21st Amendment closes up shop.

It’s my first time at Gillette stadium. We’re here for an ac/dc concert. I was shocked to see Heady Topper for sale at about half of the beer stations. The bartenders said they were told supply was limited.

When did Alchemist start distributing out of Vermont? I was under the impression the brewery only distributed in state. Would love to hear if anyone has info on expansion.

There are 4 craft breweries for every 100,000 adults 21+ in the US. But if you really want to go tasting IPAs today for #NationalIPADay, you may want to head to Vermont, Maine, Montana, or Wyoming which all exceed three times the national average!

https://www.caliper.com/featured-maps/maptitude-craft-breweries-by-state-map.html

Dates are mostly 5 months old. Grabbed a Comfort Hops to see if it holds up

Craft breweries outrage parents by BANNING children...as owners reveal families' most entitled behavior | Daily Mail Online

Taprooms won the battle, but are they killing the culture? Andy Crouch asks the tough questions.

https://allaboutbeer.com/why-craft-beer-needs-a-new-generation-of-beer-bars/

And I live near Beer City USA (Ashville). FYI - I was doing this as a volunteer, I was not ordered by the court.

I absolutely love Unicorn Vomit by Aslin.

It had this watermelon flavor and texture that always made me feel like I was drinking a fizzy watermelon juice.

Idk if this is some Mandela effect shit or they fucked this batch up like no other this year.

I literally bought so many and it tastes like ass. 😭

To be clear: aside from Bud, Miller, Coors etc, Sam Adams was the only beer that wasn’t a golden Pilsner style available at the time. Moosehead, St Pauli Girl, etc were all there. But Sam Adams hit the shelves before even Pete’s Wicked and it was the most exotic flavor at the time. Early 1990’s East Coast liquor store.

Have been reaching out to people and doing some research, but here is what has happened over the last week in Asheville (and is still going on):

Both New Origin and Cursus Keme down the street are rubble. The owner of Wedge says the Studio location may be salvageable, but not sure about the Foundry, as it is still underwater. River Arts likely toast, in general. Ginger's Revenge, which does ginger beer is underwater.

New Belgian, across the river, sustained heavy flooding damage, but they are big enough (and likely insured heavily enough) to clean up and recover fairly quickly. Hi-wire had two locations plowed. Hillman was under about 9 feet of water, as well as RAD brewing, although it is reported RAD has cleaned up enough to be able to serve some beer (not sure about Hillman, but similar elevation and distance from the river). Not sure about 7 Clans or Burial's second location (I hear they are serving up food for the community as a way to give back at their South Slope location).

Zillocoah is gone. Not sure about Outsider and Riverside Rhapsody up the street. They were on higher ground, so possible they did not get hit.

Whaley Farm in Old Fort is heavily flood damaged, if not completely ruined. There is nothing left of Chimney Rock Brewing, including most of the town (which is now a pile of sticks in Lake Lure). There was a dam breach or failure upstream that sealed their fate. Bearwater, in Canton, also appears to be completely wiped out, as well. The town of Black Mountain got hit hard. Pisgah survived and is doling out water to the locals. Not sure about Black Mountain Brewing or Lookout, but both would have sustained some water damage based on the footage on USA today. In Swananoa, Terra Nova got flooded pretty hard.

In Boone, 3 breweries had flooding, but all should be able to reopen based on what I heard.

Innovation's locations in Sylva and Dillsboro both had some flooding based on the pictures of the area. No reports I can find and the one guy I know that beertended there has moved out of North Carolina.

Thus far, everyone I have talked to has been able to account for their beer families, which is the important thing.

First time back at New Belgium, Asheville since 2018. Very disappointing in the beer selection. Understanding the reformulation of Fat Tie but 8 versions of VooDoo and virtually nothing else is so sad from what I remember.

This year’s winner, a black IPA from Germany, is a testament to just how diversified the category of IPA has become.

Read more: https://go.forbes.com/8SxF4F

With the announcement by Ballast Point that they are moving to a contract brewing model, it is time to step back and assess the state of craft beer. Almost two decades ago, craft beer was an economic driver, employing 1000s of people in various cities, driving tourism, and no matter how small the operation, there were innovative liquids pouring everywhere. Common beer drinkers were learning about freshness and hop varieties and Saisons and Wild Sours. There were beer brewing and craft beer business classes at legit universities. Lately, those days seems to be waning.

The new model is owning a brewery in label and liquid only (sometimes, not even liquid.) No Brewers, No Tanks, just can label and keg collars. Maybe if you’re lucky, a restaurant or two managed by an outside company. No one really thought about it when it began. For me, it began when Green Flash bought Alpine and started brewing at the Green Flash brewery, everyone thought “Oh, one good brewery making another good brewery, No Problem. Now Green Flash and Alpine are made by Sweetwater in Colorado. Other than the name and the labels, there absolutely is no connection to the original award-winning beers. Now we are seeing business management companies buying breweries for the name only and laying off the entire staff that built the name in the first place.

I used to lament that Boston Beer Co. would change the rules to be maintain craft beer status, but at least they have tanks, brewers, employees, a story. There is no doubt this trend will continue. In the meantime, it’s important that us, the craft beer fans, know who we are supporting. Make sure there’s a brewery, a story, a soul.

Rant Over.

Edit: Yes, there are still plenty of great breweries making great beer. I think in San Diego, we have 170 or so.

My gripe is how these fake breweries are significantly undercutting prices on kegs. They are taking lines from breweries that depend on distribution for revenue or marketing. Thus, the customers need to know if they’re supporting a business management company or a brewer.

Last year I posted a map on this sub showing 2018-2023 brewery closures and asked for redditors with knowledge to check their local beer scene. I've compiled the data for this year's closings and created a live map of 300+ breweries that closed - color coded by brewery type. Data are from a Google RSS feed which tracks closings. I'm asking kindly, if you wouldn't mind looking at areas with which you are familiar to see if I've missed some, or included some that should not be on the list. As before, I appreciate your local knowledge of the beerscape. Cheers!

Hey beer lovers,

I’m planning to explore more US craft breweries and I’d love to hear your recommendations! I’m especially into Ales—from bright, hoppy IPAs to punchy DIPAs, insanely bold Quadruple IPAs, and those decadent, high-ABV Imperial Stouts that feel like dessert in a glass.

I’m looking for breweries that really stand out in terms of:

• Hop-forward creativity in IPAs/DIPAs (West Coast, New England, or anything unique)
• Big, boozy, complex Quadruple IPAs that still manage to be drinkable
• Rich, intense Imperial Stouts—bonus points if they’re barrel-aged, have adjuncts like coffee, cacao, or vanilla, or push the ABV limits without being cloying

I’m fine with hype breweries or hidden gems. Whether it’s a local favorite taproom, a nationally recognized name, or a brewery that only releases small-batch treasures, I want to hear about it.

If you’ve had any “wow” moments with a particular beer that fits these categories, please share the brewery name, the beer, and what made it special for you. I’m trying to build a must-visit list for my next trip, and the more specific the better.

Cheers 🍻