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Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

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Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#131

Post by iopq »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #51
pfranz wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beer is incredibly difficult to keep shelf-stable. International beers, unless very specific efforts are taken, will taste off. I heard a story that Austrian beer enthusiasts just assumed American beers tasted "skunky" because that's how they tasted after importing them. Time, temperature, and light are enemies. Anheuser-Busch has a dozen breweries across the US. I'm not a fan of hops, but the PNW grows 96% of hops i…

The skunky odor/flavor comes from light exposure to hops and it’s easily prevented with dark bottles or cans. Other herbs work well as preservatives and don’t get skunky at all. Beer can be shelf stable basically indefinitely if well kept, and often ages very well.

I had a few bottles of beer that I was drinking, but after some time even kept in an air conditioned room, they did spoil eventually.

Bottles in general are not as good as cans at keeping beer fresh.

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#132

Post by tedunangst »

bsder wrote: post #87
pdntspa wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Such is progress - there is no more regional taste, only trend Can you tell that to Yuengling, I would really like to partake in their beer without having to fly to Philly

Well, you can get Yuengling in Texas, last I checked.

The press release is hysterical, insisting yuengling is America's oldest brewery while acknowledging their partner molson is over two centuries old. (Everyone knows Canada isn't America.)

https://www.yuengling.com/news/yuengling-begins-westward-exp...

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#133

Post by iopq »

prottog wrote: post #23
0xB31B1B wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate local beers. Local wine makes sense, there is terroir, a sense of place etc. Local beers are just some weird competition to see who can make the hopiest bitterest beer. I don't want to try a new lager every time I cross county lines, when I want beer I want something reliable.

People get it in their heads that small and local means good or at least better than the stuff mass-produced by MegaCorp, but that's not always the case. I think beer is a case where it's hard to beat Big Beer. Heineken, the second-biggest brewery in the world, moved 231.2 million hectoliters of beer in 2021[0], or nearly 19,000 acre-feet of beer (!). How many locally-produced lagers actually taste better than Heinek…

I was with you until you said Heineken tastes good

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#134

Post by kodt »

hprotagonist wrote: post #92
bsder wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is happening in the craft beer market? Ballast Point had a similar trajectory. They got bought for a gigabuck and now are just gone . Why the hell would you buy a company and then screw it up ? In the case of Ballast Point, all Constellation Brands had to do was leave the bought company alone . And, no, I don't believe that the issue is because you can buy great beers in every market. Hogwash. Maybe I can buy IP…

> Side question: Why is everything in craft brew now shipping in cans instead of bottles? When did that happen? about a decade ago, because it’s cheaper, skunks less, is more sustainable, and is all around just the better way to ship single units of beer.

The craft beer industry used to look down on cans as inferior and only for cheap beer. But I think much of that was just an image thing, likely resulting from prohibitively high costs for small breweries to can their beer in the past. Slowly craft came around to cans and canning lines and can labeling options became affordable.

Also the new school breweries 10 years ago like Trillium, Treehouse, Other Half all came on the scene with 16oz cans and sticker labels as well as the new NEIPA style that became so hot. I think that did a lot to improve the image of cans among consumers. Especially newer craft fans.

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#135

Post by scythe »

subpixel wrote: post #40

I live in New England. There isn’t a single brewery in any New England state that would cause an uproar if it ceased to sell beer tomorrow. Sure I have some preferred beers but they are all interchangeable in the big picture. Such is progress - there is no more regional taste, only trend. Even the bottle conditioned beer you stand in line for on vacation - a bottle of Duvel will be reliably better and probably cheape…

Narragansett is in New England! It's not exactly craft beer, but the bumper stickers on practically every car in RI tell me its following is pretty devoted. It's generally my beer of choice at bars, too, but I could survive if I had to go back to High Life.

Switchback is also pretty good. It's not a big name style but it's very well done for what it is. Most people don't know about it, though, it seems.

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#136

Post by analog31 »

bsder wrote: post #83
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #65

>sold to Sapporo in 2017 Ah, I was wondering where the pressure was coming from. The idea that this 150 year old brewery is closing down a truly cornerstone beer in craft beer history because the label art is expensive - despite weathering untold recessions and tough periods - strains credulity

What is happening in the craft beer market? Ballast Point had a similar trajectory. They got bought for a gigabuck and now are just gone . Why the hell would you buy a company and then screw it up ? In the case of Ballast Point, all Constellation Brands had to do was leave the bought company alone . And, no, I don't believe that the issue is because you can buy great beers in every market. Hogwash. Maybe I can buy IP…

What I've noticed (purely my opinion):

1. We've reached Peak IPA. It was novel a couple decades ago, but geez, you can't taste the beer for the hops any more.

2. "Craft beer" has become a branding exercise. A lot of it is being brewed in contract breweries that will make a batch of whatever recipe you provide, with any label art you want. Bingo, craft beer. A couple of breweries in my region, in conversations, people say: "Oh yeah, they also brew for brands W, X, Y, and Z.

I end up bringing home something from one or two mid priced regional brands that taste good but don't break the bank.

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#137

Post by starkparker »

bamfly wrote: post #86
mikestew wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just thinking that this weekend in the Seattle area as we wandered the aisles for six for the wife. It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label, or $SOMETHING $SEXUAL_REFERENCE $FARM_ANIMAL (e. g., Ass-Kickin’ Horny Goat Stout).

> It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label One of the people behind Liquid Death water was on NPR some weeks back, and basically their entire deal, as told by him, was just taking canned water and applying craft beer branding. Not to knock it, evidently it worked and, as far as the product and concept, was all they needed. Just thought it was funny—yeah, why not put an edgy name and sk…

That was CEO Mike Cessario, who's ex-Netflix. And it was Monster he was aping more than craft beer. (It was Kai Ryssdal who compares it to Arrogant Bastard beer.) https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/25/liquid-death-is-an-en...

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#138

Post by [deleted] »

ryandamm wrote: post #78
Dalewyn wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always chuckle at the idea of calling Sam Adams "craft" beer, but I guess they do check all the boxes for it.

I read an article in a craft brewing mag (might’ve been “Celebrator” circa 2003) that pointed out how the craft brewers association kept revising upward the number of barrels/year production that still qualified as “craft” so that it continued to accommodate Sam Adams.

[deleted]

Re: Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills Christmas Ale

#139

Post by basch »

jt2190 wrote: post #80
subpixel wrote: post #40

I live in New England. There isn’t a single brewery in any New England state that would cause an uproar if it ceased to sell beer tomorrow. Sure I have some preferred beers but they are all interchangeable in the big picture. Such is progress - there is no more regional taste, only trend. Even the bottle conditioned beer you stand in line for on vacation - a bottle of Duvel will be reliably better and probably cheape…

The founder of Boston Beer Company (brewers of Sam Adams) has talked about how beer drinkers now want to try one of everything and are endlessly moving from label to label, whereas in the past drinkers would settle on one brand and stick with it for years. This hurts the “small” (versus “micro”) brewers like Anchor because they’re viewed as “too corporate”.

At some point you try enough and settle back into old predictable. Two of the right answers as always good fallbacks are Edmund Fitzgerald and Newcastle.
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