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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

#231
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We’re beyond peak craft brew. Peak craft beer implies that the trend is now on a downward trajectory. I don't know if that is the case, craft beer feels really ingrained in the culture at this point. 1. Is there a decrease in craft breweries being started, or total gallons of craft beer being produced? 2. Is there a decrease in beer brewing hobby supplies?

To #1, at least according to the Brewers Association figures ( https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/natio... ), craft beer sales have been fairly stagnant since about 2015. That has been kind of a problem for an industry that was seeing investment at a rate that would seem to presume that this rocketshp was headed to the moon. And, maybe most pertinent to the situation for Anchor, regional and micro…

As to #2, how much of that is due to online sales? The last homebrew store in my town closed down last year, but there are is much wider selection of both equipment and ingredients available to me now than at any other time.

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

#232

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…

Sam Adams and and Trillium would both probably cause a bigger uproar than this Anchor Brewing company, which honestly I have never heard of not being in California.

> "Anchor Brewing company, which honestly I have never heard of not being in California."

Weird, it's quite well-known even internationally. I certainly see it regularly in London, at the kind of places which sell imported American beers.

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

#233
post #109
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc As all good stouts should be, in my humble opinion! My all time favourite beer is the BrewDog, Nogne and Mikkeller collaboration stout: the Black Tokyo Horizon. It's 17.2%!

17.2%?!? That led me down the rabbit hole to find out beers with very high alcohol content. Apparently Brewmeister Snake Venom, at ABV 67.5%, is the highest.

Since his non-German internet presence isn't great and iirc there's no Wikipedia article abut him I'd like to mention Georg „Schorsch“ Tscheuschner of "Schorschbräu" fame. He's quite the character and famous in German (home-)brewing circles because he's always chasing those high percentages (via the mentioned ice technique called Eisbock in German). His creations include the world's strongest Lager (16%) a pretty stronger Weizen (13%) and his high percentage entry, the Schorschbock (57%).

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

#234

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.

Beer is best fresh, and usually the freshest beer is the closest beer.

Beg to differ, some beers age really well. A few years back I bought a couple of cases of gueuze that I'm keeping in a cellar. Every few months I drink one and it's now 8 years old. The evolution has been quite nice so far.

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

#235

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…

Sam Adams and and Trillium would both probably cause a bigger uproar than this Anchor Brewing company, which honestly I have never heard of not being in California.

Not being in California is not a reason you wouldn't know it.

If you ever looked up the history of beer in the US or US beer styles you would know it. All the people in the craft beer industry certainly do. Maybe the craft beer drinkers in parts of the country don't know it but Steam/California Common is one of the few original US beer styles. And Anchor was one of the first in the modern craft beer revolution.

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

#236
post #190
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

17.2%?!? That led me down the rabbit hole to find out beers with very high alcohol content. Apparently Brewmeister Snake Venom, at ABV 67.5%, is the highest.

The Tactical Nuclear Penguin is 32% and frankly that was too strong haha but an interesting experience

Sink the Bismark was an interesting experience too - much like drinking a whisky more so than a beer

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

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I can choose not to give my money to someone who will use it to fund politicians who want to actively harm members of my family. Ain’t capitalism grand?

As someone targetted by the GOP's bullshit, I still don't care. Half-assed personal boycotts don't present the kind of numbers needed to effect change. Trump and his cohorts getting their asses locked up does. Burning everything to the ground that belongs to neonazis does. The BLM protests did far more damage and effected far more change than the combined power of everyone who boycotts Chik-Fil-A, Hobby Lobby, or Yue…

The personal boycotts of Bud Light are hurting Anheuser-Busch InBev, aren’t they? Sales are down 30% in Q2.

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

#238
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Tactical Nuclear Penguin is 32% and frankly that was too strong haha but an interesting experience

Sink the Bismark was an interesting experience too - much like drinking a whisky more so than a beer

Yes! That’s the other one I was thinking of. We literally sipped it like a whisky haha

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

#239
post #186
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc As all good stouts should be, in my humble opinion! My all time favourite beer is the BrewDog, Nogne and Mikkeller collaboration stout: the Black Tokyo Horizon. It's 17.2%!

Just a waste IMO. Yes, sometimes I want a strong beer, but sometimes I want to spend an afternoon drinking and chatting with a friend. But I still want something that tastes good in that case!

My favourite thing to come out of the craft brew movement recently is the renewed interest in session beers and generally great beers a 4% or lower. I love being able to drink lots of really nice and interesting beers and just not feel drunk.

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

#240
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc As all good stouts should be, in my humble opinion! My all time favourite beer is the BrewDog, Nogne and Mikkeller collaboration stout: the Black Tokyo Horizon. It's 17.2%!

Those are some heavy hitters, would love to try that collab if I ever find it!

If you can find it, I can’t recommend it enough. I bought a carton of it, twice, that’s how great it is (in my opinion). Don’t ask how much the carton was though haha
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