I agree with you, bunch of breweries that make cheap beer for low cost, not a quality product, making dishonest competence to the brewers that make good beers.
This imo. I think there's a lot of oversaturation with schlocky, everyday beers and I think this is what makes the PB&J offering and its Black Friday-like success from Xul so important (bear in mind I'm only guessing but I assume): they spent a lot of time researching and developing a delicious, refreshing, novel beer flavour that also delivered the right ABV rather than brew and output a million IPAs, pale ales, lagers, etc that everyone is doing and has already done to death (even though they probably also do that, the PB&J is a new exploration/offering in the industry). I think there's also another factor to consider with the PB&J - and this is a bit of a sleeper effect that I think is interesting - and that is capitalising on the nostalgia that a PB&J actually brings to the target market (late Gen X - early to mid gen Millennial ie mid to late 70s and 80s born consumers). You even said it yourself, "Tasted exactly like third grade". I think that's something that also adds a lot of hidden or almost subconcious value to the beer (can I vote for a future video title somewhere down the line: "PsyOp Sour", "PsyOp IPA", "Pokemon IPA", "Megatron/Hot Rod IPA"? lol). That plus the limited release turning it into a true commodity... but also in terms of the shrinking of the industry, yeah, it's the post-COVID-19 inflation and economic shrinking 100%. People don't have the money to drink out or even at home like they used to... but it will bounce back after we get through this period and when it does there'll be opportunities for brewers and consumers to grab, but, until then, times are going to be tough and boring :/... also *my best Chris Rock impersonation* FUCK Gen Z (this is a joke for those playing at home :P, the kids are allright).
Mediocre? Nah. People are taking the quality of beers out there for granted. Back in the 90’s when craft breweries took off, yeah lots a mediocre (if that) beer.
Believe in lagers! They will always be cool and timeless I'm in Minnesota. A lot of big breweries are closing due to expansions prior to COVID that they couldn't crawl out from, and also the large increase in property costs that the breweries can't take when they're leases are up. Funny enough, the really small 3-5bbl places are still doing well. The place a block away from my house can only brew 3 bbls at a time, so they've never been able to expand past the local foot traffic. In a way, it forced them to stay lean and focus on quality. It's also harder to go bankrupt when you are in lower amounts of debt
I live in Los Angeles and my go to brew pub was Modern Time Dankness Dojo. They are originally from San Diego and they expanded so hard and had to basically close all their locations except the ones in SD county. I loved that place. Used to go before going to see the Red Wings play the Kings at the staples center
I also feel like variety has gone down. Everything is 69.420% Imperial Cold IPA dry hopped with gold but sometimes I just want an ESB. One of the beauties of homebrewing tho, cheers braj!!
I'm in Scotland. We have many craft beer breweries, and because Scotland is small we can get to a lot of them easily. The issue is a) fashion has changed. And probably more so b) young people are not drinking. My home town used to be packed on Friday Saturday nights as we as kids went out. Streets and pubs were packed. Today the pubs which remain are more empty than full. Many getting 4-5 people in. All older. The younger lot don't "go out". Most nightclubs have closed. The entire culture is changed. Government policy hasn't helped. There us a war on alchohol at the moment. Minimum pricing brought in and now the government has changed. The duty on beer so that the stronger it is, the more duty (tax) they pay, as a result the styles I love, tripels and Imperials are under attack. Macro beer companies are now reducing abv on many beers changing their nature entirely and the small breweries, who are already struggling are going to find themselves having to change or drop all these above 4% beers altogether.
I am so happy after 5 years of brewing to be able to serve myself freshly tapped and perfectly hopped brew. Three kegs in rotation. minimal effort to brew after learning all the different hacks. I am not positive but I think you encouraged me to start to brew force carb and Lutra Kveik. Dont even own a fermenter. no chill overnight ferment right in the kettle because leaving the brew on the yeast cake wasn't getting clear enough and amount was reduced. clawhammer also had a part in getting me back into brewing consistently, It is awesome you guys became pals. you are great just like them at keeping the process and culture fun but just enough seriousness to provide great resources for everyone. too many kooky pro brewers with crazy egos. brewing is like religion, there are many interpretations. I hope I get to try some of you beer one day. until then salud!
There was a brewery by me in NY that had crazy beers like that. They had mint chocolate chip, cotton candy, etc, and they were really good. It was cool in the beginning, but after a while, i think people got tired of it after the novelty wore off. It's hard to drink a beer all night that tastes like PB&J. They ended up selling it, and another brewery took over with their own beers. I hope the industry can stay strong, though. Inflation is not helping things right now. Cheers Braj
I really enjoy your videos. I’m in San Diego right now, hitting every craft beer in the city, thinking about you. Keep it up, braj. You’re a home brew inspiration.
I think people are realizing that even though all these craft beers have their place, you can’t beat a good ole crisp lager/ale/pils🍺, a med body amber/bock, or an old school stout! New things are nice, but passing. Classics never die!!!!
Xul is kicking butt. I live in Chicagoland and it is on our radar. I unfortunately missed it when I was in Knoxville based on hours of operation, but enjoyed Pretentious instead. They had a NE TIPA w/ marshmallow which was quite good. The market in Chicagoland is the same. Ways to be successful: 1) Have a good kitchen 2) Brew the best beer or 3) Have magic taproom environment. The last I don't understand, but a few taprooms with very marginal beer pack them in.
I have a lot of thoughts on this. The market became over saturated, The big 3 have waged war on craft beer and are winning, beers got too hoppy too big and weird, recipes got too complicated, the bar experience has totally changed, classic beer styles have all but disappeared. I recently tried a NA craft beer and was pleasantly surprised. My local craft brewery hasn't changed beers in 15 years, and they desperately need to. They are currently contract brewing for fake breweries. My advice is start brewing cheap Lagers and ales, classic styles, and session beers optimized for profit. Sell on volume, let the one off PB&J beers be your mystery beers to draw people in. Every market is different, know your market.
I think you nailed it, NAs, Sessions, Classics and lagers. Breweries and consumers chased gimmicky, unbalanced styles and whales too hard. Everyone is burnt out. Look at the breweries and styles that survived decades, centuries in Europe, they created drinkable, balanced styles and perfected them. Say what you will about Macro/Adjunct lagers, they're closer to the ideal than a lot of craft offerings.
Ya, many breweries focused to heavily on "one and done" beers and hop bombs. If a customer can only drink one beer, you might as well forgo the tap room and put in a drive thru. @@Roy_1
That is it, lagers, weiss, ales, dark beers, stouts, throw in some gimmicky stuff for the out there customer and you have a winner. The pub experience needs to get back to basics, get the food right, throw in some chips, popcorn, fries, wings etc.
The atmosphere in most brew pubs isn't very inviting. They are large, open aired industrial looking places with too much glass and no charm or intimate appeal Many are like walking into a McDonalds. @@arjunchatterjee1696
For me and this may be a misnomer it’s been all the IPA over saturation. Tired of IPA. They were alright when this craft craze started but when every craft is IPA it gets old.
I agree. The problem with the IPAs is most of them aren't really India Pale Ales. It's ok brewing a modern interpretation of an old beer style, but when the result is so different to the original style (as these modern ones like Juicy/Hazy/White IPAs are) they should probably be classed as something else. If you compare them to a traditional IPA they are nothing like that and are so different that they should probably have their own style names - that doesn't include the letters 'IPA'.
Love the content CH. I live in Northeast Ohio. So many breweries. A couple years back as more began opening, I thought for sure we were reaching over-saturation. Sure enough, that day has come. Many have been closing. Craft beer is like Boston Market. Grew way too quickly.
I love it when breweries do special releases that you have to be there for. When I lived in Kalamazoo I worked across the street from Bell's and saw a huge line outside. So I went over and asked what everyone was waiting in line for. Apparently, it was for their Black Note stout. It was released every two years, they didn't advertise it and you had to be there cause they would only sell 3 4packs at a time until it sold out. Great video man! I watched the Bru Shows video about the PB&J collab!
I must've missed the memo too because i still dream of opening a brewery and i put a lot of effort into it. If im wrong.. at least i will do what i love. I cant imagine nothing better to do
Love it brah! Totally been seeing places close or go bankrupt but I think it’s because people are over the scene and want a change or more like food and cool stuff like drinking arcades or something. It’s getting weird
Everything is too expensive. Even my local craft breweries are watering down their recipes to sell more to people who don’t like flavor they just want to drink for the buzz. Too many IPA’s and not enough well balanced classic styles being offered. Also at 34 years old the hangovers for me are getting pretty rough.
I'd be curious to see your recipe. Not big on sours but also am too concerned with ruining a fermenter when making one. Starsan soak for a year! Might steal your mojo and do a brew vid of it :P Cheers!
I go for a Saison whenever I can but they're rare now. Hell, I was in Harrisburg PA over the weekend and found a Cream Ale on tap!!! I'm from Rochester NY and Genny Cream Ale is notorious up here, but I never see Cream Ales anywhere else. I don't always want a Double Dry Hopped Hazy Mosaic, Citra, Galaxy Triple IPA... As a homebrewer it also annoys me when a Saison or Cream Ale is the same price as the previously mentioned overcomplicated IPA...
The beer model has changed. It’s less about production and more about serving your local community. No distribution and a small selection of beers to go. And the quality matters, everyone can make beer but it’s not easy to make good beer.
I wish that was true, but numbers don't back that up. Homebrew shops are closing faster than breweries and I read more and more folks on the homebrew forums leaving the hobby.
A guy I talked to at Bent Water Brewing in Lynn, MA said the seltzer products were taking a big bite out of beer sales. Don t know if that’s true but it makes sense.
dude, had the Xul PB&J drink tonight at the Hardin Valley location. Amazing. I actually like their Mexican Lager and Czech Dark Lager as well. Grew up here in Knoxville and when I visit I try to go to some breweries. Watched this last night and headed to Xul... great place.
Its not inflation that costs you more. Why are the corporations recording record profits if its just the dollar has less value for everyone? Also PBJ Mixtape is gross but anything that invigorates and pushes people to brew more is fantastic.
The problem with the craft beer industry in the UK is there are too many small breweries all producing the same average beers, too many of which are flavoured with mango, peanut butter, marshmallows, raspberry jam and any other crap that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a beer - reminds me of the alcopop beers that were all the fashion back in the 90's for a while. And then there's poor old India Pale Ale. It seems almost fashionable in the craft beer industry to stick the letters 'IPA' at the end of the name of any beer style even if it doesn't look, taste or smell anything like one. I'm a bit of a traditionalist - but you've probably guessed that already 😄.
Too many beers on the market that actually don't taste well. No balance. High price per bottle. Ugly screeming labels. I started brewing my own beer because here they sell beers at 3,20 Euro per bottle retail. Many beers and lagers are deluded with extra water. Hardly any hops are used to get more revenue profits. Also I prefer brown glass Steinie bottles. If I look at retail prices for Duvel, West Vletteren, Rochefort 10 Trappist, Grolsch Herfstbock... Then you see why people start brewing their own beers at home and don't buy them in the stores anymore.
hahahahaha WILD that I see the one person from San Deigo that I know in your video randomly. Devin serving you at 2.09, I've known her since like 2009. She's awesome.
It’s for sure a lot of different stuff. Yesterday I bought a 4 pack from Hen House brewing and it was 27 dollars….I didn’t even realize it till I got home and was blown away. I’m in California and for a craft beer 4 pack you’re looking at about 20 bucks after sales tax. And at any brewery here it’s 7 bucks a pint. I think we are all feeling inflation right now, especially at the grocery stores and when we have to cut shit out, it’s probably gonna be the 20+ dollar 4 packs now more often then not. But it’s also quantity over quality. I live right in between Sacramento and San Francisco and we have so so so many breweries. A lot of them rock and I would drag my balls through broken glass to grab a pint even if it’s 35 miles from me. But so many other suck. Suck ass. It’s a good 4 bad breweries to every 1 good brewery around here and maybe in general that’s the case. Some of these places are incredible locations with beautiful buildings, but you can super tell it’s owned by someone with deep pockets that didn’t know dick about good beer. I believe the good ones will be here to stay. The good breweries have a very loyal local customer base. The fat is getting trimmed right now in this space and it’s probably a good thing for the most part. Long live craft beer. Amen.
Lots and lots if bad beer. Young lagers. Cloyingly over sweet stouts. Blasphemy. I don't even care about new breweries. I only support those that make spectacular beer for my taste. No PB beer for me.
@@echardcore the PB beer is a novelty and it has it's place. I'm all for breweries being creative. The whole fruited pastry sour is still pretty popular and is bringing in new beer drinkers. I'm in favor of whatever attracts new customers to the world of craft beer. I'll still get one every now and then to share, but can't drink more than a few oz of it. But ask yourself, the brewery in this video was PACKED...do you really think the only popular beer they make was the PB beer? Or do you think they just make good beer and you can order something that you like because they just make good beer...in multiple styles.
@@jonathanwilliams1974 in reality I like seeing the market thrive and my friends making good salaries in the industry. In theory, if the baby-palates win, it's gonna be damned hard to find an ESB or a mild.... Oh wait.
Honestly, as a person who went from watching this channel to a brewer assistant... and doing a lot of mandatory beer chugs along the way... around here, the biggest draw is tap takeovers. Grab a brewery at the edge of a day trip range and people go crazy. There's something about exclusive feel that drives people up the wall. Brew pub packed from 3pm-10pm, max cap, and on a weekday. It's insane. You could just drive 3 hours to the brewery but it feels special for some reason.
You know what ? I have to agree. My drink of choice was craft beers. It was innovating and delicious. Had my binges. Thought that was living the life. Well now that am over 40, the body just doesn’t behave kindly to liquor as it did in my 20s and 30s. It doesn’t past the vibe check anymore for me. It’s cool honestly to get your shid together with sobriety in the background. So, yeah craft beer ain’t cool anymore
That’s exactly why craft beer is dead, because the most interesting beer to the common consumer is a peanut butter and jelly beer lol. It’s sad you can’t get a regular American stout from anyone anymore and the only regular porter available is Black Butte
As for the closure of breweries, what you're saying is dead on, but a big factor, at least for breweries near me, is cost of rent is sky rocketing. If you don't own your space as a brewery, you're probably hurting from overhead costs; especially from rent rates going up when time to renew leases is up. Now, stop teasing us and release the next video where we see how amazing your clone turns out!
One of our breweries out here makes a pbj beer. Their’s has no head, pours thick as fuck, and it’s also incredibly popular. I’m not a fan. It’s too far removed from regular beer.
Hey my buddy Daniel that works at XÜL was in that last XÜL shot before the video ended. I Homebrew here in Maryville or Murval as we would say it. Blount County Homebrew Club. Check us out at Hops in the Hills Festival June 22nd.
I'm honestly surprised it took this long. Where I live in North Carolina nearly every brewery sucks. They primarily brew indiscernible haze bombs. They survive on the "support local for the sake of it" mentality. And you can't throw a rock without hitting one. I was shocked that COVID didn't kill any of them. I don't want anyone to lose their job but it amazes me that they can stay afloat. Then there's travel. My wife and I travel to Europe twice a year. I've really gotten into wine. So when we get home should I buy a 25-dollar four-pack of bad local IPA or a solid wine? I still buy plenty of beer. But mainly Euro lagers while grilling or smoking meat.
Craft beer needs something simple but elegant. It needs something refreshing and innovative but new and simple. The PB&J beer reminds me of a quote from Bishop in the movie "Waiting": "When things in your life become stagnant, you're no longer happy with what you're doin, then you figure out what's important to you. Create your own penis showing game....metaphorically speaking."
I can’t handle the calories and the constant obsession with having to experience them all. I have some stouts on hand right now but it’s bothering me that I have nothing refreshing in the fridge to balance things out lol. It’s a vicious, delicious, expensive, cycle of obesity. A huge slippery slope. I’m jealous of craft beer lovers who can keep their weight under control
I find myself going back to the classics. But something like Sierra Nevada pale ale I know exactly what I’m getting. Been burned too many times on $20 4 packs of hazy IPAs, so im just buying what i already know is good and experimenting less.
Does America really need 5,000 breweries, all making IPA? I was a beer reformer when I was in high school under Jimmy Carter. There was garbage like Bud, there were like 4 German beers, there was Heineken, there was bad bottled Guinness, and that was all you could find unless you knew a special store. Back then, I didn't want 5,000 breweries making things like gluten-free Crunchberry stout for men who cry in yoga pants. I just wanted the big companies to start making some actual beer. I started brewing in '01, and back then, some real beers were finally arriving in stores, although it wasn't like today, when you can find 200 brews, most of them bad, in one grocery aisle. Since then, things have gone nuts. Too many guys have gotten drunk on homebrew with their buddies, taken out loans, and tried to live the dream. Without learning how to make good beer first. I quit brewing in '07 and returned last year. I had no idea homebrewing had become cool while I was away. I sincerely hope it wears off fast. I hope we keep enough people to keep businesses like Kegland and Morebeer going, along with places that sell grain for reasonable prices, but I don't want to be surrounded by kids who are only in it because of the herd instinct.
I did a video on this recently. I didn't touch on everything. I do think the craft industry is somewhat oversaturated. 20 somethings aren't drinking beer, especially craft beer, like other generations did. I think a big problem is all these breweries are making big giant high abv beers and tons of IPAs. Breweries need to make more approachable beers. If a brewery only have high abv beers I will drink one or two or maybe a flight. If they make normal abv beers I will drink 4-5+ and probably eat there. Plus when all the brewery has is IPAs i will have 1 and move on. Also I love XUL its a great brewery and Knoxville has a good beer scene. I went there in December and could not find a seat.
Yeah, the amount of times I've heard Zoomers roll their eyes at me and say something along the lines of "my dad likes that" whenever I talk about craft beer is definitely a lot
@@gingeryetiroadbeers I dunno from my experience most zoomers seem to either prefer weed or if they are drinking, it's mixed drinks and as a special occasion things. Most I know will hear "have a beer after work" and just call you a raging alcoholic - weirdly puritanical in a way
That new belgium article at the beginning triggers me... back in the mid 2000s they were my brewery... great lineup of beers, now they've ditched it all for doodoo ranger😂 at this point they could do a historical restart, just re-releasing their old beers and people would probably love it!
Btw ... Ive been REALLY DIGGIN' New Trail outta Williamsport Pa. Super quality 4packs from 11.99 5% to 14.99 7-8.5% beers. Thats super affordable nowadays
The new england IPAs and the smoothies have killed the industry. Everybody is making the same beers, hoping to sell them because of a cool looking can or a bunch of fruits in it. And they all taste the same, or they are very weird.
Honestly XÜL is the only place I get full pour sours… gluten free… and just bangers 🔥… trying to hit up Kill the lights festival this year… hope to see you there… that PB & J strawberry 🍓 is just 🔥💯🤘🏼🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥we got lucky to get a 4pk to take home to Cali … I miss TN tho 😂🥲
Sir… I know you don’t know me… but XÜL is throwing a PB&J day… 3/30/24… if you score any cans… I’ll trade whatever west coast beer you miss or want to try … lmk -Mario
Trent's Video! ua-cam.com/video/rvyoef77A8c/v-deo.html
Over saturation with mediocre beers and inflation.
I agree with you, bunch of breweries that make cheap beer for low cost, not a quality product, making dishonest competence to the brewers that make good beers.
This imo. I think there's a lot of oversaturation with schlocky, everyday beers and I think this is what makes the PB&J offering and its Black Friday-like success from Xul so important (bear in mind I'm only guessing but I assume): they spent a lot of time researching and developing a delicious, refreshing, novel beer flavour that also delivered the right ABV rather than brew and output a million IPAs, pale ales, lagers, etc that everyone is doing and has already done to death (even though they probably also do that, the PB&J is a new exploration/offering in the industry). I think there's also another factor to consider with the PB&J - and this is a bit of a sleeper effect that I think is interesting - and that is capitalising on the nostalgia that a PB&J actually brings to the target market (late Gen X - early to mid gen Millennial ie mid to late 70s and 80s born consumers). You even said it yourself, "Tasted exactly like third grade". I think that's something that also adds a lot of hidden or almost subconcious value to the beer (can I vote for a future video title somewhere down the line: "PsyOp Sour", "PsyOp IPA", "Pokemon IPA", "Megatron/Hot Rod IPA"? lol). That plus the limited release turning it into a true commodity... but also in terms of the shrinking of the industry, yeah, it's the post-COVID-19 inflation and economic shrinking 100%. People don't have the money to drink out or even at home like they used to... but it will bounce back after we get through this period and when it does there'll be opportunities for brewers and consumers to grab, but, until then, times are going to be tough and boring :/... also *my best Chris Rock impersonation* FUCK Gen Z (this is a joke for those playing at home :P, the kids are allright).
100% a major combo piece of the puzzle.
Mediocre? Nah. People are taking the quality of beers out there for granted. Back in the 90’s when craft breweries took off, yeah lots a mediocre (if that) beer.
Uhm, we all got broke is what happened. Hard to splurge on fancy beers when groceries are 200+ each trip
For where I live there should be even more of a reason to brew at home. At 30% of the cost of store bought.
@@garyelderman1229 yeah but just not drinking was the cheapest option for me.
@@garyelderman1229That also means breweries closing, and nobody is really tracking home brewing but the stores selling hops and malt
@@derekp6636not eating and drinking while living in my cardboard box is the cheapest option for me
Ah the joys of inflimmigration
Believe in lagers! They will always be cool and timeless
I'm in Minnesota. A lot of big breweries are closing due to expansions prior to COVID that they couldn't crawl out from, and also the large increase in property costs that the breweries can't take when they're leases are up.
Funny enough, the really small 3-5bbl places are still doing well. The place a block away from my house can only brew 3 bbls at a time, so they've never been able to expand past the local foot traffic. In a way, it forced them to stay lean and focus on quality. It's also harder to go bankrupt when you are in lower amounts of debt
I live in Los Angeles and my go to brew pub was Modern Time Dankness Dojo. They are originally from San Diego and they expanded so hard and had to basically close all their locations except the ones in SD county. I loved that place. Used to go before going to see the Red Wings play the Kings at the staples center
I also feel like variety has gone down. Everything is 69.420% Imperial Cold IPA dry hopped with gold but sometimes I just want an ESB. One of the beauties of homebrewing tho, cheers braj!!
Love the lead in/ back story video setup. I sure won't miss the next one.
Market might be over saturated but man is it awesome to be able to get incredible beer 10 mins from my house in a small town. I. Am. Here. For it.
Craft beer industry in Montana is my fav
I'm in Scotland. We have many craft beer breweries, and because Scotland is small we can get to a lot of them easily. The issue is a) fashion has changed. And probably more so b) young people are not drinking. My home town used to be packed on Friday Saturday nights as we as kids went out. Streets and pubs were packed. Today the pubs which remain are more empty than full. Many getting 4-5 people in. All older. The younger lot don't "go out". Most nightclubs have closed. The entire culture is changed. Government policy hasn't helped. There us a war on alchohol at the moment. Minimum pricing brought in and now the government has changed. The duty on beer so that the stronger it is, the more duty (tax) they pay, as a result the styles I love, tripels and Imperials are under attack. Macro beer companies are now reducing abv on many beers changing their nature entirely and the small breweries, who are already struggling are going to find themselves having to change or drop all these above 4% beers altogether.
Solid feedback braj!
I am so happy after 5 years of brewing to be able to serve myself freshly tapped and perfectly hopped brew. Three kegs in rotation. minimal effort to brew after learning all the different hacks. I am not positive but I think you encouraged me to start to brew force carb and Lutra Kveik. Dont even own a fermenter. no chill overnight ferment right in the kettle because leaving the brew on the yeast cake wasn't getting clear enough and amount was reduced. clawhammer also had a part in getting me back into brewing consistently, It is awesome you guys became pals. you are great just like them at keeping the process and culture fun but just enough seriousness to provide great resources for everyone. too many kooky pro brewers with crazy egos. brewing is like religion, there are many interpretations. I hope I get to try some of you beer one day. until then salud!
There was a brewery by me in NY that had crazy beers like that. They had mint chocolate chip, cotton candy, etc, and they were really good. It was cool in the beginning, but after a while, i think people got tired of it after the novelty wore off. It's hard to drink a beer all night that tastes like PB&J. They ended up selling it, and another brewery took over with their own beers. I hope the industry can stay strong, though. Inflation is not helping things right now. Cheers Braj
I really enjoy your videos. I’m in San Diego right now, hitting every craft beer in the city, thinking about you. Keep it up, braj. You’re a home brew inspiration.
Chea braj!
I think people are realizing that even though all these craft beers have their place, you can’t beat a good ole crisp lager/ale/pils🍺, a med body amber/bock, or an old school stout! New things are nice, but passing. Classics never die!!!!
Xul is kicking butt. I live in Chicagoland and it is on our radar.
I unfortunately missed it when I was in Knoxville based on hours of operation, but enjoyed Pretentious instead. They had a NE TIPA w/ marshmallow which was quite good.
The market in Chicagoland is the same. Ways to be successful: 1) Have a good kitchen 2) Brew the best beer or 3) Have magic taproom environment. The last I don't understand, but a few taprooms with very marginal beer pack them in.
Thanks for your videos! Taught me a lot. Been bottling for years but pulling the plug on kegging in March
I have a lot of thoughts on this. The market became over saturated, The big 3 have waged war on craft beer and are winning, beers got too hoppy too big and weird, recipes got too complicated, the bar experience has totally changed, classic beer styles have all but disappeared. I recently tried a NA craft beer and was pleasantly surprised. My local craft brewery hasn't changed beers in 15 years, and they desperately need to. They are currently contract brewing for fake breweries. My advice is start brewing cheap Lagers and ales, classic styles, and session beers optimized for profit. Sell on volume, let the one off PB&J beers be your mystery beers to draw people in. Every market is different, know your market.
I think you nailed it, NAs, Sessions, Classics and lagers.
Breweries and consumers chased gimmicky, unbalanced styles and whales too hard.
Everyone is burnt out.
Look at the breweries and styles that survived decades, centuries in Europe, they created drinkable, balanced styles and perfected them.
Say what you will about Macro/Adjunct lagers, they're closer to the ideal than a lot of craft offerings.
Ya, many breweries focused to heavily on "one and done" beers and hop bombs. If a customer can only drink one beer, you might as well forgo the tap room and put in a drive thru. @@Roy_1
That is it, lagers, weiss, ales, dark beers, stouts, throw in some gimmicky stuff for the out there customer and you have a winner. The pub experience needs to get back to basics, get the food right, throw in some chips, popcorn, fries, wings etc.
The atmosphere in most brew pubs isn't very inviting. They are large, open aired industrial looking places with too much glass and no charm or intimate appeal Many are like walking into a McDonalds. @@arjunchatterjee1696
For me and this may be a misnomer it’s been all the IPA over saturation. Tired of IPA. They were alright when this craft craze started but when every craft is IPA it gets old.
I agree. The problem with the IPAs is most of them aren't really India Pale Ales. It's ok brewing a modern interpretation of an old beer style, but when the result is so different to the original style (as these modern ones like Juicy/Hazy/White IPAs are) they should probably be classed as something else. If you compare them to a traditional IPA they are nothing like that and are so different that they should probably have their own style names - that doesn't include the letters 'IPA'.
Love the content CH. I live in Northeast Ohio. So many breweries. A couple years back as more began opening, I thought for sure we were reaching over-saturation. Sure enough, that day has come. Many have been closing. Craft beer is like Boston Market. Grew way too quickly.
I love it when breweries do special releases that you have to be there for. When I lived in Kalamazoo I worked across the street from Bell's and saw a huge line outside. So I went over and asked what everyone was waiting in line for. Apparently, it was for their Black Note stout. It was released every two years, they didn't advertise it and you had to be there cause they would only sell 3 4packs at a time until it sold out.
Great video man! I watched the Bru Shows video about the PB&J collab!
Chea braj!
I must've missed the memo too because i still dream of opening a brewery and i put a lot of effort into it. If im wrong.. at least i will do what i love. I cant imagine nothing better to do
Love both Chanels.
More colabs.
Essential viewing for all home brewers.
bro your storytelling is on point! fucking love your videos homie!!
Thx for watching braj! Sony fam 4 life!
You are the jelly to my peanut butter braj! 🍇🥜
Daaaamn, I got THAT reference, braj. Dude’s throwin haymakers on here!
Love it brah! Totally been seeing places close or go bankrupt but I think it’s because people are over the scene and want a change or more like food and cool stuff like drinking arcades or something. It’s getting weird
Back in like 2012 or so. I remember the craft beer scene was booming where I live. It was wild!
This video hits true. We need videos on how to save some cash while making dank beer, brother
Everything is too expensive. Even my local craft breweries are watering down their recipes to sell more to people who don’t like flavor they just want to drink for the buzz. Too many IPA’s and not enough well balanced classic styles being offered. Also at 34 years old the hangovers for me are getting pretty rough.
I'd be curious to see your recipe. Not big on sours but also am too concerned with ruining a fermenter when making one. Starsan soak for a year! Might steal your mojo and do a brew vid of it :P Cheers!
Can't wait to see the colab to make a clone of that PB&J brew!
The cliffhanger… can’t wait to hear the results on the hoppy hour later. 🍻
I go for a Saison whenever I can but they're rare now. Hell, I was in Harrisburg PA over the weekend and found a Cream Ale on tap!!! I'm from Rochester NY and Genny Cream Ale is notorious up here, but I never see Cream Ales anywhere else. I don't always want a Double Dry Hopped Hazy Mosaic, Citra, Galaxy Triple IPA...
As a homebrewer it also annoys me when a Saison or Cream Ale is the same price as the previously mentioned overcomplicated IPA...
Lmao, your video styles are SO different. I love it.
Where is your video? I need to try and make this beer/seltzer 😂
The beer model has changed. It’s less about production and more about serving your local community. No distribution and a small selection of beers to go. And the quality matters, everyone can make beer but it’s not easy to make good beer.
Quality content braj. Ready for the next
On the plus side, lots of folk are turning to home-brewing. That's how I stumbled across your channel!
I wish that was true, but numbers don't back that up. Homebrew shops are closing faster than breweries and I read more and more folks on the homebrew forums leaving the hobby.
A guy I talked to at Bent Water Brewing in Lynn, MA said the seltzer products were taking a big bite out of beer sales. Don t know if that’s true but it makes sense.
dude, had the Xul PB&J drink tonight at the Hardin Valley location. Amazing. I actually like their Mexican Lager and Czech Dark Lager as well. Grew up here in Knoxville and when I visit I try to go to some breweries. Watched this last night and headed to Xul... great place.
Nobody has extra money. duh, Inflation is killing restaurant/beer sales. Inflation is 22%.
Its not inflation that costs you more. Why are the corporations recording record profits if its just the dollar has less value for everyone? Also PBJ Mixtape is gross but anything that invigorates and pushes people to brew more is fantastic.
The problem with the craft beer industry in the UK is there are too many small breweries all producing the same average beers, too many of which are flavoured with mango, peanut butter, marshmallows, raspberry jam and any other crap that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a beer - reminds me of the alcopop beers that were all the fashion back in the 90's for a while. And then there's poor old India Pale Ale. It seems almost fashionable in the craft beer industry to stick the letters 'IPA' at the end of the name of any beer style even if it doesn't look, taste or smell anything like one. I'm a bit of a traditionalist - but you've probably guessed that already 😄.
Too many beers on the market that actually don't taste well. No balance.
High price per bottle. Ugly screeming labels.
I started brewing my own beer because here they sell beers at 3,20 Euro per bottle retail.
Many beers and lagers are deluded with extra water.
Hardly any hops are used to get more revenue profits.
Also I prefer brown glass Steinie bottles.
If I look at retail prices for Duvel, West Vletteren, Rochefort 10 Trappist, Grolsch Herfstbock... Then you see why people start brewing their own beers at home and don't buy them in the stores anymore.
hahahahaha WILD that I see the one person from San Deigo that I know in your video randomly. Devin serving you at 2.09, I've known her since like 2009. She's awesome.
broke so I brew my own alcohol now. where is your recipe?
Much luv braj-
Great video and great editing! I know how insanely time consuming it can be to make a video with this much b-roll.
It’s for sure a lot of different stuff. Yesterday I bought a 4 pack from Hen House brewing and it was 27 dollars….I didn’t even realize it till I got home and was blown away. I’m in California and for a craft beer 4 pack you’re looking at about 20 bucks after sales tax. And at any brewery here it’s 7 bucks a pint. I think we are all feeling inflation right now, especially at the grocery stores and when we have to cut shit out, it’s probably gonna be the 20+ dollar 4 packs now more often then not. But it’s also quantity over quality. I live right in between Sacramento and San Francisco and we have so so so many breweries. A lot of them rock and I would drag my balls through broken glass to grab a pint even if it’s 35 miles from me. But so many other suck. Suck ass. It’s a good 4 bad breweries to every 1 good brewery around here and maybe in general that’s the case. Some of these places are incredible locations with beautiful buildings, but you can super tell it’s owned by someone with deep pockets that didn’t know dick about good beer. I believe the good ones will be here to stay. The good breweries have a very loyal local customer base. The fat is getting trimmed right now in this space and it’s probably a good thing for the most part. Long live craft beer. Amen.
When the video ended I almost yelled.. "Nooooooooo!" Can't wait to see how the beer turns out. Sound really interesting.
BELL ICON TURNED ON! looking forward to another collab brew day video
🍻
Ten beers on tap at home and 7 full fermenters why go anywhere
Craft Beer isn't dead, just bad craft beer.
Lots and lots if bad beer. Young lagers. Cloyingly over sweet stouts. Blasphemy. I don't even care about new breweries. I only support those that make spectacular beer for my taste. No PB beer for me.
@@echardcore the PB beer is a novelty and it has it's place. I'm all for breweries being creative. The whole fruited pastry sour is still pretty popular and is bringing in new beer drinkers. I'm in favor of whatever attracts new customers to the world of craft beer. I'll still get one every now and then to share, but can't drink more than a few oz of it. But ask yourself, the brewery in this video was PACKED...do you really think the only popular beer they make was the PB beer? Or do you think they just make good beer and you can order something that you like because they just make good beer...in multiple styles.
@@jonathanwilliams1974 novelty isn't buying 2 cases of it! Hahah
@@jonathanwilliams1974 in reality I like seeing the market thrive and my friends making good salaries in the industry. In theory, if the baby-palates win, it's gonna be damned hard to find an ESB or a mild.... Oh wait.
@@echardcore Just brew them yourself :)
Chrono Trigger. My man! I love brewing beer and I love Chrono Trigger and when you combine those into 1 video you have my full attention.
Nice catch!
I’m personally burned out and just not excited about new beers like I used to be, not sure if that’s how other people are feeling too.
Honestly, as a person who went from watching this channel to a brewer assistant... and doing a lot of mandatory beer chugs along the way... around here, the biggest draw is tap takeovers. Grab a brewery at the edge of a day trip range and people go crazy. There's something about exclusive feel that drives people up the wall. Brew pub packed from 3pm-10pm, max cap, and on a weekday. It's insane. You could just drive 3 hours to the brewery but it feels special for some reason.
Over-saturation is all. Love your videos man.
Cheers!
sounds like the old not your fathers rootbeer....man i miss that so much
You know what ? I have to agree. My drink of choice was craft beers. It was innovating and delicious. Had my binges. Thought that was living the life. Well now that am over 40, the body just doesn’t behave kindly to liquor as it did in my 20s and 30s. It doesn’t past the vibe check anymore for me. It’s cool honestly to get your shid together with sobriety in the background. So, yeah craft beer ain’t cool anymore
Yes the prodigal brajlord has returned. The CH revival tour in full effect. Whhaattt whaatttt
That’s exactly why craft beer is dead, because the most interesting beer to the common consumer is a peanut butter and jelly beer lol. It’s sad you can’t get a regular American stout from anyone anymore and the only regular porter available is Black Butte
I'm so excited for the next Vid CH!!!
As for the closure of breweries, what you're saying is dead on, but a big factor, at least for breweries near me, is cost of rent is sky rocketing. If you don't own your space as a brewery, you're probably hurting from overhead costs; especially from rent rates going up when time to renew leases is up.
Now, stop teasing us and release the next video where we see how amazing your clone turns out!
One of our breweries out here makes a pbj beer. Their’s has no head, pours thick as fuck, and it’s also incredibly popular. I’m not a fan. It’s too far removed from regular beer.
Great vid, I only want to know one thing. How do I meet Devin?
You left us with a cliffhanger! Is craft beer dead? Trent's one looked pretty good! Cheers!
Braj, did you work out a good recipe for this one? Looking forward to the follow up vid
Next week!
Love your channel and content mannn.
Cheers!🍻
Epic intro 😂
Good to see you back brewing!
More to come!
I feel like this beer with a Stock & Barrel burger would be the ultimate meal. I need to get back to Knoxville soon.
My buddy had to close up shop last month in PA. Too many others in the area spending all their R&D on label artwork and mediocre $20 4 packs.
The old days of asking your boy at the store for a few Pliny's from the back👌🏻
Haha good times! 😎
Hey my buddy Daniel that works at XÜL was in that last XÜL shot before the video ended. I Homebrew here in Maryville or Murval as we would say it. Blount County Homebrew Club. Check us out at Hops in the Hills Festival June 22nd.
Murrvul, represent bro!
I'm honestly surprised it took this long. Where I live in North Carolina nearly every brewery sucks. They primarily brew indiscernible haze bombs. They survive on the "support local for the sake of it" mentality. And you can't throw a rock without hitting one. I was shocked that COVID didn't kill any of them. I don't want anyone to lose their job but it amazes me that they can stay afloat.
Then there's travel. My wife and I travel to Europe twice a year. I've really gotten into wine. So when we get home should I buy a 25-dollar four-pack of bad local IPA or a solid wine? I still buy plenty of beer. But mainly Euro lagers while grilling or smoking meat.
Yeah it weird when they lay the guilt trip on the customer “buy local or wave bye to local” 🤦♂️
That looks like a fun beer to brew up some time. 😎🍺
Craft beer needs something simple but elegant. It needs something refreshing and innovative but new and simple. The PB&J beer reminds me of a quote from Bishop in the movie "Waiting": "When things in your life become stagnant, you're no longer happy with what you're doin, then you figure out what's important to you. Create your own penis showing game....metaphorically speaking."
I watch that movie once a year 😎
I can’t handle the calories and the constant obsession with having to experience them all. I have some stouts on hand right now but it’s bothering me that I have nothing refreshing in the fridge to balance things out lol. It’s a vicious, delicious, expensive, cycle of obesity. A huge slippery slope. I’m jealous of craft beer lovers who can keep their weight under control
Can you survive off of PB & Js 4 life? No, but this video will sustain me forever. Cheers, Braj 🍻
Have a great weekend B!
I had a mini heart attack when I saw closing and New Belgium.. I thought it was the Asheville facility for a second😅
$23 dollar 4 packs and shitty beer is why theres a struggle. Like no fam, i dont want to try you 9 dollar pepperoni pizza flavored beer.
I find myself going back to the classics. But something like Sierra Nevada pale ale I know exactly what I’m getting. Been burned too many times on $20 4 packs of hazy IPAs, so im just buying what i already know is good and experimenting less.
Spot on, good ole cannabis sales in Canada are booming, and Gen Zers are drinking spritzers.
So glad you shouted out tanglefoot! They are worthy of more attention from brewtube!
Does America really need 5,000 breweries, all making IPA?
I was a beer reformer when I was in high school under Jimmy Carter. There was garbage like Bud, there were like 4 German beers, there was Heineken, there was bad bottled Guinness, and that was all you could find unless you knew a special store. Back then, I didn't want 5,000 breweries making things like gluten-free Crunchberry stout for men who cry in yoga pants. I just wanted the big companies to start making some actual beer.
I started brewing in '01, and back then, some real beers were finally arriving in stores, although it wasn't like today, when you can find 200 brews, most of them bad, in one grocery aisle. Since then, things have gone nuts. Too many guys have gotten drunk on homebrew with their buddies, taken out loans, and tried to live the dream. Without learning how to make good beer first.
I quit brewing in '07 and returned last year. I had no idea homebrewing had become cool while I was away. I sincerely hope it wears off fast. I hope we keep enough people to keep businesses like Kegland and Morebeer going, along with places that sell grain for reasonable prices, but I don't want to be surrounded by kids who are only in it because of the herd instinct.
I did a video on this recently. I didn't touch on everything. I do think the craft industry is somewhat oversaturated. 20 somethings aren't drinking beer, especially craft beer, like other generations did. I think a big problem is all these breweries are making big giant high abv beers and tons of IPAs. Breweries need to make more approachable beers. If a brewery only have high abv beers I will drink one or two or maybe a flight. If they make normal abv beers I will drink 4-5+ and probably eat there. Plus when all the brewery has is IPAs i will have 1 and move on. Also I love XUL its a great brewery and Knoxville has a good beer scene. I went there in December and could not find a seat.
Yeah, the amount of times I've heard Zoomers roll their eyes at me and say something along the lines of "my dad likes that" whenever I talk about craft beer is definitely a lot
@@SchwarbageTruck I get kids don't want to do what "old people" but I always thought drinking/beer was universal.
@@gingeryetiroadbeers I dunno from my experience most zoomers seem to either prefer weed or if they are drinking, it's mixed drinks and as a special occasion things. Most I know will hear "have a beer after work" and just call you a raging alcoholic - weirdly puritanical in a way
Eye opener video.
Shout out to your biological step father. Sounds like a top bloke 👍
Where is the MANDATORYYYY BEER CHUGGGGGG!
Braj! I think we might have the same biological step father! 😂
That new belgium article at the beginning triggers me... back in the mid 2000s they were my brewery... great lineup of beers, now they've ditched it all for doodoo ranger😂 at this point they could do a historical restart, just re-releasing their old beers and people would probably love it!
Btw ... Ive been REALLY DIGGIN' New Trail outta Williamsport Pa. Super quality 4packs from 11.99 5% to 14.99 7-8.5% beers. Thats super affordable nowadays
Gives me an idea for the Australian variant. Vegemite and Cheese Gose baby!
Great vid, and great analysis braj!
Yo! Hows that stout?
@@HOMEBREW4LIFE bro, it was sick! Great chocolate stout. Thanks so much!
Xul is phenomenal. No matter what you get from them you can always count on it tasting amazing
Nice meeting you braj!
@@HOMEBREW4LIFE 🍻
The suspense!
The new england IPAs and the smoothies have killed the industry. Everybody is making the same beers, hoping to sell them because of a cool looking can or a bunch of fruits in it. And they all taste the same, or they are very weird.
I thought craft beer died in a South African prison back in the 80’s?
Would love to see an apple jack video!
Im down!
We can taste the dextrose and malt extracts is what happened
Honestly XÜL is the only place I get full pour sours… gluten free… and just bangers 🔥… trying to hit up Kill the lights festival this year… hope to see you there… that PB & J strawberry 🍓 is just 🔥💯🤘🏼🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥we got lucky to get a 4pk to take home to Cali … I miss TN tho 😂🥲
See you at kill the lights!
@@HOMEBREW4LIFE LFG 🔥🤘🏼🆒🍻
Sir… I know you don’t know me… but XÜL is throwing a PB&J day… 3/30/24… if you score any cans… I’ll trade whatever west coast beer you miss or want to try … lmk
-Mario
This pb&j sales scheme is the tree house brewery model. Create a demand and limit the supply.
Pretty smart “scheme”
@@HOMEBREW4LIFE hell yeah. Look what it did for tree house.