Styles that can *#@$ off!

Ron, did you visit any beer stores (i.e., packaged beer)? What you are describing in your post is consistent with many (most?) craft beer bars but the availability of beers in bottles/cans in beer stores is a different matter altogether.

Maybe explore some beers stores when you visit Rhode Island? There will be plenty of the beers you referenced but other beer styles as well (including the ubiquitous AAL beers).

Cheers!

 

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, bottle shop selection has gotten substantially worse in the last couple of years if you're not a sugarmurk fan. Tons of brightly colored cans of NEIPAs, pastry stouts, and fruited kettle sours from mediocre-at-best local breweries are pushing high-end imports, traditional styles, truly innovative beers, local new offerings outside of that trinity of styles, and well-executed fare from good out-of-state breweries into dusty corners or out of the stores entirely. Much of the national and regional brands' lineups similarly have morphed to suit limited contemporary tastes. I've certainly found my store visits increasingly frustrating. I'd say broad selection quality and versatility peaked here about 2 to 2.5 years ago and now is in a steady (and hopefully not permanent) decline.

I do most of my drinking at taprooms, and while I love that so many now exist (well over 100 in the Twin Cities area), the styles have largely congealed into the three that @patto1ro mentioned at all too many individual breweries, frequently with around half of the taps dedicated to those sorts of beers.

 

And things are 180 degrees from that in my area. The number of Pilsners to select from increases on a monthly basis.

And needless to say the vast majority of the beers for sale are: Bud Light, Miller Lite, Bud, ....

Cheers!

 

I usually drink in bars when I'm in the US. I prefer to drink draught beer, too.

 

Understood.

Judging beer availability in the US based upon bar visits is 'incomplete'. Entirely up to you whether you want to see the 'bigger picture.

Cheers!

 

Well, pilsners specifically are having a moment, something I support wholeheartedly. They're an exception to the rule here as well. The vast majority of other traditional styles are increasingly limited at any given store, and pilsners themselves still are dwarfed in number by the cloying trinity, but that's a valid counterexample to my point.

 

It has been a very long ‘moment’ in SEPA”

· Stoudts Pils: 198x

· Victory Prima Pils: 1996

· Etc.

Cheers!

 

LOVE Baltic Porters! But that's kinda my point, the best example of a good lager is a beer that looks/smells/tastes nothing like a lager. I think Baltic porters used to be brewed as ales, then were switched over as the new styles caught on.

 

Baloney.

That statement is just baloney. And, not for the least reason: can you even explain what "looks/smells/tastes... like a lager" even means?

 

Sorry to hear that that's the impression given to a visitor. Did you visit any breweries or only bars? Also what part of the country did you visit?

 

I’ve only had one and it was an affront to Lagavulin, but I’d gladly try any I see.

 

I just stopped by two reasonably highly regarded bottle shops to stock up for the online dubbel tasting (not top tier selection places, but places long known for being above average). The first had only three dubbels in the store: Chimay Red, Maredsous 8, and Unibroue Maudite. The second had only two: Chimay Red and New Belgium Abbey. Both had sad, dusty little Belgian beer sections off to the side (and by "sections" I mean "a couple of narrow shelves"). I bet I could've found three times as many dubbels at those very stores 15 years ago, and both of them have much more space devoted to beer than they did back then. Just an anecdote, but I could give a bunch of similar ones.

 

Come out to Cali, we have too many sours here, I'm sure we could afford for you to come and pilfer our coffers.

 

Because it's getting very difficult to find anything at a brewpub or beer store besides those styles.

I'm not crazy about any of them. I prefer a malty IPA like Great Lakes Nosferatu, Alesmith Double Red, Lagunitas WTF...
But it's virtually impossible to find that style now. It's all hazy-juicy

Why must I suffer so?

 

Grab some Waldo, your malty ipa dream comes true. Big beer, a tad too sweet, it’s a late night sipping ipa.

 

When brewers started marketing to adults who still eat Fruity Pebbles for breakfast on a regular basis.

 

Oh, God

 

Come on down to SEPA, you will find them in all of the retailers in my area. I will even give you a bottle of my recently brewed Dubbel which a friend of mine 'labels' as "Better than Chimay".

Cheers!

 

I can see that, lol.