Some brews I like are only available a few months each year, e.g. Sixpoint Hi-Res and Captain Lawrence Seeking Alpha May and June, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum July and August. Are these schedules based on seasonal agricultural issues, or just the brewer rotating different batches for marketing purposes only?
I'd venture to say marketing in this day and age but there's a possibility that some seasonal offerings are much cheaper to make during certain times of year when certain supplies/agricultural goods are in season but most breweries have contracts on their supplies (such as hops) that are for years at a time from what I understand.
I would think that seasonals are released seasonally for marketing purposes. A lot of these beers wouldn't be sold in a very high volume outside of there season. Take ten fidy for example I drink a lot of that in the winter, but now it's hot almost every day and I very rarelY will have one. The higher sales they get from getting people excited for when a beer is released is probably more than they lose when it isn't in season.
I think that's part of it, but not all of it. Late last summer I was at Tributary Brewing in Maine and had a discussion with Tod about Octoberfest beers. I had told him I had seen Sam Adams Octoberfest already on the shelves, and he said he had just started thinking about brewing his so he could release it when it should be released, in October.
I'd say it's probably less to do with agriculture and more to do with marketing to the consumer base.
Marketing dictates that a Pumpkin Ale or a Winter Warmer or Christmas Ale are released during specific seasons. Some of the releases become a matter of brewery production capacity and the demand for their beers making a tight production schedule. Certain beers are released for agricultural reasons, i.e. Harvest Ales or Wet Hop Ales are released after the hop crop is harvested. Some beers are just traditional for a calendar season: Maibock. Lastly, some breweries just like to experiment with recipes and to release new beers just for the variety. So there are many different causes for the production schedules of the seasonal offerings.
only seasonal because they get cute with their beers, if I had a brewery with a popular beer, id sell it to you every hour of every day till you hate me, then id retire it
