RIP Summerfest

I only discovered how good Summerfest was this year. I certainly will miss it.

 

I'll take a stab (though I'd love any insight that @SierraTerence could provide), I suspect that their goal is to perhaps grab some of those customers who enjoy the brewers you mentioned but has wallet fatigue. Perhaps SN is aiming to be their discount hazy of choice.

I also imagine that SN, and other big brewers, expect that the hazy IPA segment will keep growing and appeal to customers that aren't regular beer customers. And they would like to capture some of those customers.

I certainly share your fatigue for the style, and am also skeptical that there is that much more market for it to capture. But that concern doesn't seem to be shared by many brewers as the steady flow of new hazy brands doesn't seem to be slowing.

 

Ugh....replaced with a Session Hazy IPA?

Sierra Nevada has been one of my favorite breweries - I’ve had 95 beers from them - but the last few years they are totally missing the mark.

I really haven’t enjoyed any of their recent new releases....seems like they are just chasing fads, and abandoning long time core beers.

I always keep some SNPA in my fridge, but my other spend has been going elsewhere lately.

 

Bingo!

Non-Cheers to this!

 

I think Sierra Nevada is a great brewery and an example of what all craft breweries should aspire to be. Until now, they’ve been uncompromising on their standards and haven’t betrayed their pride for fads like seltzer, unlike many breweries big and small.

With that said, their recent changes disappoint me, as they indicate a lack of creativity in their new lineup. In this way, they’ve become like many of the minor breweries. They have the money, talent, and loyal fan base to offer a creative and diverse selection of seasonal and rotating beers - they’ve just chosen not to take that path. That’s one less dependable lager choice for the summer months..,

 

unfortunately I think this is what's missing. Their hippy stuff moves around here, I know of a couple markets where the porter and stout seem to do well, narwhal and bigfoot seem to work, but the seasonal packs did sit at the stores I shop at and summerfest definitely didn't sell through.

I'm hoping that this decade is the one where large, skilled, brewers like sierra Nevada are able to figure out how to work distribution to get the less popular styles to the markets that want them in volumes that will facilitate relatively fresh beer. I don't know the specifics of the hurdles to this happening but it seems like lots of brewers have a hard time getting these less popular styles (basically anything that's not an IPA) into the market in a way that works

 

How do you know that?: Needing more $$$$ would be a good reason to chase trends.

 

From what I understood, Summerfest was popular - it was a hit with my family on our trips to the cabin and usually was the first beer to disappear of the 12 packs I’d get. Distribution is just wonky and timed atrociously.

Although they’ve lost output over the past few years to local stuff, I thought that 2020 has helped them recoup their flagship sales as people move to bulk grocery purchases. It doesn’t mean they’re “back” to the early 2000s, but they must be in some decent position for their distro and marketing. I also imagine it’s confirmed their more traditional selection.

Maybe SF didn’t have a fair shot this year - an outdoor beer during an indoor year.

 

From what I've read on this board it sounds like it was hit and miss depending on the market. Some people reporting that what showed up sold out quickly and others (myself included) reporting that it seemed to hang around well after its "season" had ended.

That's why I think the real challenge for brewers at the scale of SN is managing the unequal allocation of seasonal/specialty brands. And I'd imagine that the effort is made worse by the dynamic nature of the market these days. I suspect that the large regional/national brand that is able to make the next advance in the logistics of craft distribution will make a lot of fans

 

Conceptually I agree with this statement.

The challenge of beer distribution for a nationally distributed beer like Sierra Nevada is that they accept orders from their partner Wholesale Distributors. It is these Wholesales Distributors who ultimately decide how many pallets of Summerfest to order and perhaps more importantly when that beer makes it to retailers - I have read many posts on BA where folks state that they can't buy Summerfest at their local retailers since there are still stacks of the previous seasonal from Sierra Nevada sitting there. Sierra Nevada through their regional Sales Representatives could potentially aid in this forecasting/distribution aspect but ultimately it is up to the partner Wholesale Distributor. It is my understanding that Sierra Nevada works with something like 200+ Wholesale Distributors nationwide.

Cheers!

 

my problem w summerfest is i never saw cans, lots of love for summerfest here, completely understood. I still long for the 12 pack of Nooner cans in ice water on a hot summer day.....aaaah! Bring back the Nooner to replace the summerfest!!

 

Nooner was just cold-lagered Pale Ale, and people preferred the Pale, so Nooner was dropped.

(Yeah, I'm making waves and false assumptions without evidence -- isn't that the 2021 way? )

 

there was also a German Style Pilsner, this is the one I am referring to!!.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/144200/

 

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to as well, and joking about. Maybe you missed my footnote?

FWIW -- and no tongue-in-cheek this time, Nooner was a disappointment to me as a Pilsner. It was what I call a Nouveau Pilsner -- a lager brewed for IPA drinkers.

 

And I have heard other folks 'complain' in similar fashion. If folks prefer Summerfest in cans, and would buy lots of that specific product, but the Sierra Nevada business dude(s) decides to package mostly in bottles there will indeed be a sales volume 'disconnect'. They will then conclude that people are unwilling to purchase the brand while they really should examine this situation and perhaps conclude they made a mistake in how the product was packaged.

A somewhat simple issue to examine: if all of the canned product quickly sold out but the bottled product hung around for months after the season had ended there is an indicator there.

Cheers!

 

Ya that's definitely true, I just have a hard time seeing what the motivation is for wholesale distributors to change anything. Perhaps some passionate and enterprising person will find an innovative solution from within the distribution industry, but I suspect that its going to be breweries, who have all sorts of financial motivation to find a solution

 

While I always preferred SF to Nooner, the can packaging option for Nooner made it a 'no-brainer' for pool/lake/river brew buying decision.

 

You can get Pale Ale in cans -- wasn't a huge difference ().

Seriously though, Nooner never struck me as a true Pilsner, and yeah -- in those outdoor excursions I'd prefer SF, but PA or Nooner would be a toss-up.

 

Agreed, but I feel that Nooner felt less filling than PA.

 

Yeah, little less body.