Question for you beer guys -
I've been out of the craft beer world for about 3 years now. before that i was heavily involved in all the happenings. Now I maybe buy 1 or 2 4/6 packs a month. My question is, how much time and money do you spend on the bigger regional/national craft brands, now that Iowa has such a vibrant local craft brew scene of its own?
Outside of a few seasonal releases from some bigger regional brands, there is so much to choose from local breweries that IMO are making a highly competitive product. I'm not tempted to look for a good IPA from Stone, Ballast Point, Surly, or who-have-you anymore, when I Iook at the selection of Confluence, Big Grove, Singlespeed, etc. So when I see these big sellouts happen, I guess I now more or less just think, "well when was I gonna buy any New Belgium anyways?" Seems to me like the craft brew scene is incredibly localized with micro and nano breweries providing more than enough quality options for local beer enthusiasts. This would lead me to assume that sales for brands like Boulevard, Sam Adams, NB, etc would naturally decrease. Maybe that's not the case?