I'm pretty spoiled near my house in the suburbs of Denver. I have two local craft breweries within a mile of my house, one of which is run by an ISU alum. So far, Denver, and Colorado in general, has not been a part of the buying spree. It's only a matter of time though. I was sad to hear about FCB mainly because they are being shut down. A friend is dating one of the regional marketing guys at ABInBev and based on stories from him, I can totally see where the predatory practices come from - the top. We also had a beer festival here on Saturday and it was almost sad to be able to rattle off 5-6 breweries that were in attendance that are no longer independent. We consciously avoided those breweries since there were so many other great beers to try.
Craft Beer Sellouts
- Thread starter dmclone
- Start date
This article is a little dated but has some good information. At least two on this list have been bought out.
http://www.westword.com/restaurants...s-that-would-make-good-buyout-targets-7194937
http://www.westword.com/restaurants...s-that-would-make-good-buyout-targets-7194937
I personally thought Dangerous Man was a little overated in their beer but the place was cool. Town Hall usually has my favorite beer. There was another place that I visited last time that I had never heard of and was pretty good. I wish i could remember the name.....something siphis....
It was a sad day for me when Boulevard was sold to Duvel. Been drinking Blvd for nearly 20 years. The orig owner wanted to keep it in family but no member really took an interest in taking that on.
I think there was talk about selling to KC area investors but if I remember the owner's story correctly, he was still afraid of the brewery being sold to a macro later on.
By selling to Duvel, it allowed local control to exist (within reason I imagine). I have not noticed any changes in taste, quality, etc since the change. Duvel is a large privately held company so are probably not in the same "shareholder/market share" mind as the big macro corporations.
I have not noticed any changes in taste, quality, etc since the change.
Boulevard just announced today that they are expanding in KC so that all can production would be done in KC.
So in the short term it looked bad when Blvd sold out but the sale gave it stability and will probably keep it viable for a long time.
I think there was talk about selling to KC area investors but if I remember the owner's story correctly, he was still afraid of the brewery being sold to a macro later on.
By selling to Duvel, it allowed local control to exist (within reason I imagine). I have not noticed any changes in taste, quality, etc since the change. Duvel is a large privately held company so are probably not in the same "shareholder/market share" mind as the big macro corporations.
I have not noticed any changes in taste, quality, etc since the change.
Boulevard just announced today that they are expanding in KC so that all can production would be done in KC.
So in the short term it looked bad when Blvd sold out but the sale gave it stability and will probably keep it viable for a long time.
I was in San Diego in April and did a brewery tour one Saturday afternoon. First stop was Ballast Point, and their California Amber is now my favorite beverage.
Bauhaus is a favorite of mine. I'd also recommend Day Block. Although their IPA is below average, their Red is fantastic and it's a cool atmosphere with some really good food.
We're going to be in Copper Mountain this summer. Any suggestions in that area for breweries. You can include Vail and Breckenridge as we will probably take a day trip to one of those places because "Women be shoppin'".
A great tesource for beer industry information. My take is that the larger micro breweries are all selling, or gaining investors (either above or below the Brewers Association % ownership to remain craft). The end result will be that large micros will be thought of as not micro as their territories expand and the local brewpubs will become the micros.
https://www.brewbound.com
https://www.brewbound.com
Silverthorne - Outer Range & Dillon Dam. Haven't tried Bakers' Brewery yet
Breckenridge - Broken Compass & Breck Brewing (despite being sold)
Vail - Vail Brewing & Crazy Mountain
BauHaus may be my favorite place in terms of location and tap room/outside set up. Also a plus there are 3/4 other breweries within walking distance. Beer could be better, but enjoy trying their seasonal selection
Dangerous Man is really overrated, IMO.
Steel Toe seems like the most underrated Twin Cities brewery to me. They don't have a swanky tap room, but the beer rocks.
Steel Toe seems like the most underrated Twin Cities brewery to me. They don't have a swanky tap room, but the beer rocks.
In each town I'd choose Outer Range, Broken Compass, and Crazy Mountain. Or, are you looking for favorite brews at each?
FTR, Crazy Mountain has some of my favorite bottle label art of any brewery.
Yeah, I think it is big because of location and they have a wide variety of beers er flavors (I agree it isn't the best beer). Whether that makes them better, depends on the person.
I think Bad Weather is a very underrated brewery as well. They have gotten more regular beers and continually change out 3 or 4 seasonal beers. I may be biased because it is close to my house, but I feel nobody ever really talks about the breweries that are closer to/in the city of St. Paul. And Like Colorado talked about with his favorite brewery in CO above, Bad Weather have some awesome original label art, and they have blown up some of them for murals on their walls/ prints for sale, that is what really caught my attention (kinda like why I like Three Floyds so much)
Last edited:
I am personally at fault for a lot of the consolidation in the beer industry. It's scary how much liquidity Miller gained from my drinking habits in college.
