"Will Big Lager One Day Go the Same Way As Big Porter?"

[majorvices]

Huntsville Alabama currently has 8+ breweries and at least 3 exclusive craft beer retailers and grocery stores that have as much nor more craft space than BMC… that’ in ALABAMA folks…

[hopfenundmalz]

@blair.streit

@hopfenundmalz

I wish the nicer HEB down in Brownsville had that selection. You must be near one of the major cities.

Yes, I’m in Austin. I didn’t realize you were in TX as well.

We shop at the HEB in Port Isabel a few times every summer when we head down to Padre Island for vacation. I usually have to stock up on craft beer before we leave Austin, as I haven’t been able to find much selection down there. That said, those places are a good place to find rare treasures like overlooked bottles of Bourbon County Stout, etc.

The wife’s brother has been in Brownsville for over 40 years, and we have been there often. We also know Austin as one niece lives there. Home is Michigan, but we do get around a little.

[blair.streit]

@hopfenundmalz

The wife’s brother has been in Brownsville for over 40 years, and we have been there often. We also know Austin as one niece lives there. Home is Michigan, but we do get around a little.

Next time you’re headed to Austin PM me. Maybe we can meet up for a pint.

[denny]

@majorvices

Here’s great article about “Market Disruption” that suggests that Bud has been making the same mistakes as companies such as Kodak and Blockbuster

Can you imagine a world without Budweiser? We can

Hard to imagine a world without those blue cans of Bud Light littering the sides of the roads, but a boy can dream, can’t he?

The guy who wrote that article is one of the owners of Oakshire, where I sometimes work.  He’ll be on the podcast soon to talk about it.

[Lazy_Ant_Brewing]

Regarding the article on Budweiser, I  pretty much quit drinking any of the brands of  “flavored water” which was all that was available to me by about age 25.  For decades my consumption was limited to a few parties a year, and  I never picked up a 6-pack for the fridge at home.

Then, at age 66-- I’m now 69-- a friend gave me a bottle of Mr. Beer Oktoberfest (which most of us know is actually brewed as an ale).

A huge sea change from flavored water!! I’ve been brewing since, and I’m now doing all-grain.  My favorite brews are: porters and brown ales.  What goes around comes around.

Cheers

[jonhughey_att.net (HoosierBrew)]

@Lazy_Ant_Brewing

Regarding the article on Budweiser, I  pretty much quit drinking any of the brands of  “flavored water” which was all that was available to me by about age 25.  For decades my consumption was limited to a few parties a year, and  I never picked up a 6-pack for the fridge at home.

Then, at age 66-- I’m now 69-- a friend gave me a bottle of Mr. Beer Oktoberfest (which most of us know is actually brewed as an ale).

A huge sea change from flavored water!! I’ve been brewing since, and I’m now doing all-grain.  My favorite brews are: porters and brown ales.  What goes around comes around.

Cheers

Awesome!  Cheers.

[hopfenundmalz]

@blair.streit

@hopfenundmalz

The wife’s brother has been in Brownsville for over 40 years, and we have been there often. We also know Austin as one niece lives there. Home is Michigan, but we do get around a little.

Next time you’re headed to Austin PM me. Maybe we can meet up for a pint.

Last trip we meet a couple guys at Live Oak, had a good time there. Will let you know next time.

[slowbrew]

Our local Hy Vee grocery is one of their new buildings.  Massive, with everything you can imagine in it from groceries to a beer bar to a deli and full sit down restaurant.  The craft beer cold section is a wall of coolers about 50’ long with 5 or 6 shelves.  Then they have a couple of 25’ aisles with warm cases and 6 packs.  The BMC beers are in a 2 sided 25’-ish cooler aisle.

The selection we have of craft beer now is sometimes overwhelming.  Like the going a wine store that has 100+ of every variety.  Where do you start?

It’s been amazing to watch the shift from all BMC with a 6’ cooler in the back for “other” to what we see today.

Paul

[ethinson]

@blair.streit

@brewingrover

There’s lots of interesting beer happening near me, but I still have to travel to a big liquor store to get it. My local store is small and has a few locals and my grocery store still has most of its space devoted to the big boys and the craft brands they distribute, none of which are local.

Next time I’m there I’ll take a picture of the beer section at my neighborhood HEB and post it. They have about 4x the cooler space dedicated to craft as they do to BMC. They’ve always had a strong beer and wine section, but within the last 7 years the beer section has gone from 70% BMC / 30% craft to now about 20% BMC / 80% craft.

When I go back home to the tiny town where I grew up this is not the case. Most of that grocery store is still filled with BMC flagships, but they have started putting Blue Moon and other more flavorful beers from the same companies in the lineup (and their share of shelf is growing). I think this means that even in the biggest beer deserts tastes and minds are changing. Now it’s just a matter of time…

Thankfully Oregon is like this too.  Fred Meyers and Safeway carry nearly every local brewery (at least those who can/bottle).  We can also buy direct from the breweries with bottle and growler sales, so that’s always nice too.  The stores still carry BMC but it’s small compared to the local/craft section.

We also have multiple small distributors around here that seem to be doing well in the fight against Maletis (which is AB InBev or MillerCoors owned if I recall).