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I’ve been thinking we were getting close to peak craft beer for a while now. I’m thinking that a lot of independent craft brewers agree as there has been a lot

by S_A_P 8y ago

I’ve been thinking we were getting close to peak craft beer for a while now. I’m thinking that a lot of independent craft brewers agree as there has been a lot of these breweries selling to the super majors in the past few years. As others have mentioned there is simply too much to choose from that really isn’t all that different. This is my own opinion, but the recent trend of sour beers hasn’t helped matters either. Sour beer is just gross. In the Houston area, there has been a few casualties in the craft beer market as well. Karbach sold to InBev in 2016 which was a huge disappointment to pretty much everyone in the area. Since the sale they have trimmed the selection and eliminated the seasonal beers I really liked. Another brewery near me, Texian, gave up their brewery and now contract out through another brewer. However I’ve not seen any of their beer on the shelves lately so they may have suspended operations completely. There are 2 independent breweries here that I think are doing things the right way- saint arnold and 8th wonder. Both are in my fridge most of the time.

lovich 8y ago
A bit of an opinion there. I find IPA's completely unpalatable but could probably drink a sour beer every day
- S_A_P 8y ago
  As I prefaced, it was my opinion. I’m not a huge IPA fan either.
  - lovich 8y ago
    I did miss that, my bad. I do think that means theres still a lot of growth in the market. The IPA market seems fairly tapped out, along with porters, stouts, and lagers. There's still other people that aren't really into craft beer because their tastes haven't been served, like myself with craft beer. It's not like the current craft beer market is serving the population of the earth - the percentage that are teetotalers
  - dorfsmay 8y ago
    "is just gross" sounds like a statement. "I really don't like" "I cannot drink", " it makes me gag" sounds like an opinion or preference.
- vvanders 8y ago
  I'm with ya on IPAs, hard to beat a good Belgian sour (or any Belgian beer for that matter).
- WalterSear 8y ago
  With Lagunitas is one of the worst offenders.
everdev 8y ago
Apparently microbrews are out of fashion now and "nanobrews" are the new thing where only a couple cases or kegs are made in any one batch. I also know a lot more people being their own beer. I knew Lagunitas got too big though when I saw them in supermarkets in Boston and Europe. At that point you're just a brewery.
- subjectHarold 8y ago
  Ha, lol..."nanobrews"...spot the hipster. Picobrews are the latest thing: only one small shot glass is ever made. After consumption, the recipe, all utensils used to create the brew, and the shot glass itself are destroyed in an industrial oven. Oh, and the person who made it (and their close family) is exiled to a rain forest in Madagascar for ten years. Microbrews, nanobrews...so conventional and corporate. I suppose they are an easy way in if you don't know much about beer and just want to copy your friends. Good for you.
  - mindcrime 8y ago
    Seems similar to the scene among some heavy metal fans, where if a song wasn't recorded in an outhouse in Finland somewhere, by musicians nobody ever heard of, using instruments nobody ever heard of, then it's "commercial crap". It's almost funny to hear some of these guys talk...
- EdwardDiego 8y ago
  > At that point you're just a brewery. I fail to discern the difference. If the beer quality remains higher than the draft swill the major brewers have offered years, what does it matter that they've developed new markets?
  - lovich 8y ago
    The existing craft beer community seems to have a big element of fashion to it. I have a social circle of friends who are very into craft beer. I have seen them throw out beer they had already purchased just because a brewery had sold to a big brewer like InBev. At first I thought it was an ethical boycott like boycotting Nestle. After talking to them I found out it was solely because they were cool anymore and they didn't want to be seen associated with the brand. The exact quote I heard was "I don't want to be caught drinking anything someone in college knows about"

by S_A_P 8y ago

lovich 8y ago

A bit of an opinion there. I find IPA's completely unpalatable but could probably drink a sour beer every day

S_A_P 8y ago
As I prefaced, it was my opinion. I’m not a huge IPA fan either.
- lovich 8y ago
  I did miss that, my bad. I do think that means theres still a lot of growth in the market. The IPA market seems fairly tapped out, along with porters, stouts, and lagers. There's still other people that aren't really into craft beer because their tastes haven't been served, like myself with craft beer. It's not like the current craft beer market is serving the population of the earth - the percentage that are teetotalers
- dorfsmay 8y ago
  "is just gross" sounds like a statement. "I really don't like" "I cannot drink", " it makes me gag" sounds like an opinion or preference.
vvanders 8y ago
I'm with ya on IPAs, hard to beat a good Belgian sour (or any Belgian beer for that matter).
WalterSear 8y ago
With Lagunitas is one of the worst offenders.

everdev 8y ago

Apparently microbrews are out of fashion now and "nanobrews" are the new thing where only a couple cases or kegs are made in any one batch. I also know a lot more people being their own beer. I knew Lagunitas got too big though when I saw them in supermarkets in Boston and Europe. At that point you're just a brewery.

subjectHarold 8y ago
Ha, lol..."nanobrews"...spot the hipster. Picobrews are the latest thing: only one small shot glass is ever made. After consumption, the recipe, all utensils used to create the brew, and the shot glass itself are destroyed in an industrial oven. Oh, and the person who made it (and their close family) is exiled to a rain forest in Madagascar for ten years. Microbrews, nanobrews...so conventional and corporate. I suppose they are an easy way in if you don't know much about beer and just want to copy your friends. Good for you.
- mindcrime 8y ago
  Seems similar to the scene among some heavy metal fans, where if a song wasn't recorded in an outhouse in Finland somewhere, by musicians nobody ever heard of, using instruments nobody ever heard of, then it's "commercial crap". It's almost funny to hear some of these guys talk...
EdwardDiego 8y ago
> At that point you're just a brewery. I fail to discern the difference. If the beer quality remains higher than the draft swill the major brewers have offered years, what does it matter that they've developed new markets?
- lovich 8y ago
  The existing craft beer community seems to have a big element of fashion to it. I have a social circle of friends who are very into craft beer. I have seen them throw out beer they had already purchased just because a brewery had sold to a big brewer like InBev. At first I thought it was an ethical boycott like boycotting Nestle. After talking to them I found out it was solely because they were cool anymore and they didn't want to be seen associated with the brand. The exact quote I heard was "I don't want to be caught drinking anything someone in college knows about"