At the end of the day, if I’m at a barbecue with my old friends and they happen to have a cooler full of Bud Light/Bud Heavy I’m not going to pass up a chance to have a brew with my friends because of the big evil corporation. I love Stella and enjoy drinking a Blue Moon every now and then as well.
The fact of the matter is this: the market is diluted with tons of “craft” and “artisanal” beers that aren’t worth the time to look at let alone drink. Most put out mediocre, inconsistent products that I’m supposed to swoon over because it’s not made by the big boys or because some dude in hipster glasses, mutton chops and red lumberjack shirt makes it “honestly” and “sincerely”. Strip away the fat and the companies that are left are all the ones that everyone agrees on being classics. The market is ripe for implosion if only to bring back some perspective and eliminate the bloat.
On the flip side, I’ve been buying Sam Adams BL regularly simply because it’s the only decent beer I can find fresh in my area besides BMC and Yeungling. (Yeungling isn’t bad, but to me Sam Adams BL is better.)
I don’t mind buyouts, if the parent companies understand good beer. Look at Guinness, PU (though they’re part of InBev now), Duvel, heck, even unskunked Heineken isn’t bad. There are companies out there that care about making good beer, craft beer doesn’t have the market cornered for quality beer. That being said, InBev I’m not a fan of, due to their seeming attitude toward craft beer.
I’m hoping buyouts increase the amount of good, fresh beer on my local shelves. For whatever reason, even in high turnover shops most craft beers are close to their drink by dates, or past them.
Word. And I don’t think there’s any need to defend your Sam Adams purchases.
I recently visited the US (DC and Virginia) and tried every lager I could find. Then I had a crappy lunch at a crappy chain who’s only decent tap was Boston Lager. It was easily the most well-made, flavorful lager I had on the trip. I had better luck with the pale ales and IPA’s, but a Firestone Walker something-or-other stood out as a favorite.
That original quote above makes me cringe. So this friend likes good beer but only keeps Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada in his fridge. This proves to me that he likes good beer, but maybe he also prefers to get the most for his money. And/or he’s just not that interested in trying all the local beers, hoping he finds something he likes, hoping that he can afford it and hoping that the next time he buys it it’ll be just as good.
I think it’s great that there are so many small, local breweries and I’m not advocating buying from the big boys, but I think sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Some breweries attract attention from investors for a reason. Being big or bought doesn’t automatically make a beer bad (pats self on back for alliteration).
There’s still another thing: Sometimes the small local breweries are crap. There’s a local brewpub that my wife and I enjoy very much, however their beer is always hit or miss. Usually it’s very murky/yeasty.
The next closest brewery has beers that are far over carbed for my taste, plus I think they may have had an infection a while back as well. Also, their “pale ale” is just another mini-IPA that needs to be dailed back to be more sessionable.
Other MD breweries? Heavy Seas beer can give me migraines, and is typically at the drink by date. Duclaw is overpriced, and similarly close to being stale. Flying Dog? Hit or miss, usually close to being stale. Devil’s Backbone? Sometimes the Vienna Lager can be found fresh, but it’s a lesser beer than Sam BL.
Other major craft breweries? Only Sierra Nevada I’ve seen that hasn’t been past the drink by date have been their seasonals. SNPA? Not worth buying, so sweet and old it’s disgusting. Managed to get a fresh bottle in that fall sampler pack they did, I’d forgotten how great a beer it was. Stone beers typically are a week or two out from the drink by date, and that’s when they make it down here at all. New Belgium is about the same. I’ve never seen fresh Firestone beers here.
Sorry for the mini rant, but I don’t think I’m alone in my frustrations. While in many parts of the country craft beer is thriving, in others it’s still a mess. Where I live, Bud products have such a long local tradition that we get our own special sized cans. (10 ounces) Craft beer is popular enough where I am, but folks don’t know good beer from bad, and I’m tired of spending good money on stale beer. So I buy Sam Adams BL, and occasionally Yeungling.
sounds more like your distributor sucks, phil. I buy super fresh SN all the time, almost always within a month of packaging. Same goes for a lot of the other majors. inventory management is key. you aren’t the first Marylander to point that out though - makes me think your distributor doesn’t know what they are doing.
Funny, I find that Sam Adams is rarely fresh when I get it. I do appreciate a fresh boston lager but the quality that you find in stores and restaurants is so variable that I usually don’t bother.
If it wasn’t such an across the spectrum problem I’d definitely assume distributor issues…but I know my local bottle shop uses at least three different distributors just for beer. Interestingly, the local AB distributor seems to care the most about theircraft beer. I’m wondering if it’s some middle-distributor or shipping company gooning everything up.
Of course Maryland liquor laws don’t help, and my county’s liquor laws are even more restrictive. The fact that the local liquor board is decidedly anti craft beer doesn’t help.
In my mind, the buyouts don’t matter as much as the fact that we’ve traded a door and a half of semi-interesting domestic lagers (Leiny’s creamy dark, Mich AmberBock, etc.) for a door and half of IPAs. Perhaps the warm fall is partly to blame for my current opinion. It hasn’t been cold enough for the various RIS, Wee Heavies, and Barleywines, but also too cool for the summery IPAs, Hefes and Saisons. I mean, seriously, can’t we have a decent Dunkel, or Schwartzbier? Even a simple Amber. I’ve bought more Smithwicks, and Schells Dark and Chimneysweep lately… Maybe the climate has been just been bad for the over-spiced beers that I would normally drink this time of year. Still, shouldn’t “craft” mean some selection of Milds (NEVER seen ONE!) or Special Bitters, to cover this in between time?