I went to bissell brothers for the first time a few weeks ago and am an even bigger fan of that brewery now - they are a really cool well run small company with bomb ass beer and treat their staff well +++
This sucks so bad https://www.sfgate.com/food/article...IwHed2y_gRBJ4aoPMIH3N56hq_y2glARUG7UaiWfFeDvY
Good Beer Hunting had a great article about it as well. It's a damn shame, but I can't help but think of it as a re-focus on the market that matters most to Sapporo: California. "What critics might call ruthless, Sapporo no doubt sees as merely realistic. (Sapporo USA leadership declined to make anyone available for an interview for this story.) With Anchor’s chain retail volumes declining an average of -15% per year since 2015, Sapporo needed to make changes to reduce costs associated with national sales for the brand. Anchor sold 82% of its packaged beer volume in California last year, according to data from market research company Circana; the company says 70% of the brewery’s overall volume—including draft—comes from its home state."
Yeah unfortunately I understand it, it's just sad. I really love that Christmas ale and look forward to it every year,
Really no reason to ever support these big breweries buying up everyone. I know that was always obvious, but this is just going to keep happening.
This really leveled me. Probably my favorite brewery tour I've been on. Looks like cutting national distro and discontinuing Christmas Ale was a precursor to this...
Both of these were excellent but man, Schilling’s lagers are on another level. The Deciduous is really tropical tasting without being too sweet.