[duboman]

One thing I will say is that, if you have a new local brewery and they are producing decent - maybe not great, but decent - beer, cut them some slack. Maybe the clarity or carbonation is off. Maybe the consistency is different from batch to batch. Give them time to dial it in. It may take a couple years even.

+1000!
I know the guys I know have developed a good following with many regulars, they appreciate the support and they also greatly appreciate the feedback on their beers. They will often offer side by side samplings to small groups of people they know to assist in dialing in their process.

[chinaski]

I've talked with two smaller breweries' owners who had issues because they had to make choices to save funds to get going.  For them, its possible to purchase pre-milled malt but the consistency of the crush and even finding small amounts of other malts (like roasted ones in your pale ale malt) from the supplier.  Can't do anything without milling your own in that case.  They both expressed exasperated frustration at the situation.  Both are making great beer, and one now mills his own.

[bluesman]

One thing I will say is that, if you have a new local brewery and they are producing decent - maybe not great, but decent - beer, cut them some slack. Maybe the clarity or carbonation is off. Maybe the consistency is different from batch to batch. Give them time to dial it in. It may take a couple years even.

I agree with this statement.

All good things come with time.  As many of you may already know that when you establish a new technique, start using a new piece of equipment or brewing process, then you discover there is a learning curve involved to gain better control over your process.  Well this is the same kind of issue that many new small breweries can experience when they startup or evolve early on in their growth stage.  I believe it's all part of the evolutionary process.  However, it certainly doesn't give them a license to produce sub-par inconsistent products.

[yso191]

One thing I will say is that, if you have a new local brewery and they are producing decent - maybe not great, but decent - beer, cut them some slack. Maybe the clarity or carbonation is off. Maybe the consistency is different from batch to batch. Give them time to dial it in. It may take a couple years even.

I also agree with this.  I have no problem drinking beer that is not exactly the same each time.  The reason I asked the question though is that it is easily the most common issue I hear talked about in professional beer circles. 

One very successful brewer whom many of you know once said that to have a commercially successful brewery does not require making good beer, just consistent beer.  Locally I have asked bar owners why they don't carry "X" beer - consistency issues is always the answer.  I was being given a tour at a new 30bbl brewery prior to their opening and was told they have an empty room they call their lab so that the distributors will put their minds at rest about consistency issues.  I could go on listing individual experiences, but you get the idea.

When I hear a theme so dominant (even if it is just in my experience) I want to sort it out.

[majorvices]

Consistency is also relative to age. If a distributor loses a keg, finds it, then sells it that beer most likely won't be "consistent" with the fresher beers, nor would it likely be an offering a brewer would be proud of.