Beer in the new era

That's exactly why I stopped any pretense of trying to keep up. Whatever happens to be on the shelves when I hit the store, I'm sure I'll find something already known to be a surefire winner or something that looks interesting to try. Am I missing out on potentially great beers? Of course, but it is so damned exhausting and unless you are someone with a ton of free time, quick access to a vehicle and plenty of patience to pore over social media, well, it's kind of a fool's errand anyway.

Which isn't to knock anyone itt, but it just go to be so stressful. The shelves are packed with great stuff! I'm not going to chase down a truck.

^ That's pretty much my operating principle lately, and I got lucky last weekend and found some Parabola right on the shelves at a Trader Joe's.

Yeah, you can often just stumble on some great stuff too!

Speaking of which, I was really surprised by how much KBS is still sitting in stacks and stacks at the local Binny's. They really cranked that up this year.

The shelves around Chicago are fortunately packed with all sorts of good stuff you can find on any given day, and I am extremely grateful for that. But many of my favorite beers as of late don't hang around very long and require some hustle, in addition to the aforementioned. It's kind of a shame, because I've shared them with friends, from big beer fans to just casual beer fans, and reaction is almost always super positive followed by the question: where can I get this? And I have to tell them, well, you can't. To the casual beer drinker friend that doesn't even compute.

xpost I want to say last year was the first year I saw KBS all over the place. And Hopslam. And BCBS. This year is I think the first time I've seen Zombie Dust just collecting zombie dust.

There's also no real standard to the hustle, even at Binny's. Some locations just put stuff on the shelf, some keep it in back and make you ask for it, some will take your name and hold it until you get there. For folks here, Moreno's in Little Village might be the coolest spot for craft beer releases. Maybe it's because they specialize in tequila and their neighborhood beer clientele favors pretty standard stuff, but their craft beer guys are super awesome and helpful.

we even get heady topper in philly now and you don't want to line up just get to the store within 24 hrs and some cans can be yours

ninjas vs unicorns always in stock - stuff i traded for multiple times bc i liked it so much. really the game changed for me when jai lai was suddenly always in stock now it's all gravy. hill farmstead on tap last week. pliny the elder + younger at my local beershop for their anniversary. i used to have to go monks if i wanted some russian river.

I do have to say that being able to pick up Jai Alai at Jewel when grocery shopping is a nice benefit.

Jai Alai is still being brewed somewhere else right? North Carolina?

Ninja Vs. Unicorn is such a good, strong go-to, but don't you dare look at the Pipeworks website and see all the unique and cool stuff that doesn't get distribution out of their brew house!

Speaking of which, I was able to get a couple of cans of their extremely hard to find Ninja vs Unicorn vs Haze, their version of an NEIPA. And they have a collaboration with Hop Butcher at some places tonight, though I assume I will never get to taste that.

ironically my response to the distro explosion has been to buy beer from fewer breweries than ever. i'm down to like 5 brands i buy regularly.

Every time I get a rhythm going with regulars a bunch of newbies crash the scene and my priorities or tastes shift. I'm just super glad anywhere I go I can get a great beer from Revolution, or Half Acre, or whatever.

my london beers are partizan and kernel. fuck the rest. howling hops sometimes. i got cloudwater a few times but i'm too broke these days. BERMONDSEY BIG UP YRSEL

I've been really diving into Sketchbook lately, they have so much good stuff.

I always see them but have never really tried! See also: Brickstone, Heretic, Une Annee/Hubbard's Cave, Off Color, etc ad infinitum.

I'm partial to Sketchbook because it's walking distance from my house, but even without that their Insufficient Clearance Hazy IPA would be one of my go-tos. A lot of folks like their Orange Door double dry hopped IPA, but I'm partial to the Night Game DIPA with honey.

But their seasonal brews are what I've been dialing in on, been enjoying the Turbulence imperial stout and Ripe Now farmstand porter in particular.

I've never had anything by Corridor, but they and their brew pub on Southport are supposed to be great.

Yeah if anything I'm seeing huge softening in the market and there are TONS of incredible beers sitting on shelves, things that were considered whales even a few years ago just gathering dust at local groceries. We just got Cycle & Fremont barrel aged adjunct stouts in regular distro, the market is insanely saturated.

I guess I'm saying I haven't felt less inspired to "chase" anything as I have in a very long time, yet still having access to amazing beers...

...like arguably better access on current Whole Foods shelves than when I was chasing/trading for brewery-only beers.

My wife is in advertising and Miller is a big client. Apparently the fear of a beer bust is real. Young people apparently don't drink much beer anymore, at least not as much as they used to, and they apparently don't go to bars as much anymore, either. Their tastes have taken a turn toward the more bang for your buck spirits or even cannabis.

My wife did offer a good counter when I asked, why, when all these great craft beers are available, anyone would want Coors or Miller or Bud. And she said that when you just want to hang with friends and drink, at a party, or at a game, or a picnic on a hot day, or whatever, these craft beers are just too intense and filling. You can only have a couple of them. She has a point, I guess.

I've noticed "Mexican lager" is the latest style all the indies are jumping on to. I wonder if this is a response to that.

session piszen

The shelves around Chicago are fortunately packed with all sorts of good stuff you can find on any given day, and I am extremely grateful for that. But many of my favorite beers as of late don't hang around very long and require some hustle, in addition to the aforementioned. It's kind of a shame, because I've shared them with friends, from big beer fans to just casual beer fans, and reaction is almost always super positive followed by the question: where can I get this? And I have to tell them, well, you can't. To the casual beer drinker friend that doesn't even compute.

― Josh in Chicago

it's the fucking holofoil cover approach to beer, i think

i heard about pliny the elder something like eight years before i ever had the chance to drink one. it was a pretty good beer, but it was also, you know, a beer. the amount of effort one had to expend to get one was far greater than the actual quality of the beer in question

i'm not surprised kids aren't into all this beer shit because a side effect of the scarcity/rarity based approach to beer fandom is that shit gets expensive. god only knows how a millennial could afford 13 dollar bottles of beer on a regular basis

i get the miller light drinkers and i don't. yeah, you can get a six pack for the price of one of these beers, but i'd rather just drink one of these fancy beers! i feel like it gets one about as drunk. maybe it's the lowered tolerance from the antidepressants, but one pint is pretty much all i ever want to drink on a given day.

beer also suffers i think from this delusion that one has to have the ABSOLUTE BEST whatever one has. even if KBS or 120 Minute or Zombie Dust WERE the Best Beers Ever, the idea that one would go to that much effort for a beer that's probably at best a marginal improvement of whatever local beer you haven't heard of at the local beer shop or growler place is, i'd argue, a poor way of maximizing enjoyment. i drink lots of pretty good beers that i buy because i like the label.

I've noticed "Mexican lager" is the latest style all the indies are jumping on to. I wonder if this is a response to that.

― nickn, Friday, May 10, 2019 7:02 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the story i've heard is that craft brewers are targeting lite/mexican lager skus because stores are so saturated with craft stuff that there's no more shelf space to go after.

i have no stats to back it up but my sense is that taprooms/destination breweries will be just fine with younger consumers. people will buy less but they'll buy a more premium product. as a brewery you better have an amazing product or a really smart business plan. night shift in mass is a great example of a place that makes good beer not great beer, but they built a huge taproom, created a distro company, marketed the hell out of a light lager, and basically wormed their way into being omnipresent around here.

My wife says according to their (the companies') market research, Mexican lagers are akin to American session beers, lower alcohol, less filling - like Miller, etc. - which is what's sending people that way.

yeah, you can get a six pack for the price of one of these beers, but i'd rather just drink one of these fancy beers!

That's more or less exactly what I always say. Or, as my friend and I were discussing the other day, who cares if you can physically down more cheap beers if you don't want more than one because the beer isn't that good? If you choose your beer based on how much of it you can physically tolerate vs. the taste and such ...

I’m in Chicago for the weekend and in the past this would mean a quest for exotic beers and now means maybe I’ll hit the Binnys a couple blocks away if I have a chance. There are tons of good beers at home in MI and how the hell am I going to decide which of 50 ipas I should buy?

For me cheap lagers are kind of like having a barley and hops flavored LaCroix when I’m thirsty and it’s hot or I’m outside grilling or feeling devious walking the dog around on a summer night while sneaking a beer or drinking it with ice and Thai food

fwiw that is exactly how French people drink beer

I've got the opposite problem where I live in England: no access to a regular supply at all. I have to drive a half-hour to the nearest decent beer shop, who are also reliant on spotty distribution, or I go to one of the big supermarkets and hope for the best (which, usually, isn't 'best' at all). I even went as far as trying a Beer52 subscription but that didn't last long. I've got a shelf full of beers I'll never drink, made from wild hog pizzle and guava halves.

ironically my response to the distro explosion has been to buy beer from fewer breweries than ever. i'm down to like 5 brands i buy regularly.

― call all destroyer, Friday, May 10, 2019 4:22 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Same. I barely buy anything made outside of NE Minneapolis anymore, let alone outside of the Twin Cities.

all I want is Peroni lately

Ended up drinking at Eris and Aleman in Chicago this afternoon and buying six packs of Gumballhead (which I’ve had before) and Zombie Dust (which I have not), a four pack of Dovetail Lager (for sushi purposes) plus some singles from Brickstone, 18th Street and Half Acre.

Speaking of craft "Mexican lagers", I like the Sierraveza from Sierra Nevada. For me, it's more about something that pairs well with food, especially spicy food. Drinking a bitter hoppy beer with food is not a good experience for me usually. Victoria is another good one, though that's a real Mexican lager.

sure but why not pay more just to know it was made by dudes with beards and sleeve tats?

Heh. Actually the only reason I'd buy a craft version was if I had reason to believe it was fresher.

@UK ppl there is also UK beer in the new era

Coconut American pale ale anyone ?

nope!

Fair enough

Would try it if offered, but wouldn't buy to try.

Mother Kelly has just opened a branch in Stratford and god DAMN are their cans expensive. I mean yes it's all delicious posh beer and yes they're mostly tall boys but GOT DAMN

Yeah I’m seeing higher prices too. Even the cheaper shit, per 6, is almost cost prohibitive compared to a more mass market, quality sixer

A friend's brewery made a coconut IPA and it was fantastic, I really wanted to hate it.

I've had a coconut porter and while I didn't hate it I thought it'd be at least as good with no coconut.

Put the lime in the coconut etc

speaking of coconut beers, Kona is trying to settle a class action but people will likely just get $10 each.

?? for what?

I had Pfriem's passionfruit pale and god DAMN is that shit god, tastes basically like hoppy maracuya juice

could be "god" but I meant "good"

because most Kona beer isn't brewed in Hawaii but all the marketing implies it.

I've drank a lot of Kona beer and it never occurred to me that it was brewed in the mainland.