[homoeccentricus]

http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-beer-war-is-getting-ugly-2016-10?IR=T

Didn't know about what is happening at Stone...

[jimmykx250]

Looking at the way brewerys have been popping up you had to know this was coming. There is way more liquid then there is tap handles. You walk down the beer aisle at binnys and say how can this be? Who is buying all this beer and at an average price of 10 bucks a six pack? As a craft beer fan I love the selection we all get to enjoy and on occasion i get to grab a six pack or two but I will also admit I cant afford to drink the stuff I like on a regular basis and thats why I home brew! It will be interesting to see how all this shakes out, and in the end the ones who make good liquid and are financially sound will survive.

[Big Monk]

The bottom should drop out if only for the fact that the market is flooded with bad beer.

"Craft" does not instantly equate to quality and variety is not always a good thing.

[hopfenundmalz]

I had lamented the fact that I can't find a Sierra Nevada tap handle in my town of 6000. The beer bars have mostly local MI taps of dubious quality. Some are really not very good, and would score poorly in a competition.

The big craft breweries are squeezed by the macros now, and the locals now. The ones that still are expanding to new territories will have some growth. The ones that are national like Sierra Nevada can export, but that is a small part of their volume now. SN has stated that they project their sales to be down 4% for the year.

An industry friend told me about 1.5 years ago that it would be a wild ride the next few years. He was correct.

[narvin]

I do think that some expansions have been too aggressive, possibly Stone's.  Not everything needs to be nationwide.  People are drinking local, and although not every new or local beer is good, nor will they all succeed, I think the trend of local breweries is here to stay.

[yso191]

I do think that some expansions have been too aggressive, possibly Stone's.  Not everything needs to be nationwide.  People are drinking local, and although not every new or local beer is good, nor will they all succeed, I think the trend of local breweries is here to stay.

I agree.  Especially your last sentence.  I am sometimes surprised by how satisfied people are with 'meh' beer.  It has to be truly wretched to get people to stop drinking it.

Interesting times.

[Stevie]

I do think that some expansions have been too aggressive, possibly Stone's.  Not everything needs to be nationwide.  People are drinking local, and although not every new or local beer is good, nor will they all succeed, I think the trend of local breweries is here to stay.

I agree.  Especially your last sentence.  I am sometimes surprised by how satisfied people are with 'meh' beer.  It has to be truly wretched to get people to stop drinking it.

Interesting times.

Crap doesn't always lose.

[Philbrew]

Hmmm...maybe I'm not the only one living in a beer lover's BFE.

[HoosierBrew]

I am sometimes surprised by how satisfied people are with 'meh' beer.  It has to be truly wretched to get people to stop drinking it.

Interesting times.

Crap doesn't always lose.

Well, apparently crap is on a pretty hot streak around here. Most of the new upstarts especially are just plain bad. Like somebody posted, many wouldn't do well in a decent comp.

[phunhog]

When I heard that Firestone Walker is stopping production of three of their award winning beers it really opened my eyes.  They even admit that too much of their beer is sitting on the shelves way too long.  As others have said there is just so much beer out there it is getting harder and harder to stand out.   Do you know what makes a beer stand out for me every time? PRICE!!  If I buy beer at all it is always the cheapest craft six pack.  If you aren't going to compete on price you probably won't get my business.  Thankfully I can get FW sixers for around 6.99 since I live in South Central CA.  I doubt any other craft breweries can touch that price.

[Phil_M]

Part of the issue with craft beer is it's kinda all the same. What if I don't want another APA, IPA, DIPA, RIS, etc?

Or some whacky fruit/pepper/seasonal/whatever beer?

I know of several craft breweries that make excellent stouts and porters...but they're never on shelves, save around March. Wheat beer? Good luck finding any American wheats to enjoy on that nice warm spell in the winter. What variety their is is all seasonal, and then everyone seems to do it at once.

My area is finally starting to get fresh beer. The result is Stone, SN, and Sam Adams are selling better than they ever have, and it seems like folks are starting to understand "good beer", as opposed to just craft/local beer.

And don't get me started on the lack of real session beers...I know so many folks who like craft beer, but opt for American Pale Lager because it's just more session-able than an IPA.

[ynotbrusum]

It sounds like size will be the determiner - either stay small and "control" your destiny to some degree by limiting your market and making the best beer you can (or whatever it takes to attract a loyal customer base in that chosen market) or get big enough to become a target for the Big Beers to buy you out.  The mid-sized breweries and their brands will likely have a tough time staying in this game. 

A few years back I read a book about "Beer in Chicago" from a historical perspective and back in the late 1800's to early 1900's the larger companies just kept gobbling up competing breweries until there were just a couple breweries left that were based in Chicago and they weeded out the various purchased brands over time based on formula changes that didn't work out and trying to hit exceedingly tighter margins... and then came the Milwaukee contingent and wiped them all out.

Not saying that the sky is falling, but it could be a case of history repeating itself in a way.  Let's see how long Big Beer allows the purchased craft breweries to remain "autonomous".  Looks like Stone has lost some of its autonomy - when the board room starts to dictate the recipes, it is a slippery slope.

[lennyg]

When I was in Germany ( A couple military "business trips" back in the late 80's) it seemed there were a few major breweries (Parkbrau comes to mind) but just about every town had its own brewery as well, some good, some not so much. 

[santoch]

Craft Brewer's Alliance (Redhook, Widmer, & Kona) laid off a bunch of folks from the Woodinville location a couple weeks ago.  They do a lot of contract brewing there, and had sold an option on the place to Pabst, but it looks like they are not following through:

http://www.brewbound.com/news/2016/craft-brew-alliance-lays-off-half-woodinville-brewery-workers