RIP Summerfest

The best that I can report is that the owners/managers of my local craft beer bars always store their kegs cold, in a cold room in the basement.

Hopefully your local craft beer bars do the same. Maybe have a conversation with them on your next visit?

Cheers!

 

Wow, I really hate to hear this, Summerfest was my go to daily beer for the Summer. Can't blame them though if sales were so poor.

 

Not too far from me, after all Maryland is now in the “Northeast”.

 

I am so tired of hazy beers. Summerfest was my go to summer beer though at times I found the beer brewed inconsistently. It looks like Ill have to look elsewhere , maybe European. Mamas Little Yella ? Once in a while.
I told Sierra Nevada that I wont be buying any of their beers now ,including their Octoberfest ,which was one of my favorites. Ill opt for Ayinger or some other Octoberfest.

If I want an IPA it won't be any of their beers.

 

Who really knows how true this is. They havent provided any stats.

 

Summerfest goes stale quickly . I think I would pass on this. Anyone else ever notice that Summerfest was never really that good on tap? Much better in the bottle.

 

Whatever stance you have to take for yourself, and I'm just as unhappy about the loss of a favorite beer, but there's no denying SN makes good beer and I'll be buying my old favorites as well as trying their newer ventures.

Will I like them all? Probably not, I haven't as of yet. But I'm not going to hold a grudge just because my favorite wasn't everyone else's favorite.

 

Well, SN's "brewery ambassador" did say back on page 4:

And why would they lie?

 

Is this something other breweries provide? I don't think there's any obligation to provide reasoning for their business practices.

That said, I heard direct from an SN employee that Summerfest sales were down for consecutive years. Won't compromise sources without permission, but I have no reason to BS because I'm not happy about the beer being gone either.

 

It's all a conspiracy to take away our favorites! Even their Oktoberfest won't be a collaboration anymore!

Next thing you know they'll discontinue Nooner.

Wait, what was that?

 

I read about people who are "tired of drinking hazies" (maybe even in this thread) and I can't blame 'em - well, no, I take that back. They're free to follow my method > don't buy them.

 

As it turns out, I'm a natural with that method!

 

As someone who once had Lyme disease, "ticks" don't interest me at all.

 

Lagers in general and quality pilsners are much more difficult and expensive to make, no margin for error. With IPA’s and especially hazies, whatever comes out and however it comes out is fine, it’s just becomes a “limited edition” or seasonal or hazy with a crazy label…and guys like me bite, hook, line; and sinker every time..

 

I'm 180 with your opinion.

 

It's been my experience that a beer as delicate as a Pilsner is even more so from draft. A character that could be dismissed as lackluster.

Pilsners vom Fass in Germany were so smooth and quaffable.

 

There certainly is more steps (e.g., the lagering process) and lagers tend to be more delicate in nature so no way to hide flaws so perhaps more difficult there. As to being expensive there is the extra time consideration but plenty of breweries (e.g., Megabreweries, Regional Breweries) are capable of producing high quality lagers and make profit while selling them at reasonable prices.

It is popular on BA to disparage beers like Light Beers (e.g., Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Light,...) but these sorts of beers take exacting brewing process to consistently produce them. There is zero doubt in my mind that the QA/QC process at Anheuser-Busch is second to none.

And even some craft breweries are capable of producing high quality AAL and Light Beers. I purchased a 12-pack of Night Shift Nite Heavy and those AAL beers were well brewed (and reasonably priced). I have yet to drink Nite Lite but I have heard good things about that beer.

Cheers!

 

I was talking to a brewer at brewery known for their hazy beer about Budweiser and the difficulty of maintaining consistency among mutiple breweries. The brewer was sharing his insight and admiration for the process. Another customer comes in, buys a four pack, hears our conversation and says yeah, swill is real hard to make. That's the mentality that's out there.

 

To be fair, that "perceived" swill doesn't compare to what most BA members enjoy.

My "mentality" is probably similar, even though I know how beer is brewed. AB's consistency doesn't impress me because I don't think the majority of their beers are worth drinking if you really enjoy beer for what it could be.

JMHO

 

Yup, as I posted above: "It is popular on BA to disparage beers like Light Beers (e.g., Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Light,...)..."

The most popular selling beers in America are Bud Light, Miller Lite,...but BAs do indeed disparage these beers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers!

 

Just want to reinforce this point because I think it's being lost in a "popularity" point based on non-enthusiast beer drinking statistics.

Elitist? No, I just like good beer.

 

So this is the REAL reason why it’s being dropped . I don’t believe this declining sales nonsense .

And I noticed last year the Summerfest got hoppier. Even my redneck son in law said so . I believe it was a cost not necessarily a sales decision

 

What !!????!!?! That was my go to fall beer. So now my go to summer and fall beers are gone !!
Goodbye Sierra Nevada !

 

Nope. Not gone. Just not a collab. Talk a long, deep breath -- double-check all sources. If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs, you probably haven't checked your voicemail.

Besides, I thought you'd kissed-off SN already?

 

Please read all posts before coming to false conclusions.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/rip-summerfest.652715/page-4#post-7141718

 

Ok, who are the bums not purchasing summerfest? reveal yourselves! Such a great pilsner.

 

I know, I know -- I did *my* best!

 

I liked Nooner, would buy that if they still made it. Was never big drinker of Sumerfest

One of my locals Mill House makes a Kolsh, bought two 4packs of that recently. To me it's a good low abv style with food or warm weather

 

I will be . No collaboration! That made their Octoberfest interesting each year. I’m passing on all their beers including the Celebration Ale . They probably will discontinue that one too.

 

I sincerely hope you are wrong here but since Celebration is not hazy like the hip craft beer drinkers would prefer it would not surprise me if Jeff White (CEO of Sierra Nevada) made a decision to nix Celebration in 2022 and replace it with a Hazy IPA in 2022.

Again, I hope you are wrong here.

Cheers!

 

Yes, I can respect the industrial brewers for being able to produce a consistent product at such scale and in multiple locations. But that doesn't make their product high quality, just consistent. All of the dedicated AAL drinkers that I know prize them for their affordability, their minimally impactful flavor (especially when consumed ice cold), and their alcohol dosage being fairly modest. They are mostly brand committed for nostalgia and familiarity reasons (their dad/granddad drank it or its the swill they've acclimated their palate to). And many of them are more than happy to give the seltzers a whirl.because they offer all the same benefits ( minus nostalgia and some of the cultural cache that certain sub cultures place on particular brands) with a less offensive taste.

 

The same fellow who explained the reasoning behind the scale back of Summerfest (its not going completely away, apparently will be on tap at their locations and available in small batches through their locations and their e-commerce platform) also informed us that celebration was selling briskly last year. As long as that doesn't change I don't see any risk that they will nix it

 

All this complaining from folks who haven't even tried the beer they're complaining about.
It's a damn excellent brew. Light, bright and full of flavor while still being very well balanced.
Quit being so jaded because your favorites sold poorly and were replaced with offerings that meet demand.

Oh and look it even has better ratings on our favorite beer rating site!

 

I sold less than a case last year. Interest in the stuff is dead and a lot of distributors had already dropped the stuff.

 

Well, 40 ratings for Summer Break vs +4k ratings for Summerfest, I reckon that the jury is still out

 

Not that I'm skeptical of what you point out, but Lagers are historically rated pretty low around here. The old "hit me over the head" aspect of favorable ratings.

My own rating: +14.3 rDev.

 

Mine was only +4.1 rDev but that was based on the beer from 15 years ago. 2020 would have definitely been rated higher by me.

 

Mine was from 2010.

 

Have you noticed a trend of decreasing Summerfest sales over a period of years?

Do you have an opinion as to whether your customers have lost interest in the Summerfest brand but have purchased Pilsners instead from other breweries (e.g., Summit Keller Pils, etc.)?

Cheers!