales for the fall pack were slipping recently.

 

I don't really think the people interested in this drinking buddies pack full of pale ale and IPAs is going to be the target market for a fall variety pack and vice versa. Looks like they are servicing the casual or big box shopper. The rest of us will have to shop elsewhere. I'm as big of a SN fan as anyone else here but more and more recently I'm realizing I'm probably not their ideal customer. Of course I'll buy tons of Oktoberfest if we get it in NY but as for variety, other breweries have been more interesting to me for some time.

 

Been busy and missed this thread. Some of the comments on the thread I started makes sense now. A few points I'd like to clarify here.
Agree with a lot of you about the Fall pack not being out. Trust me, I'm not new to Craft and I'm certainly not new to beer, my liver will attest this.
I'm ready for Brown ales and stouts as well, if SN is tapping a market and cutting out seasonals, well, I guess I'm not as enthusiastic about the Drinking Buddies. The point of my post in the other thread was that in my area, to find all four of those beers without having to travel to multiple retailers is a bonus.Most nights I'll have a higher ABV like Torpedo and follow with something like a Sidecar or PA. I don't know, maybe I can justify four -five beers in a sitting if each is "different".
So yes, I'm a fan of the Drinking Buddies, and I hope from a logistical standpoint ( 25 minute drive to get SN)but not at the expense of losing a seasonal.
To get ANY Sierra Nevada other than PA or Torpedo I usually have to drive to a beer store 45 minutes away which only sells singles at a ridiculous markup and usually dust covered. So to find a variety at that price close to home is a big deal.
To close, I can't wait for Celebration, and start selling PA and Torpedo in 30 pack cans please.

 

Lame

 

Logistically we can't do two bottle variety packs at once. These have to be brewed (of course) but then packaged individually, stored and then repacked by hand. We have armies of workers repacking bottles at the start of each variety pack season.

That said, this looks like a one-time switch. We're planning on releasing Snowpack in October and a new 4-way IPA pack in January.

 

Did just that last week -- it was delicious and I need to remember it more often.

 

Appreciate the reply and the information .

 

I can. This year's pack will be:
Pale Ale
Coffee Stout
Wintertide--A new spiced beer modeled after the Lebkuchen cookie.
Holiday Haze--An all new IPA.