Craft Beer Sellouts

[Macloney]

Dangerous Man is really overrated, IMO.

Steel Toe seems like the most underrated Twin Cities brewery to me. They don't have a swanky tap room, but the beer rocks.

I have a lot of love for Steel Toe, but am really big on Flat Earth.

 

[CloniesForLife]

Yeah, I think it is big because of location and they have a wide variety of beers er flavors (I agree it isn't the best beer). Whether that makes them better, depends on the person.

I think Bad Weather is a very underrated brewery as well. They have gotten more regular beers and continually change out 3 or 4 seasonal beers. I may be biased because it is close to my house, but I feel nobody ever really talks about the breweries that are closer to/in the city of St. Paul. And Like Colorado talked about with his favorite brewery in CO above, Bad Weather have some awesome original label art, and they have blown up some of them for murals on their walls/ prints for sale, that is what really caught my attention (kinda like why I like Three Floyds so much)

I agree that Bad Weather is awesome. A frequent stop of mine during my bike rides.

Have you tried out Barrel Theory yet? Just opened last week.

 

[PineClone]

Madison, WI...Next Door Brewing. If you're ever there, its worth a try. And their food is excellent with a unique menu.

p.s. My brother is the head brewer and he's a Cyclone and ISU grad.

 

[srjclone]

I agree that Bad Weather is awesome. A frequent stop of mine during my bike rides.

Have you tried out Barrel Theory yet? Just opened last week.

I have not, my girlfriend and I went to Dark Horse on Friday though and saw it right next door! Were very tempted to go in, but said we would have to come back. Looked very cool especially at night, somewhat smaller, and a cool theme.

Have you been? I'm a big fan of barrel aged beer, if it is done right, so I am curious as to how their stuff fares.

 

[srjclone]

Madison, WI...Next Door Brewing. If you're ever there, its worth a try. And their food is excellent with a unique menu.

p.s. My brother is the head brewer and he's a Cyclone

Should have lead with that!

 

[CloniesForLife]

I have not, my girlfriend and I went to Black Horse on Friday though and saw it right next door! Were very tempted to go in, but said we would have to come back. Looked very cool especially at night, somewhat smaller, and a cool theme.

Have you been? I'm a big fan of barrel aged beer, if it is done right, so I am curious as to how their stuff fares.

I was at Dark Horse as well on Friday! Love that place.

Yeah I went. They don't have anything barrel aged yet (also a big fan of a good barrel aged beer). I read they have a cellar for like 150 barrels or something. Like you said it's a really cool place. Only beer I tried was their coffee stout which was pretty solid.

 

[Cyclonetbone]

Down with corporatism! My anti establishment taste buds are instantly soured when people are successful with their product. The only reason I do anything is if someone isn't making money off of it. I would rather drink a bottle of independent rat piss than drink a really good beer that I have enjoyed for the past 3 years. F those guys for caving to "big beer."

Am I doing this right? FFS guys... get a life.

 

[Cybyassociation]

Down with corporatism! My anti establishment taste buds are instantly soured when people are successful with their product. The only reason I do anything is if someone isn't making money off of it. I would rather drink a bottle of independent rat piss than drink a really good beer that I have enjoyed for the past 3 years. F those guys for caving to "big beer."

Am I doing this right? FFS guys... get a life.

You're very triggered right now.

I'm not a fan of breweries who "sell out" because a lot of times, their innovation stops at that moment. You stop seeing one off beers, special releases, and start seeing a huge surge in their core products. A lot of times, these core brands undergo tweaks and changes to make them more profitable. Space Dust or Wolf Pup for instance. The flavor profile of these beers has changed quite a bit since being acquired. It's not much unlike TG having their beers contract brewed. Some of the Lakeland, FL beers are fine, but they are certainly a shell of their former selves. Their kegs from Verona, WI are probably the closest thing to their original recipes (aside from Biter).

Sure, there are snobs who refuse to purchase anything not independent, but I guess I don't see much of a problem with someone wanting to support a locally or American owned company who is focused on creating the best possible product instead of the bottom line.

 

[jbindm]

You're very triggered right now.

I'm not a fan of breweries who "sell out" because a lot of times, their innovation stops at that moment. You stop seeing one off beers, special releases, and start seeing a huge surge in their core products. A lot of times, these core brands undergo tweaks and changes to make them more profitable. Space Dust or Wolf Pup for instance. The flavor profile of these beers has changed quite a bit since being acquired. It's not much unlike TG having their beers contract brewed. Some of the Lakeland, FL beers are fine, but they are certainly a shell of their former selves. Their kegs from Verona, WI are probably the closest thing to their original recipes (aside from Biter).

Sure, there are snobs who refuse to purchase anything not independent, but I guess I don't see much of a problem with someone wanting to support a locally or American owned company who is focused on creating the best possible product instead of the bottom line.

I agree for the most part. The only thing I take issue with is that there's a fine line between innovation and just producing weird, crappy beer that nobody likes. Too many breweries start up and immediately want to to do everything, and they end up not doing anything well.

I think Exile got it right by focusing on just three or four beers at first and making sure they were doing those right before they branched out and started doing the one offs like Sir Mochalot and the Tres Leches whatever it was.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I agree for the most part. The only thing I take issue with is that there's a fine line between innovation and just producing weird, crappy beer that nobody likes. Too many breweries start up and immediately want to to do everything, and they end up not doing anything well.

I think Exile got it right by focusing on just three or four beers at first and making sure they were doing those right before they branched out and started doing the one offs like Sir Mochalot and the Tres Leches whatever it was.

It's funny, because I had sworn off Exile after trying those core beers; I wasn't that impressed.

But I have really appreciated the seasonal or special brews they've put out.

 

[Cybyassociation]

I agree for the most part. The only thing I take issue with is that there's a fine line between innovation and just producing weird, crappy beer that nobody likes. Too many breweries start up and immediately want to to do everything, and they end up not doing anything well.

I think Exile got it right by focusing on just three or four beers at first and making sure they were doing those right before they branched out and started doing the one offs like Sir Mochalot and the Tres Leches whatever it was.

I think Exile started ONLY wanting to focus on German styles. Like most other breweries who want to adopt this "I'm only doing this style" model, it was not a success. It really wasn't until they started dabbling in the Bohemians and other sour styles that a lot of real nerds started paying attention.

Unfortunately, I think their Eric Sorensen experiment set them back. His IPA was awful at the absolute best. I really have no idea how he could do such quality stuff at Rock Bottom, then completely fail at Exile. I know there was some inter-turmoil between Exile and him while he was there, but man some of his beers fell flat.

The direction they are going now is somewhat promising. I really enjoyed Zoltan and John Lemon, and I know a lot of people enjoyed their Shotgun Shack Slam and Moon Taxi.

 

[brianhos]

If you are compiling a list, boulevard was bought by AB nearly a decade ago.

I thought Duvel owned them.

 

[Colorado]

Down with corporatism! My anti establishment taste buds are instantly soured when people are successful with their product. The only reason I do anything is if someone isn't making money off of it. I would rather drink a bottle of independent rat piss than drink a really good beer that I have enjoyed for the past 3 years. F those guys for caving to "big beer."

Am I doing this right? FFS guys... get a life.

This is why someone might choose to stop drinking/supporting the breweries that are bought up by the multi-nationals.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...n=business&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

"...this system of taking ownership of craft brands has allowed larger beverage companies to strategically pressure beer distributors and retailers into dropping independently owned beers in favor of their own newly acquired brands. As a result, Pease says, small craft brands are being squeezed out of warehouses, delivery vans and, ultimately, supermarkets as shelves become increasingly stacked with what detractors like to call "crafty" beer.

 

[dmclone]

I just recently read that Anchor Steam got bought out. While reading about it I didn't realize about it's interesting history and ties to Iowa/Fritz Maytag. Really interesting and way ahead of his time.

 

[Colorado]

Here's another article about the push to identify independent craft brewers.

http://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/...ity-great-american-beer-festival-2017/160619/