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Sorry if it hurts feelings, but by in large most of the micro brews are just not good. Everything is a freaking ****ty IPA that tastes like pine sol mixed with brazos river bog water, but somehow the neckbeards convince themselves it is good and that they are enlightened or some other crap.

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Preach. I drink very little beer, but when I do I prefer a Porter or Stout. Both are damn hard to find but I can pick from dozens of Indian Piss Ales.

I HATED the first couple of IPA I drank. Now they're easily 90% of what I buy. I just like them because they are stronger, and have more intense and variable flavor to the hops. It's not a snob thing, just an acquired taste. I like porters and stouts but only in moderation. The string ones will wreck you and I consider them a sipping drink for after dinner. More like a mixed drink than a beer.

murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

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+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

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True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

schmellba99 said:

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murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

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+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

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True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

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Sounds like I can finally go back to the Dixie Chicken for the second time ever at night and be able to walk through it?

Red , brown and stouts for me. An occasional craft lager but most have no flavor and are little different than a mass produced beer. Never acquired an IPA taste

YouBet said:

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schmellba99 said:

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murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

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+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

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True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

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Sounds like I can finally go back to the Dixie Chicken for the second time ever at night and be able to walk through it?

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Ha! That's me ... went one time during college, couldn't move it was so crowded, never went back.

Now I can't go to CS without stopping in for lunch and a pitcher. The Chicken has become an old-timers hangout. LOL

Right there with you. When you do a deep dive into the hop varietals and hybridization currently going on, the IPA world is pretty cool. Lots of unique flavor profiles out there between west coast and east coast styles. Yes the hipsters and neckbeards are annoying, but from a flavor standpoint you get a lot of bang for your buck.

And shiner beer is no longer the same beer we were drinking in the 80s. The buyout and massive distribution plan changed it for the worse, imho.

schmellba99 said:

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Captain Pablo said:

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It's a tough business

Overhead, equipment, ingredients are a killer

And frankly, the product at some most of these places just kinda sucks

But I think the big national brewers are in for rough times. That mass produced, flavorless light lager is just terrible and holds about zero appeal to anyone under about 40

But yeah, alcohol sales are way down. It's not just beer. The whiskey distillers in Kentucky and Tennessee are taking it on the chin

Vodka seems to be doing ok I guess. Judging by the shelf space it occupies at specs. I guess Gen Z still likes their Chocolatinis and Lemon Drops

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Fixed it.

Sorry if it hurts feelings, but by in large most of the micro brews are just not good. Everything is a freaking ****ty IPA that tastes like pine sol mixed with brazos river bog water, but somehow the neckbeards convince themselves it is good and that they are enlightened or some other crap.

Any microbrew that makes a good product is usually bought out by the big dogs, then everybody suddenly hates them because they sold out and cashed the check.

Another thing is the high proof beers. Those may be great for the back yard with your buddies, but few folks want to go into a bar and drink 1 beer. Sure, they have more flavor and body and fragrance and mouthfeel and grit and sediment and plant matter or whatever else floating around, but for the most part drinking beer is a fairly social activity and most people want to be able to have more than one. So while the light beers may be pedestrian - they have dominated the market here for a century for a reason.

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Preach!

I semi-quit drinking a few years ago, but will still drink at functions, parties, etc. Usually wine or brown water.

A few weeks ago my firm had a function in Austin at some beer garden with like 300 taps. I tried a few and like you said, I was done. Unlike when I could sit at BWW with the boys and watch an 18-inning Astros playoff game and drink 15 tall Coors Lights. Or show up at 11 to get a good seat for Sunday football and end up leaving after the prime-time game. You can't do that with a Cry of the Loon Chocolate Armpit Wheat Double Bock Porter Stout.

On the Shiner convo, my favorite was the limited Kosmos you could only get in the family 6 pack.

You can get Kosmos in 6 packs now. I bought some from a HEB in Colege Station a few weeks ago.

Prune Tracy said:

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You can get Kosmos in 6 packs now. I bought some from a HEB in Colege Station a few weeks ago.

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I looked on the website and I don't think it is the same. It says it is a "hop-jacked lager" now. Here's what AI had to say:

The Original (1999): Introduced as a limited, higher-ABV beer to celebrate the brewery's legacy.

The Reserve (2009 onward): Relaunched as a more approachable, dry-hopped American pale lager.

schmellba99 said:

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murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

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+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

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True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

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The "older generation" of boomers I know all just play on their phones reading crazy alarmist far-right nonsense

Dan Carlin said:

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schmellba99 said:

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murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

---

+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

---

I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

---

True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

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The "older generation" of boomers I know all just play on their phones reading crazy alarmist far-right nonsense

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According to AI, only 34% of boomers are Republican, and even fewer are "far right".

You must not know many boomers.

Not all of the younger generation is at home getting high. They just don't have the money to spend $10/beer and $20/cocktail.

Dan Carlin said:

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schmellba99 said:

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murphyag said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

---

+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

---

I remember reading an interview in the last couple of years with one of Don Ganter's daughters (Dixie Chicken owners) and she was talking about this.

---

True. Last few times I've been to the Bird, it wasn't crowded at all. Nothing like back in the old days when you had to wade through the crowds because so many people where there.

But younger generations don't do much anymore outside of order food in and play on their phones from what I can see. Hell, there is only 1 halfass dance hall in CS anymore. I'm honestly not sure how they interact with each other.

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The "older generation" of boomers I know all just play on their phones reading crazy alarmist far-right nonsense

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Completely irrelevant and likely not even correct.

It's very simple, to me.

Beer/alcohol is expensive.

If you drink, you feel it the next day. Whether it's a bad hangover or minor. You still feel it.

COVID changed a lot of habits, causing more people to stay in versus going out.

Those three things are not conducive to drinking but are to smoking, along with the legalization of weed and hemp across the country. This is why big alcohol has been lobbying so hard to make weed and hemp illegal.

I'm hoping Lone Pint in Magnolia holds on. By far, our favorite.

Blonde Bombshell will be missed.

YouBet said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

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+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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All stems from the economics. It's expensive as hell to consume alcohol to half the country.

If we enter into a recession, alcohol will come roaring back and might even outperform.

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Yeah, but I think it's just as much cultural for the younger generations. They just don't want to drink alcohol like we did. That's the real problem because they are the bench.

If you look at ABs 10k from around time of their trans fiasco you will see their N/A line was/is growing faster than most other revenue streams even before that controversy.

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Culture is a byproduct of the economic problem. The younger generations are priced out of the economy they see everyone else enjoying. That's because while they were kids we kicked the can on a necessary economic reset by bailing out the banks and massively devaluing the currency. Older generations benefitted. Younger ones were borrowed from and left for dead.

BusterAg said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

---

+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

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All stems from the economics. It's expensive as hell to consume alcohol to half the country.

If we enter into a recession, alcohol will come roaring back and might even outperform.

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A 1.5L of 80 proof Kentucky Deluxe is around $15, less than two McDonalds big mac meals.

This does not compute.

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People dont drink bottom shelf whiskey in mass when times are good.

Ever wonder why Brown Foreman stock bottomed the exact same month the market topped in 2000?

Heineken-Ashi said:

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YouBet said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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YouBet said:

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DeschutesAg said:

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Small breweries and brewpubs having been shutting down all across America. A combination of over-expansion + weakening demand + higher beer prices + higher input costs + consumers having less disposable income.

---

+ younger generations not drinking at nearly the rate as Gen X.

---

All stems from the economics. It's expensive as hell to consume alcohol to half the country.

If we enter into a recession, alcohol will come roaring back and might even outperform.

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Yeah, but I think it's just as much cultural for the younger generations. They just don't want to drink alcohol like we did. That's the real problem because they are the bench.

If you look at ABs 10k from around time of their trans fiasco you will see their N/A line was/is growing faster than most other revenue streams even before that controversy.

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Culture is a byproduct of the economic problem. The younger generations are priced out of the economy they see everyone else enjoying. That's because while they were kids we kicked the can on a necessary economic reset by bailing out the banks and massively devaluing the currency. Older generations benefitted. Younger ones were borrowed from and left for dead.

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There is some of that for sure but I think you are greatly discounting systemic cultural changes with the younger generations that aren't driven by economics. Social media, weed, not even wanting to get drives licenses, etc.

More structural than just "alcohol is expensive".