Not interested in “if there’s a demand, someone will supply it” answers, or “if a sector is profitable, investment will flow in until it isn’t profitable any more.” My question is whether some change in technology or something other than “supply and demand” helps account for the dramatic rise in small brew pubs and micro breweries in many areas. Or is it just fads in tastes and the market after all?
My guess is that people who love beer have recognized, over the last 30 or so years, that making beer isn’t all that complicated. And you can sell it.
Keeping tabs on the local brew pub and micro-brewery market, a lot of shops have closed down in recent years. A lot is due to Covid, for sure, but a lot is due to an over saturated market as well.
On a related note, why all the love for IPAs? Maybe it’s just a West Coast thing, but most of the breweries in my area make a lot of IPAs they then “tweak” with raspberry or citrus or whatever. Is the IPA bland enough to attract, or not put off, the beer newbie, and bland enough to take up other flavours? Or something else? Is it harder to make a porter or stout?
It’s not just a West Coast thing; a lot of the microbreweries in the Midwest, too, have gone overboard on IPAs for several years now, and seem to be in a competition to see who can make the bitterest beer.
I find them all to be unenjoyable, and just steer clear of IPAs, as a species, at this point.
Tolerance for the bitterest IPA is a dumb macho thing like the ability to handle the spiciest hot sauce. It’s idiotic.
IPA’s got big in the 90’s. Turns out that beer with hop flavor is a big hit with lots of beer lovers. I hear people call it a fad, and I laugh. The pet rock was a fad. I had my first IPA (Oregon IPA) in the early 90’s, and I just bought more IPA (Goose Island) a few hours ago.
As I understand it, prohibition killed the existing culture of multiple small breweries in the U.S., and it took a long time to come back. Part of what people like about microbreweries is getting a beer with more flavor than Bud Lite. Appreciating flavor has been a major cultural shift. But part of it is also just the fun and novelty of tastings. There are always a few brews that are incredibly sour, hoppy, heavy, or otherwise not very “drinkable” in the sense that you want to finish a whole pint and order another. But getting a flight that includes those and trying them all is kinda cool. There’s some social cachet to showing up to a party with a six-pack of something the host hasn’t tried before, from a small local brewery that has something interesting and unique about it, vs just bringing a beer you know they like and can get easily at the supermarket.
I’d say there are a number of factors. Among them are 1) there are lots of home brewers out there that think they can brew professionally, 2) there are a lot of fools out there who think they know beer and want to seem cool, and 3) there are always new fools in both categories. For example, there are two micros in my town. Both suck donkey balls. Yet they stay open and apparently make money, even though the next town over has at least 6 micros that are all “Good” to “Outstanding.”
And apparently insulting people who like beer you don’t makes people feel proud.
I think they are starting to die off (at least near me). There were just too damn many. I don’t know if customers got grew tired of them or there was too much competition.
In NJ recent law changes sponsored by InBev have hurt the MicroBrews. They kicked in July 1st. NJ beer: microbreweries event limits kicked in on July 1
COVID put a lot of pressure on them before this. So we lost at least one good one that was nearby.
So I have to wait and see which Microbrews survive and what new ones start up.
These are not encouraging words!
Example: every neckbeard in every brew pub in the country.
My evaluation of the breweries in my town are as objective as they can be. I am a very experienced beer judge. My brewing partner is a BJCP certified judge. Her husband is the head of brewery operations for a multi-state restaurant/brewery chain. We all agree - the beer produced in my town sucks.
What? An unbelievably huge International Corp with one of its big plants in Newark, NJ vs. a coalition of small businesses. Surely those in charge would favor the small businesses owned by local residents. Right? Surely?
InBev owns Budweiser among over 600 other beer brands. Currently the largest Beer Company in the World.
The snobbish judgemental nature of beer “pros” makes “the club” an unappetizing place. I just like beer.
The breweries really vary. Some in my area are unpretentious little local breweries, some are eateries that happen to brew their own beer and some attract the Hipsters. I keep hoping we’ll get one of the down to earth ones in my town. As a middle class walking town on the Bay we’re a good spot for one.
I’m curious, how does this actually play out for you? Does the bartender denigrate your selection from among the products he’s selling? Do other customers in the brewery approach you to offer feedback on your choices? When I go to a brewery, I just order what I want, pay, and either hang out with my friends and drink, or take it home.
That’s the way to do it. When you do it like that, you’re not concerned with any club. Yer just doing yer thing.
What other way is there?