[gsandel]

I am pretty meh about a beer you can get everywhere, even if it is one of my favorites (which most all national brands are not, but I am lucky to have a few excellent locals, and a lot of good ones).  Would we be over the moon on Cantillion or Westy if we could all get it at Buffalo Wild Wings?

While being on everywhere is great for the brewery, and builds a brand following with Joe six-pack; a beer you can get anywhere becomes a "safe" beer....where no other choice is "interesting" enough.

I am not sure that many on this forum will ever be all that brand loyal.

[Kinetic]

LSS is good, IF you buy it less than 2 months old.  Preferably less than one month old.  After that it heads downhill quickly.  When it's fresh, it has bright citrus flavors.

I bought LSS Extra (8.5%) recently.  It was less than a month old, but didn't have the same hoppy goodness as fresh LSS.  It was ok, but I'll add it to the long list of Lagunitas beers I won't be buying again.       

LSS Extra blended 50/50 with Vivant Big Red Coq made a surprisingly pleasant beer. 

[Kinetic]

Two Hearted in cans is actually a little cheaper per oz than bottles and will be my default format for that beer.  I like the 4 pint can format in general.

[erockrph]

I am pretty meh about a beer you can get everywhere, even if it is one of my favorites (which most all national brands are not, but I am lucky to have a few excellent locals, and a lot of good ones).  Would we be over the moon on Cantillion or Westy if we could all get it at Buffalo Wild Wings?

While being on everywhere is great for the brewery, and builds a brand following with Joe six-pack; a beer you can get anywhere becomes a "safe" beer....where no other choice is "interesting" enough.

I am not sure that many on this forum will ever be all that brand loyal.

Yeah, brand loyalty doesn't mean as much for the "Joe Mix-a-six-pack", as many of us are.

I wouldn't order Cantillon at BWW, but I would at an upscale seafood restaurant. It's not my regular beer at home, and it's wouldn't be at a chain restaurant, either.

[flbrewer]

PHEW, I've missed a lot in two days. My initial point was that I'm getting the hang of tasting varieties of hops in beers!

[Alewyfe]

Meh. Lagunitas is OK. Far from my favorite. Tastes like hop extracts to me. Fake perfumy hop flavor that a lot of these super mega "craft" breweries taste like (Sweet Water, for instance).

I know from sources in the industry that what I am saying is true. These breweries target local taps. they aren't competing against Blue Moon and the "crafty" beers anymore. They go after locals. New Belgium is probably the worst.   

I appreciate information like this Major. I like to be an informed consumer and I don't care if it is "Merikan" or not. I hate predatory business practices and one of the most refreshing things about the true craft brewers is the amount of support they selflessly have been known to give one another.

[Kinetic]

I wouldn't order Cantillon at BWW, but I would at an upscale seafood restaurant. It's not my regular beer at home, and it's wouldn't be at a chain restaurant, either.

You'd be missing out because St. Lamvinus pairs well with Buffalo wings and ranch dressing.   

[HoosierBrew]

I appreciate information like this Major. I like to be an informed consumer and I don't care if it is "Merikan" or not. I hate predatory business practices and one of the most refreshing things about the true craft brewers is the amount of support they selflessly have been known to give one another.

+1.  If a brewery's beer really is worth its reputation (and not just a measure of advertising $$) , then you shouldn't need to strong arm/cutthroat local small breweries . But as we know, business is often cutthroat. It's a shame.

[anthony]

I'm not sure Major's analysis is spot on with regards to who is perpetuating this sales tactic. For example, in our area, the distributor who has New Belgium also happens to have a number of other classic macro brands and I believe their sales tactics are their sales tactics (i.e. the distributor's) not New Belgium's.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I'm not sure Major's analysis is spot on with regards to who is perpetuating this sales tactic. For example, in our area, the distributor who has New Belgium also happens to have a number of other classic macro brands and I believe their sales tactics are their sales tactics (i.e. the distributor's) not New Belgium's.

Anthony,

Brewery provide sales incentives like $50 for each new (captured) tap.

Distributor just execute most lucrative sales incentives for them.

Also in most cases those large craft brewers have "feet on the ground" sales reps in the area.

I have to say this that they do act lot like mega brewers.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I learned a lesson about breweries like Bell's and New Belgium and Languanitas. they purposely undercut smaller local breweries to try to take away small brewery tap sales. They also take out bounties of small local brewery taps. So they hire a small sales force or use the sales staff from the distributor to target local taps. I realize it is just business but if you have a local brewery you really like do your best to support them, or they may end up gone. Then all you'll have to drink is Bell's Two Hearted, and while it's a solid beer I hope you are lucky enough to have a local beer you enjoy even more.

Yes please seek out your local brewers. Those are your neighbors. You buy their stuff and they buy yours.

[thirsty]

I have to admit, I rarely buy beer, but when I do it's almost always from the local brewery, about 25 miles away.

[majorvices]

I'm not sure Major's analysis is spot on with regards to who is perpetuating this sales tactic. For example, in our area, the distributor who has New Belgium also happens to have a number of other classic macro brands and I believe their sales tactics are their sales tactics (i.e. the distributor's) not New Belgium's.

You have  a lot to learn about the beer business.

When New Belgium came into our area they set up shop with a competing distributor (meaning, competing against our distro) and the distributor they went with basically paid a million dollars for the rights to sell their beer. The local brands they carried suffered because they had a bigger incentive to push the New Belgium. Then New Belgium gave incentives to the said distributors' sales force that every time they took over a competing tap they would get $50.

hey, I get it, it's just business. That's the way business works. but if you want to see your local craft brewers succeed then you should never drink a New Belgium beer on draft. Ever. You should ask for your favorite local, and tell the owner that you will be drinking water until it is put back on. 

[HoosierBrew]

Trying hard to think of breweries that got big enough to afford enough $$ to spend on choking out competitors and their beer got EVEN BETTER. Coming up with ...... none.   90% of NBs stuff is ok/average/ pretty decent IMO.

EDIT -   Everyone understands how business works. But this forum is dedicated to the appreciation of drinking and (more importantly) brewing GOOD beer for the sake of good beer only, not forming business plans or portfolios to the exclusion of other small brewers. People are gonna feel passionately .

[Joe T]

As I read this I'm drinking a homebrewed IPA that won a blue ribbon at a recent local comp. Can't get more local than that, right? Well I'm drinking it from a New Belgium glass I got for free just for being an AHA member on a recent visit to the brewery. It was a pleasant experience and they had some solid beers on tap. The iPA I'm enjoying was brewed with hops and malt from the Pacific Northwest. The yeast came from San Diego. The water's local but filtered with an RO filter made who knows where and treated with salts from who knows where. It's carbonated with co2 purchased locally and made who knows where. My point is, beer is rarely a truly local commodity from a standpoint of environmental sustainability. It's great to support any and all local businesses for economic reasons. But if you're supporting the locals for environmental reasons, maybe a local estate winery would be easier to find.
The caring, sharing, lovey-dovey, hippy-dippy, artsy-fartsy image of the professional brewing community is nice but when it gets down to brass tacks it's an extremely competitive profit driven industrial business. Personally I don't have the stomach for going pro. I'll stick to the caring, sharing, lovey-dovey, hippy-dippy, artsy-fartsy world of homebrewing. Drink what ya like. Especially if ya got something local worth spending your money on.