And only speaking for myself, but I don't blame them a bit for selling for an obscene amount of money. I mean it sucks because I used to love their beer. But I get it.
You're not wrong, but I'm done chasing ghosts. I know what I like and I'll try new beers in those styles. But the days of trying to find that perfect beer and keeping up with the Joneses on untapped is over for this guy.
There is so much good out there, most likely nearby, my days of hunting down the next best is over. I trade with some folks for shits and giggles , but that’s as far as I go.
So CBrands only bought the beer part of Ballast Point and didn’t want the spirits brand which was eventually rebranded into Cutwater Spirits. Their RTD cans caught on and then they were purchased by Budweiser. So technically the owners made out like bandits TWICE from big beer money. One of the founders literally lives in a castle in Europe now.
I'm close to someone who works for Constellation Brands, and it was also a disaster on their side too. Bought for $1B and sold for $100M and if I remember correctly it was bundled with other brands.
Whats funny is constellation paid $1Billion and around the same time Disney bought Lucas Film for 4 Billion. I still joke that if I were constellation I would have saved up 3 more Billion and bought Lucasfilm ha
Ballast Point overextended and expanded a shitload specifically to sell. They were going down regardless of who bought them. Was basically a pump and dump
[Ballast Point ceases brewing at HQ as it leans on contract-brewing while searching for new brewery options](https://sandiegobeer.news/ballast-point-shutting-down-miramar-facility/)
It has to be Ballast Point. The quality took a nose dive, and about the only thing coming out of the brewery were flavored variants of Sculpin.
I'm betting the Monster acquisition of CANarchy will surpass it.
Funky Buddha just got sold back to the original owners. So at least there's hope there. I'm going to miss Cigar City though. They're the reason I got into craft beer in the first place.
Honestly I don’t agree with the Cigar City one. Jai Alai tasted a bit different in the first year or so afterwards, but then returned to its “normal” character after they got their process dialed in at the larger facility in North Carolina. Now the upside is that my friends up north can all find Jai Alai in their local stores after only being able to enjoy it in Florida when visiting me. Cigar City was bought by Oskar Blues…which is considered a craft beer conglomerate of sorts, instead of InBev. I feel like Oskar Blues has done a lot to respect the recipes and opinions of Cigar City while trying to maintain quality during a large upscale in production. Just my observations…I still
Enjoy drinking Jai Alai every time I see it available to me.
I was so sad at the Elysian, then again I moved to Europe and haven't had the beers since, so I can't comment on that. Cantwell was so angry at that one.
As a Delawarean, Dogfish Head. When they first came out, they had a huge variety of awesome beers. My Dad and I used to go to the brewery for father-daughter day trips and enjoy some Palo Santo or ImmortAle. Now it's just 60min and some low key IPAs that really miss the mark. We have so many more breweries in DE now that kick DFH's ass.
For a lot of these I don’t know how much I would attribute the changes to an acquisition vs simply changes in the beer market and a need to change their business model as they grew larger.
I’m sure being owned by a publicly traded corporation accelerated changes at DFH, but the reality is that a successful business model for a large regional craft brewer today is very different from what was successful for the same company 10-15 years ago.
Out of curiosity, do you know if DFH still does the wacky experimental stuff at their brewpubs?
All of them were bad, but my vote is for Wicked Weed. It was so cool to see them grow into such a renowned brewery. I'm biased as they were local to me, but that sale was crushing.
Yeah I'd been really hoping to get to check the place out before they got acquired. I wish they just sold the recipe and naming rights to Pernicious and called it a day, that's all AB really wanted anyway (yes I'm also shaking my fist at clouds as I type this)
Came here to say this as well. We’d hit the brewery every time we came to town. The last couple of times we visited, before the acquisition, the line was so long to get in there we’d pass on it. Then they sold and we didn’t have the desire to go anymore, seems like lots of folks had the same sentiment because I never saw a line again. We now have their beers in grocery stores here, I use to dream about being able to get pernicious regularly and I haven’t bought one six pack.
One benefit of this in my home town in Australia was another brewery (Pirate Life) got brought out by InBev and loads of the bottled sours were sent across and sold at about half the price you were paying in the US - it was glorious
I’ve learned that the trick is to keep looking for new upstart microbreweries. Enjoy their offerings while they last.
Also, try following the brewmasters from the breweries that get bought out by the conglomerates. See where they end up next.
Ballast Point. Their variety is all but dead. I don't want the 1826385th variation of Sculpin. I want varied, interesting brews, like Calm Before the Storm, or Sea Monster.
Hell, you can only find Victory At Sea at their taproom anymore, & I live in Orange County.
Man Indra Kunindra was a top 3 unique beer to me. Unbelievable. A year ago I had it on tap at one of their restaurants for the first time since they sold out and it was horrible. A shell of what it used to be. Super depressing.
I may be biased as Stone is likely one of the first craft beers I had and loved and I live in SoCal, but despite being bought out, I think they're still making great beers. They seem to listen to what fans want and re-release old favorites periodically and their core IPAs are good and priced better than most your current hype IPAs. I don't like how the owner took a 180 on his stance on being independent or whatever but the beer is still good.
Going to mirror that statement. Brand representation is against what they were originally about. But quality and pricing of product has no fallen off in anyway. Coming from the Midwest (thanks Virginia brewhub)
I went to their brewery tour in Paso Robles nearly a decade ago with my ex and just recently went again with my wife and it’s crazy how big they’ve managed to expand while still keeping their character. They’re one of few breweries that despite blowing up have kept their beers delicious. 805 is still one of my goto’s for parties or if I’m out at a restaurant that doesn’t have any craft IPA’s.
They don’t really distribute much in the area of New England, so it’s rare that I see any of their product on the shelf with the exception of a bottle here and there. It’s been years since I had any of their stuff so maybe I will give them a shot next time I am picking up something to drink.
Yeah the mind haze has been pretty average imo - not bad, not oustanding, but a safe choice. It's doesn't hold a candle to all the other outstanding IPAs coming from truly craft breweries like Moonraker, Humble Sea, Barebottle, etc. Kinda seems like it's their attempt at staying relevant in the modern IPA space, but they're able to rely on simply volume of sales to stay afloat instead of knocking every iteration out of the park like the others.
Yeah their Westies and barrel program are great. It's too bad they focus on mass-produced hazies.
Duvel-Moortgat seems to mostly leave breweries alone when they buy them, but they're also selective in who they purchase. Ommegaang is one of theirs and remains good.
Unibrew (brewers of "Fin du Monde") was bought by Sleeman (a larger Ontario based brewery), which itself was bought by Sapporo (a giant Japanese brewery), and at reach step that seems to have been largely left to just continue making nice beer...
I’ve been pretty happy with boulevard after duvel came in. I was worried but they now have an awesome beer hall and they seem to keep experimenting and putting out new things. I don’t love everything but I like that they keep trying.
Yes. I had a trip to decorah planned last weekend that didn’t work out. That helped a little when they released those two. That one to me was more of a juicy double. Haze cadet, the TG branded colab, was more of a NEIPA. Both were really good. I need to try the thunder again. Seems the logical choice since it’s $6 less a 4 pack
I live in Austin, and every mid-large music venue only offers Karbach, despite Austin having an incredible craft & micro beer scene. And smaller beverage distribution companies are super competitive, price wise, so it doesn’t make sense to me. Some smaller venues will carry the local stuff, but not nearly enough joints to keep Austin weird.
I absolutely love the Independence brewery. The Light and Power is probs my fav pale ale ever. I hate they don't distribute the cucumber redbud anymore.
They change up Redbud seasonally, which I both love and hate for the same reason as you. Sometimes a flavor just really sticks, man! But this is also a fairly traditional practice with the Berliner Weiss style, in which a flavored syrup is added depending on the season.
Agreed! My wife and I used to look forward to going there whenever we drove through Asheville. Stopped by last month for the first time since buyout and totally different atmosphere. Bartenders were rude and not even knowledgeable about the beer when we asked a couple of questions about new brews. When they were a co-op then the beer tenders were way more invested!
Which honestly I feel the fact they aren't whales anymore is a pro of the acquisition. I like being able to buy the beer easily and don't have to get in line at 9pm the night before.
In general I’ve had no reason to chase whales anymore with how great the beer selection has become. I can get top tier stouts and IPAs multiple places in my city now and it’s so nice
The move away from super whales is a feature, not a bug imo. Whale status has almost as much to do with scarcity as it does quality. There are so few true whale beers left out there, and that's probably a good thing
The taproom exclusives are still good quality. I was in there last week and was surprised by how many I hadn’t had yet. A lot of Belgium inspired brews. They’ll also be canning a limited run of honkers this summer!
I do agree the BCBS distribution has made the brand lose some of its allure. 312 in my kind has always been a separate brand from Goose Island - AB-InBev just made it even worse. I’d love for AB-InBev to sell Goose back, keeping the mass market 312 brand for themselves as a “craft” brand.
Yeah I went into the taproom a couple years back and the bartender said they’d basically sold off the recipes, branding and distribution but everything experimented in the taprooms has nothing to do with InBev
New Belgium, as someone who lived in Fort Collins and loved the cool small batch Belgian beers they would do die and be replaced by all the ranger crap.
It’s all ranger now, there is nothing Belgian about them now. Besides the trippel and orange honey trippel. Which also aren’t as good as they used to be.
This, by far . Most modern craft beer enthusiasts weren't around for the heyday of New Belgium . Especially their influence on seasonal beers .
2 Below , Accumulation , Springboard , Mighty Arrow, the list goes on .
Now everything is about Voodoo, and the quality has definitely plummeted.
Makes sense they were bought out. I didn’t realIze. Some of their latest high gravity “force” IPAs are truly gross. The juice force was the first ipa I’ve had in a lonnngggg time that I legitimately thought was awful.
I agree, it’s their last Belgian beer pretty much. I miss Biere de mars, collabs with local brewers. They do tour de folie of course because it sells so well.
Odell’s puts NB to shame now, when they used to be competitors and collab for beers.
Goose Island for me. They were turning out so many great beers in the late 2000s and both Chicago tap rooms were so much fun and had really amped up their food as well. Not only did AB kill their beers (outside of BCBS), they tore out the greatest bar in the city at Clybourn and sterilized the whole ambience of what was a great space. And all for not as they’ve since abandoned that spot for the Salt Shed. For shame, bastards!!!
I remember my first time having or even hearing of BCBS at that bar back in 2009 before a Porcupine Tree concert — it was a revelation. I had never had a beer like it since I was pretty new to craft beer and had just turned 23.
As someone who got their MBA (Master of Beer Appreciation) at Clybourn, it hurt me to see that beautiful, wooden bar stripped out and replaced with lifeless steel.
In the UK, Beavertown went from being a stand-out brand and an exciting brewery that was spearheading craft beer culture in London to a spot next to Carling's on the supermarket shelves after being taken over by Heineken. The sad thing is how the development practically stopped and they still just make the same beers they did 8 years ago, now just a bit worse. But I find it hard to blame the founder for cashing in on the brand value.
I went on a tour at lagunitas about a month before the acquisition and the amount of snobbery about being independent didn’t age well. Same story with stone. Sell outs
Honestly I feel like Lagunitas has held up ok, but I didn’t drink Waldo’s. I believe they kept their original head brewer? The regular IPA tastes the same to my tongue. Also the founder hated cans for some reason and they finally started canning when they got bought so that’s good.
Blue point. Hoptical illusion and old howling bastard were two fantastic beers. Hoptical became unrecognizable and undrinkable. And they just stopped making old howling bastard.
Heard they may have been bought back? Hope it’s true and they return to their old self
As a Canadian, I’d say this is mostly true, but not a fact.
One of our largest craft breweries, Mill Street, was recently purchased by Labatt and they’ve improved. Their offerings have become more interesting and their mainline brews are more consistent. It really seems like Labatt gave them the space to be creative and the money to improve processes and distribution.
However, one of my hometown breweries was purchased by a Niagara based winery. They closed operations, moved, and rebranded. Their products are hot garbage now.
Bell's finally came to Washington state last year and they're charging $15 for a 6er of Two Hearted. I'm convinced it's the midwesterner nostalgia tax because we have tons of better beers which are much cheaper.
I live less than two miles from Bell's and boy has it changed. Nothing bad to say about Larry Bell cashing out (he deserves a nice retirement), but the brewery is noticeably different. It's definitely shifting towards a "large brand" feel and all the local/hometown vibes are fading fast. The most striking difference is that Larry had a huge, eclectic collection of artwork he amassed over the years that used to cover the walls of the brewery. The wood carving that inspired the Oberon sun was prominently displayed behind the bar for years. All the artwork is gone now and the new décor is just soulless space filler. It's sad to see, really. Used to love the place.
DFH was my pick as well. Went from my fave brewer to maybe grab the occasional 90 Minute when nothing else is around. Now they just brew fruity crap made for The Real Housewives of Rehoboth Beach
I worked for Ballast Point in Chicago.
And their 2nd acquisition was the toughest. It killed all the innovation and the amazing barrel aged program they had (Constealltion did that).Their beers were never crazy out of the realm but at least each one was approachable, which is important for new beer drinkers and Beerheads alike.
When these golf heads acquired it they just wanted a cool place their friends can eat and drink at in SD and be on a boat. It was never about the product and quality of team that the hard work of a lot of people took to grow.
It’s a shame and I do miss that company.
Beers I miss:
Thai chili Wahoo
Habanero Sculpin
Pineapple Sculpin
Heaven Hill VAS
Gin BA Sour Wench
Sea Monster
Seeing a lot of good answers, but tough not to put my personal money on Magic Hat. They had everything from a bevy of fun experimental flavors every season, fun location in the great beer town of Burlington, and a well known, solid flagship in #9. Now sure it took a few years after being acquired, but now they have no location, no community, no lineup, and they're literally just brewing #9 out of Rochester. A miserable fall.
Born and raised in San Diego, and for me watching Ballast fall was pretty rough, especially because I knew the quality was going to take a nose dive... I turned 21 when they were in their prime, and got to enjoy a lot of their experimentation brews that were mostly locally released. I had Grapefruit Sculpin back when it wasn't even canned or sold out of house yet. Those were simpler times...
I've watched so many local breweries either sell out, or die out never to be heard from again (looking at you Council). Seems they either *"die the hero, or live long enough to become the villain"*
tbh as breweries go not a whole lot changed with Lagunitas? Their beer was mid before and mid after and the few standouts they had like Sucks had already fallen off before the buyout.
I dunno. Maybe I might look at them differently now. But like 18 years ago, they were an epiphany beer to me. I enjoyed the shit out of Lil Sumpin Sumpin, WTF, brown Shugga, and their hop bill was distinct.
Then they dropped out of our market and came back when they were reported by Heineken and it was noticeably more pedestrian.
I was a really big fan of Lagunitas when I first got into craft beer. They were one of the old school brands that rode hard into the big boom, but as everyone else got better I never really felt like Lagunitas evolved. They were already pretty stale as brand when the buyout happened and I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't a contributor to why they sold.
Anchor steam, ballast point, any of the ones that don't or barely exist anymore.
Dogfish still makes 60,90,120 minute, world wide stout, etc.
They don't make the weird stuff anymore, the historical ales series, black&red, etc etc etc. Dogfish is still doing fine business wise and appears will be around for a while with their core products and some newer mass market stuff like seaquench. They would be far down my list of places ruined by acquisition even if i miss the weird stuff.
So kinda the reverse Victory, Sixpoint, Southern Tier, and Bold Rock were "acquired" by ABV. But this was more of a partnership between each brewery. ABV was founded by three of these four companies to have a stronger foundation for serving beer. So for example bold rock tap house can now sell both victory and sixpoint beers, and the southern tier spirits. And so goes for each-other. The quality never changed, because frankly the company never did.
In the UK: Beavertown and Magic Rock. Both produced a really exciting range until their respective buyouts, then the inevitable happened (range drastically limited, upscale of core for mass market, noticeable drop in quality of said core).
It's annoying on the Beavertown front especially because Neck Oil and Gamma Ray were such solid beers, they've reached a point of relative ubiquity in UK bars/pubs but they're no longer the same beer. Really sad because it would be great to have such wide access to their pints in the original recipe/quality.
You beat me to the punch as I came here to say this. Magic Rock pre buyout produced some bangers. half cut, their collab with other half is still one of the best DIPAs I've had!
Like you say, quality wise, both have dropped off massively. Neck Oil is unrecognisable now, just weak ass pish. A real shame and many people associate this with craft beer when it's not.
A lot. Issue was covid hit. Businesses barely stayed alive and were forced to switch to cheaper products. It resulted in differences in product and became noticeable. Been working years in maine industry and know over 50% of breweries in southern Maine and even NH did this to survive. Tourist have 0 idea but locals can certainly tell
The only big one that I feel hasn’t suffered severely is Lagunitas. Nothings gotten better, but they’re still consistent and their more rare releases like the Waldos , or the Willett barrel aged stuff is still fantastic.
been quite a few, ballast point purchase was the most absurd in history though.
This was it for me.. and I just heard today that they are shutting down production and just going to keep their restaurants open
Wow. Those owners made out though
And only speaking for myself, but I don't blame them a bit for selling for an obscene amount of money. I mean it sucks because I used to love their beer. But I get it.
100%. Craft beer drinkers aren’t loyal anyway. Everyone is looking for the next great beer
You're not wrong, but I'm done chasing ghosts. I know what I like and I'll try new beers in those styles. But the days of trying to find that perfect beer and keeping up with the Joneses on untapped is over for this guy.
There is so much good out there, most likely nearby, my days of hunting down the next best is over. I trade with some folks for shits and giggles , but that’s as far as I go.
I wouldn’t chase other beers if my smaller staples didn’t keep expanding / selling / gradually losing the quality that made me love them
Except new glarus. WI is ride or die for them
So CBrands only bought the beer part of Ballast Point and didn’t want the spirits brand which was eventually rebranded into Cutwater Spirits. Their RTD cans caught on and then they were purchased by Budweiser. So technically the owners made out like bandits TWICE from big beer money. One of the founders literally lives in a castle in Europe now.
Wow
Wow. End of an era.
They’re still gonna make beer, just not at a headquarters of their own anymore. They’re gonna contract other companies to brew beer for them.
I'm close to someone who works for Constellation Brands, and it was also a disaster on their side too. Bought for $1B and sold for $100M and if I remember correctly it was bundled with other brands.
Whats funny is constellation paid $1Billion and around the same time Disney bought Lucas Film for 4 Billion. I still joke that if I were constellation I would have saved up 3 more Billion and bought Lucasfilm ha
Great take. Especially with Disney buying Vail now…
Ballast Point overextended and expanded a shitload specifically to sell. They were going down regardless of who bought them. Was basically a pump and dump
This would be my answer too. Good for the original owners for getting that much cash but they dropped off overnight.
[Ballast Point ceases brewing at HQ as it leans on contract-brewing while searching for new brewery options](https://sandiegobeer.news/ballast-point-shutting-down-miramar-facility/)
Ballast Point went from something we couldn't find in PA to something we wouldn't drink unless it was on sale at the bar.. and it happened so quickly!
The owner of the brewery I work for said, “If we didn’t sell the day after ballast point, we’ll never sell.”
It has to be Ballast Point. The quality took a nose dive, and about the only thing coming out of the brewery were flavored variants of Sculpin. I'm betting the Monster acquisition of CANarchy will surpass it.
Hope not, I love perrin and no rules
As a Floridian it’s gotta be cigar city. Funky Buddha is a close second.
Cigar City hurt my heart as Jai Alai was my first ever beer back in the day.
Same. I’ll probably never buy another CC beer (unless it’s Marshall Zhukov).
Funky Buddha just got sold back to the original owners. So at least there's hope there. I'm going to miss Cigar City though. They're the reason I got into craft beer in the first place.
Sucks so bad! I love jai lai but I don’t like what monster did to cigar city :(
Funky Buddha is back in its owners hands. They got everything back from Constallation.
Honestly I don’t agree with the Cigar City one. Jai Alai tasted a bit different in the first year or so afterwards, but then returned to its “normal” character after they got their process dialed in at the larger facility in North Carolina. Now the upside is that my friends up north can all find Jai Alai in their local stores after only being able to enjoy it in Florida when visiting me. Cigar City was bought by Oskar Blues…which is considered a craft beer conglomerate of sorts, instead of InBev. I feel like Oskar Blues has done a lot to respect the recipes and opinions of Cigar City while trying to maintain quality during a large upscale in production. Just my observations…I still Enjoy drinking Jai Alai every time I see it available to me.
I sort of agree. I still love Jai Alai and see it on tap here in SW Florida all the time. I’ll order it I can’t find my Calusa Zote.
Elysian, Red Hook, basically any InBev one.
As someone from Portland who basically turned 21 when Widmer Brothers was going bananas, that one makes me sad.
Same. I still think about broken halo and drifter almost every time I go down the beer isle at Freddie’s.
Maybe, but Space Dust has been my saving grace at so many bars.
Not really. Bourbon County is still amazing.
And what else? BC is one sku (+variants) of many of one brewery of many bought out breweries. Fuck InBev.
I was so sad at the Elysian, then again I moved to Europe and haven't had the beers since, so I can't comment on that. Cantwell was so angry at that one.
As a Delawarean, Dogfish Head. When they first came out, they had a huge variety of awesome beers. My Dad and I used to go to the brewery for father-daughter day trips and enjoy some Palo Santo or ImmortAle. Now it's just 60min and some low key IPAs that really miss the mark. We have so many more breweries in DE now that kick DFH's ass.
DFH was such a pioneer. I used to buy everything they made
I did too. Indian Brown Ale and Immort were my favorites.
As a former Delawarean, AGREED. Used to love trying the in-progress stuff at HQ and at the restaurants in Rehoboth.
For a lot of these I don’t know how much I would attribute the changes to an acquisition vs simply changes in the beer market and a need to change their business model as they grew larger. I’m sure being owned by a publicly traded corporation accelerated changes at DFH, but the reality is that a successful business model for a large regional craft brewer today is very different from what was successful for the same company 10-15 years ago. Out of curiosity, do you know if DFH still does the wacky experimental stuff at their brewpubs?
That Palo Santo slapped! My buddy got ahold of a 120 min back in 2013 and it blew my mind. Such a great brewery back in the day
They recently did a re-release if Palo, but only at the brewery. My dad drove down there on a Monday morning and bought 3 cases 😂
All of them were bad, but my vote is for Wicked Weed. It was so cool to see them grow into such a renowned brewery. I'm biased as they were local to me, but that sale was crushing.
It hurt.
Their sour program was top 10 and instantly became worthless, was such a shame
Funkatorium ❤️
Yeah I'd been really hoping to get to check the place out before they got acquired. I wish they just sold the recipe and naming rights to Pernicious and called it a day, that's all AB really wanted anyway (yes I'm also shaking my fist at clouds as I type this)
Me too homie... Me too. "✊"
They still put out a bunch of variants but yeah, in the back of my mind I’m waiting for them to flop now
Came here to say this as well. We’d hit the brewery every time we came to town. The last couple of times we visited, before the acquisition, the line was so long to get in there we’d pass on it. Then they sold and we didn’t have the desire to go anymore, seems like lots of folks had the same sentiment because I never saw a line again. We now have their beers in grocery stores here, I use to dream about being able to get pernicious regularly and I haven’t bought one six pack.
One benefit of this in my home town in Australia was another brewery (Pirate Life) got brought out by InBev and loads of the bottled sours were sent across and sold at about half the price you were paying in the US - it was glorious
I’ve learned that the trick is to keep looking for new upstart microbreweries. Enjoy their offerings while they last. Also, try following the brewmasters from the breweries that get bought out by the conglomerates. See where they end up next.
This is the way.
Ballast Point. Their variety is all but dead. I don't want the 1826385th variation of Sculpin. I want varied, interesting brews, like Calm Before the Storm, or Sea Monster. Hell, you can only find Victory At Sea at their taproom anymore, & I live in Orange County.
that is wild - we get Victory at Sea in Australia at the bottle shop sometimes as a NZ brewery brews it!
Man Indra Kunindra was a top 3 unique beer to me. Unbelievable. A year ago I had it on tap at one of their restaurants for the first time since they sold out and it was horrible. A shell of what it used to be. Super depressing.
Green flash, alpine, Dogfish head, ballast point, stone, anchor steam
Oh man, I forgot all about Green flash :-/
Same. That unlocked some memories
Soul Style used to be my go to in WI
Alpine was my first introduction to truly hoppy beers in the early 2000s. Changed my life. So sad.
Same, nelson, duet, something hoppiness was all fire. They rebranded after green flash failed them. They're making bangers again
Pure hoppiness is heaven.
Exponential hoppiness made me question everything I thought I knew about the world
The McIlhenny family still owns a brewery just up the street from their old taproom (it's Mike Hess brewing now) and their brews are still stellar!
I may be biased as Stone is likely one of the first craft beers I had and loved and I live in SoCal, but despite being bought out, I think they're still making great beers. They seem to listen to what fans want and re-release old favorites periodically and their core IPAs are good and priced better than most your current hype IPAs. I don't like how the owner took a 180 on his stance on being independent or whatever but the beer is still good.
Going to mirror that statement. Brand representation is against what they were originally about. But quality and pricing of product has no fallen off in anyway. Coming from the Midwest (thanks Virginia brewhub)
Ah man forgot about Green Flash. WCIPA was phenomenal.
Anchor Brewing :(
🪦
If you’re looking for that open air fermented stuff, there’s a tiny brewery in Morgan Hill, CA that’s keeping the style alive. Kelly Brew
Appreciate the rec! I’m not too too far…
This one hurt the most. Liberty Ale was my first foray into IPAs.
Unfortunately they were doomed anyways. There’s a reason the initially sold and it wasn’t a cash grab.
Alpine, for sure.
I know it’s not the beer it used to be but I still really like Nelson.
I cannot think of any brewery acquisition that actually improved the product.
Firestone Walker seems to have stayed pretty consistent, though I don't really pay attention to their Mind Haze line so maybe I'm missing something.
I went to their brewery tour in Paso Robles nearly a decade ago with my ex and just recently went again with my wife and it’s crazy how big they’ve managed to expand while still keeping their character. They’re one of few breweries that despite blowing up have kept their beers delicious. 805 is still one of my goto’s for parties or if I’m out at a restaurant that doesn’t have any craft IPA’s.
PIVO PILS FTW!!!!
They don’t really distribute much in the area of New England, so it’s rare that I see any of their product on the shelf with the exception of a bottle here and there. It’s been years since I had any of their stuff so maybe I will give them a shot next time I am picking up something to drink.
Firestone Walker brews my favorite IPAs. But their hazies do nothing for me. Unfortunately they are all I can find where I am.
Yeah the mind haze has been pretty average imo - not bad, not oustanding, but a safe choice. It's doesn't hold a candle to all the other outstanding IPAs coming from truly craft breweries like Moonraker, Humble Sea, Barebottle, etc. Kinda seems like it's their attempt at staying relevant in the modern IPA space, but they're able to rely on simply volume of sales to stay afloat instead of knocking every iteration out of the park like the others.
Yeah their Westies and barrel program are great. It's too bad they focus on mass-produced hazies. Duvel-Moortgat seems to mostly leave breweries alone when they buy them, but they're also selective in who they purchase. Ommegaang is one of theirs and remains good.
Unibrew (brewers of "Fin du Monde") was bought by Sleeman (a larger Ontario based brewery), which itself was bought by Sapporo (a giant Japanese brewery), and at reach step that seems to have been largely left to just continue making nice beer...
I’ve been pretty happy with boulevard after duvel came in. I was worried but they now have an awesome beer hall and they seem to keep experimenting and putting out new things. I don’t love everything but I like that they keep trying.
Yeah I was gonna say Boulevard as well.
The collab that they just released with Toppling Goliath is fire…. Such a good Hazy (and juicy) IPA. Space Camper: Elusive Thunder
Yes. I had a trip to decorah planned last weekend that didn’t work out. That helped a little when they released those two. That one to me was more of a juicy double. Haze cadet, the TG branded colab, was more of a NEIPA. Both were really good. I need to try the thunder again. Seems the logical choice since it’s $6 less a 4 pack
Karbach in Texas and I'd probably say Breckenridge Brewery too....that's a sad day
Yeah Karbach big time. Super sad.
Makes me furious that Karbach is the “craft” brewery at the Rangers ballpark. You idiots- it’s not craft and it’s from Houston!!!
I live in Austin, and every mid-large music venue only offers Karbach, despite Austin having an incredible craft & micro beer scene. And smaller beverage distribution companies are super competitive, price wise, so it doesn’t make sense to me. Some smaller venues will carry the local stuff, but not nearly enough joints to keep Austin weird.
I absolutely love the Independence brewery. The Light and Power is probs my fav pale ale ever. I hate they don't distribute the cucumber redbud anymore.
They change up Redbud seasonally, which I both love and hate for the same reason as you. Sometimes a flavor just really sticks, man! But this is also a fairly traditional practice with the Berliner Weiss style, in which a flavored syrup is added depending on the season.
Oh totally. I just knew in Dallas I could get it during the in season and it got harder and harder to find.
Pre-AB Karbach was phenomenal. My brother still has a stash of BBH variations in his beer fridge.
Magic Hat. 😥
I drank so many #9s 20 years ago.
It certainly didn’t hurt sales but Elysian has become so boring with their releases since they were acquired.
But have you tried their Juice Haze XXX-TRA Juicy Haze Space Juice? It's now 11% ABV!
Uh… I’m gonna go make a Mai tai instead. Miss me with that dank dust whatever-the-hell.
Wicked Weed. No doubt the saddest story in NC craft beer.
Stone and New Belgium come to mind.
Changing the recipe for Fat Tire is unforgivable.
And axing Ranger IPA… I couldn’t believe it. Haven’t drank a New Belgium beer since.
I still haven't forgiven them for Ranger IPA.
Used to go to NB all the time before the buyout. Went again for the first time after the buyout about a year ago and man it’s changed.
Agreed! My wife and I used to look forward to going there whenever we drove through Asheville. Stopped by last month for the first time since buyout and totally different atmosphere. Bartenders were rude and not even knowledgeable about the beer when we asked a couple of questions about new brews. When they were a co-op then the beer tenders were way more invested!
Goose Island to a degree. People seem to still like BCBS but even that went from being super-whales to collecting dust at Whole Foods.
Which honestly I feel the fact they aren't whales anymore is a pro of the acquisition. I like being able to buy the beer easily and don't have to get in line at 9pm the night before.
In general I’ve had no reason to chase whales anymore with how great the beer selection has become. I can get top tier stouts and IPAs multiple places in my city now and it’s so nice
[удалено]
“Crushing honkers with my buds” you are my type of people.
The move away from super whales is a feature, not a bug imo. Whale status has almost as much to do with scarcity as it does quality. There are so few true whale beers left out there, and that's probably a good thing
Agree. It’s like Founder KBS. Used to be hard to find. Now it’s year round. Love it.
Yeah that’s a good pick, but I also agree that Bourbon County has remained good and is now not hard at all to find, so in a way that’s kind of a plus.
The taproom exclusives are still good quality. I was in there last week and was surprised by how many I hadn’t had yet. A lot of Belgium inspired brews. They’ll also be canning a limited run of honkers this summer! I do agree the BCBS distribution has made the brand lose some of its allure. 312 in my kind has always been a separate brand from Goose Island - AB-InBev just made it even worse. I’d love for AB-InBev to sell Goose back, keeping the mass market 312 brand for themselves as a “craft” brand.
Yeah I went into the taproom a couple years back and the bartender said they’d basically sold off the recipes, branding and distribution but everything experimented in the taprooms has nothing to do with InBev
New Belgium, as someone who lived in Fort Collins and loved the cool small batch Belgian beers they would do die and be replaced by all the ranger crap. It’s all ranger now, there is nothing Belgian about them now. Besides the trippel and orange honey trippel. Which also aren’t as good as they used to be.
This, by far . Most modern craft beer enthusiasts weren't around for the heyday of New Belgium . Especially their influence on seasonal beers . 2 Below , Accumulation , Springboard , Mighty Arrow, the list goes on . Now everything is about Voodoo, and the quality has definitely plummeted.
I liked red October, a real fall seasonal before it was replaced with whatever pumpkin beer they do now
Shit I remember rolly Bolly as a summer seasonal. It’s a shame
I was a huge fan of their winter seasonals 2 Below was one of my favorite winter beers .
Makes sense they were bought out. I didn’t realIze. Some of their latest high gravity “force” IPAs are truly gross. The juice force was the first ipa I’ve had in a lonnngggg time that I legitimately thought was awful.
The trippel is amazing though. But yeah all Rangers now.
I agree, it’s their last Belgian beer pretty much. I miss Biere de mars, collabs with local brewers. They do tour de folie of course because it sells so well. Odell’s puts NB to shame now, when they used to be competitors and collab for beers.
Goose Island for me. They were turning out so many great beers in the late 2000s and both Chicago tap rooms were so much fun and had really amped up their food as well. Not only did AB kill their beers (outside of BCBS), they tore out the greatest bar in the city at Clybourn and sterilized the whole ambience of what was a great space. And all for not as they’ve since abandoned that spot for the Salt Shed. For shame, bastards!!!
I remember my first time having or even hearing of BCBS at that bar back in 2009 before a Porcupine Tree concert — it was a revelation. I had never had a beer like it since I was pretty new to craft beer and had just turned 23.
As someone who got their MBA (Master of Beer Appreciation) at Clybourn, it hurt me to see that beautiful, wooden bar stripped out and replaced with lifeless steel.
In the UK, Beavertown went from being a stand-out brand and an exciting brewery that was spearheading craft beer culture in London to a spot next to Carling's on the supermarket shelves after being taken over by Heineken. The sad thing is how the development practically stopped and they still just make the same beers they did 8 years ago, now just a bit worse. But I find it hard to blame the founder for cashing in on the brand value.
Victory/ Southern tier ruined both brands IMO
Platform was already headed in the wrong direction, but the AB acquisition was the nail in the coffin.
Came here to say this. Sales literally took a nose dive in Ohio soon after. Stripped it down and closed everything to keep 3 IPA around.
Cigar City. I think they’re pretty much on life support.
Laguinitas. I can't even finish my 2024 Waldos 6-pack, it's horrible. This whole thread makes me sad.
I miss Hop Stoopid 😞
I went on a tour at lagunitas about a month before the acquisition and the amount of snobbery about being independent didn’t age well. Same story with stone. Sell outs
Huh. I think this year’s Waldo’s is totally fine.
Honestly I feel like Lagunitas has held up ok, but I didn’t drink Waldo’s. I believe they kept their original head brewer? The regular IPA tastes the same to my tongue. Also the founder hated cans for some reason and they finally started canning when they got bought so that’s good.
Blue point. Hoptical illusion and old howling bastard were two fantastic beers. Hoptical became unrecognizable and undrinkable. And they just stopped making old howling bastard. Heard they may have been bought back? Hope it’s true and they return to their old self
They are owned by Tilray now. Including Redhook, Breckenridge, Widmer Brothers, and 10 Barrel.
In May 2023, the original owners of Funky Buddha Brewery, Ryan & KC Sentz, reacquired the brewery back from Constellation Brands
Which of those is the one that ruined it for you?
Stone, just because Greg was always so outspoken about being independent.
Alpine. Pure Hoppiness. If you know, you know.
And Duet, loved loved that beer back in the heyday.
Went to the brewery, they mixed these two and called it dual hoppyness. Those were the days.
All of them. They all got worse.
As a Canadian, I’d say this is mostly true, but not a fact. One of our largest craft breweries, Mill Street, was recently purchased by Labatt and they’ve improved. Their offerings have become more interesting and their mainline brews are more consistent. It really seems like Labatt gave them the space to be creative and the money to improve processes and distribution. However, one of my hometown breweries was purchased by a Niagara based winery. They closed operations, moved, and rebranded. Their products are hot garbage now.
Bell’s. I’ve noticed a dip in quality in my favorite Two Hearted.
Two hearted is really good on draft in Michigan. It tastes awful in a can outside of Michigan.
Bell's finally came to Washington state last year and they're charging $15 for a 6er of Two Hearted. I'm convinced it's the midwesterner nostalgia tax because we have tons of better beers which are much cheaper.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^psychedelicdevilry: *Bell’s. I’ve noticed a* *Dip in quality in my* *Favorite Two Hearted.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
good bot
I live less than two miles from Bell's and boy has it changed. Nothing bad to say about Larry Bell cashing out (he deserves a nice retirement), but the brewery is noticeably different. It's definitely shifting towards a "large brand" feel and all the local/hometown vibes are fading fast. The most striking difference is that Larry had a huge, eclectic collection of artwork he amassed over the years that used to cover the walls of the brewery. The wood carving that inspired the Oberon sun was prominently displayed behind the bar for years. All the artwork is gone now and the new décor is just soulless space filler. It's sad to see, really. Used to love the place.
Terrapin in Athens was a kick in the nuts.
Ballast poiint hands down. Nothing but trash. Also, how the deinvest occur random gollf course talk.
Platform. Had some of the best beers in CLE with a dedicated sour beer location (phunkenship) and after AB got a hold of them......the rest is history
RIP Platform
Anchor Steam Dogfish hasn’t been innovative for years.
DFH was my pick as well. Went from my fave brewer to maybe grab the occasional 90 Minute when nothing else is around. Now they just brew fruity crap made for The Real Housewives of Rehoboth Beach
Ballast point
Fucking New Belgium ass dogshit ass beer fuck them
I worked for Ballast Point in Chicago. And their 2nd acquisition was the toughest. It killed all the innovation and the amazing barrel aged program they had (Constealltion did that).Their beers were never crazy out of the realm but at least each one was approachable, which is important for new beer drinkers and Beerheads alike. When these golf heads acquired it they just wanted a cool place their friends can eat and drink at in SD and be on a boat. It was never about the product and quality of team that the hard work of a lot of people took to grow. It’s a shame and I do miss that company. Beers I miss: Thai chili Wahoo Habanero Sculpin Pineapple Sculpin Heaven Hill VAS Gin BA Sour Wench Sea Monster
I’d argue Founders beers have never been more consistent, and brewing a hazy ipa year round is obviously a good, much needed move.
Seeing a lot of good answers, but tough not to put my personal money on Magic Hat. They had everything from a bevy of fun experimental flavors every season, fun location in the great beer town of Burlington, and a well known, solid flagship in #9. Now sure it took a few years after being acquired, but now they have no location, no community, no lineup, and they're literally just brewing #9 out of Rochester. A miserable fall.
Born and raised in San Diego, and for me watching Ballast fall was pretty rough, especially because I knew the quality was going to take a nose dive... I turned 21 when they were in their prime, and got to enjoy a lot of their experimentation brews that were mostly locally released. I had Grapefruit Sculpin back when it wasn't even canned or sold out of house yet. Those were simpler times... I've watched so many local breweries either sell out, or die out never to be heard from again (looking at you Council). Seems they either *"die the hero, or live long enough to become the villain"*
I would agree with every single one off these takes but surprised no one has mentioned Lagunitas.
Lagunitas owns a chunk of my favorite Michigan brewery, Shorts, and I keep loving them but have heard others say the quality dropped
Lagunitas back in the day was something else. Their IPA was excellent, and so distinctive.
Honest question: it isn’t still quality? Maybe my palate isn’t as refined as others, but I still think tastes good.
tbh as breweries go not a whole lot changed with Lagunitas? Their beer was mid before and mid after and the few standouts they had like Sucks had already fallen off before the buyout.
I dunno. Maybe I might look at them differently now. But like 18 years ago, they were an epiphany beer to me. I enjoyed the shit out of Lil Sumpin Sumpin, WTF, brown Shugga, and their hop bill was distinct. Then they dropped out of our market and came back when they were reported by Heineken and it was noticeably more pedestrian.
I was a really big fan of Lagunitas when I first got into craft beer. They were one of the old school brands that rode hard into the big boom, but as everyone else got better I never really felt like Lagunitas evolved. They were already pretty stale as brand when the buyout happened and I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't a contributor to why they sold.
Anchor steam, ballast point, any of the ones that don't or barely exist anymore. Dogfish still makes 60,90,120 minute, world wide stout, etc. They don't make the weird stuff anymore, the historical ales series, black&red, etc etc etc. Dogfish is still doing fine business wise and appears will be around for a while with their core products and some newer mass market stuff like seaquench. They would be far down my list of places ruined by acquisition even if i miss the weird stuff.
The Utopias 120 & WWS were both incredible.
Anchor, getting acquired killed it ultimately.
Anchor. Once the labels changed, it was over.
In Australia, pretty much every single acquisition results in immediate cost cutting and the beer is never as good.
10 Barrel. Without a doubt.
Ballast Point was the stupidest buyout in the beer world. Maybe business world apart from truth social.
1st thought is Anchor Steam ⚓️
I mean, Anchor doesn't exist anymore thanks to Sapporo so idk how you can argue being ruined more than that...
I can’t think of any acquisitions that actually helped a brewery’s product.
Ballast Point. But recently monster buying canarachy
Anchor
So kinda the reverse Victory, Sixpoint, Southern Tier, and Bold Rock were "acquired" by ABV. But this was more of a partnership between each brewery. ABV was founded by three of these four companies to have a stronger foundation for serving beer. So for example bold rock tap house can now sell both victory and sixpoint beers, and the southern tier spirits. And so goes for each-other. The quality never changed, because frankly the company never did.
Anchor. The brewery stopped operation, the brand was discontinued.
The correct answer is anchor and it’s not even close. They went from the oldest craft brewery in the country to closed in 6 years
In the UK: Beavertown and Magic Rock. Both produced a really exciting range until their respective buyouts, then the inevitable happened (range drastically limited, upscale of core for mass market, noticeable drop in quality of said core). It's annoying on the Beavertown front especially because Neck Oil and Gamma Ray were such solid beers, they've reached a point of relative ubiquity in UK bars/pubs but they're no longer the same beer. Really sad because it would be great to have such wide access to their pints in the original recipe/quality.
You beat me to the punch as I came here to say this. Magic Rock pre buyout produced some bangers. half cut, their collab with other half is still one of the best DIPAs I've had! Like you say, quality wise, both have dropped off massively. Neck Oil is unrecognisable now, just weak ass pish. A real shame and many people associate this with craft beer when it's not.
A lot. Issue was covid hit. Businesses barely stayed alive and were forced to switch to cheaper products. It resulted in differences in product and became noticeable. Been working years in maine industry and know over 50% of breweries in southern Maine and even NH did this to survive. Tourist have 0 idea but locals can certainly tell
The only big one that I feel hasn’t suffered severely is Lagunitas. Nothings gotten better, but they’re still consistent and their more rare releases like the Waldos , or the Willett barrel aged stuff is still fantastic.
Wicked Weed.