17 replies to this topic

[HVB]

What happened?  Sad really, I like the hazy beers too but I think we all need variety.  Belgium comes to Cooperstown was an amazing event that will never happen again it seems.

 

 

 

 

https://www.goodbeer...der-of-beervana

 

"Brewery Ommegang—what the hell is up with Brewery Ommegang? Over the past couple months we learned that the brewery’s CEO, Doug Campbell, was leaving. Next to depart was Brewmaster Phil Leinhart. Now, the foreseeable future for this history-making, Belgian-inspired brewery—which once brought us iconic beers like Hennepin—will now be devoted to a juicy, Hazy IPA called Neon Rainbows."

[positiveContact]

I don't think people are that into belgian beers anymore. Very sad though. Rare vos is one of my fav beers. I even have a clone recipe where I harvested yeast from a couple of bottles. It was a great beer. Maybe it's time to make it again.

[Gusso]

I've been to Ommegang many times. Quite a beautiful brewery.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I was in NY this past weekend and specifically went out for Ommegang beer. Got me some Three Philosophers.

[positiveContact]

wow - lots of specialty malts in my rare vos clone but I remember really liking it.  is the yeast used in that known at this point?  I remember way back there were lots of conflicting info on which strain to buy which is why I harvested from the bottle.

Edited by Mando, 02 November 2020 - 05:52 PM.

[HVB]

I don't think people are that into belgian beers anymore. Very sad though. Rare vos is one of my fav beers. I even have a clone recipe where I harvested yeast from a couple of bottles. It was a great beer. Maybe it's time to make it again.

Your clone beer was really  good.  I remember enjoying a bottle of that.

[positiveContact]

I still have some really old styrian Golding hope in the freezer. Not sure if those are any good anymore!

I recall you saying you haven't used sweet orange peel. That beer had sweet orange peel, coriander and star anise (only a little).

Edited by Mando, 03 November 2020 - 06:32 AM.

[shaggaroo]

this is unfortunate news...

[Genesee Ted]

They have been struggling for years unfortunately. It really is scary how fickle the beer market is. Ommegang is an amazing state of the art brewery with a pretty big capacity. They used to crank out fantastic Belgian ales. The demand was such that they rarely could add another beer or even brew a seasonal or one off. Something flipped tho. No one drinks Belgian beer anymore and it’s really a shame. I was just drinking a dark lager from them the other day and they have IPAs. These beers would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

BCTC was the best beer festival I have ever been to, but the last few years it really started to go downhill. Less and less Belgian style ales and the vibe had really shifted. I volunteered for like 15 of them so I was always kind of clued in over the years with how the brewery was doing. It’s been a slow slide. I would imagine that they took a big hit not having concerts this summer. Cooperstown is kinda remote and there aren’t a lot of other breweries nearby (I can think of two and neither one is really much of a destination) so they need events to do much business out of their tasting room. Granted, for a brewery that big, the tasting room is only gonna be a smaller revenue stream relatively, the margins are still big in the tasting room.

I guess that’s a little bit of a tangent, but why don’t Americans drink Belgians anymore? I wish I knew. I brewed a Belgian pale ale with rice last week with Omega Belgian W. Nice and dry. 1.040 down to 1.006. It is basically a starter for a tripel that I am brewing next week. It’s going to be our 3rd anniversary beer. It was my boss’s idea and I’m excited to brew it, but I’m worried about these two beers selling well.

One of my favorite beers I ever have brewed I did last year. It was a honey saison with 3711. I absolutely loved it but no one drank it.

What sells in my tasting room? Light lager, blonde ale, and IPA. It’s frustrating. I keep trying other styles, and I shouldn’t say that they don’t sell at all, but it’s like half the amount per week as the others.

[porter]

That's sad to hear. I'm not even a big fan of Belgian style beers, but liked their beers. Three Philosophers is great.

[positiveContact]

So where are the folks who are leaving heading off to?

[SchwanzBrewer]

We have a Belgian focused brew pub near me. Fan friggin tactic beer. I gave them my 50lb of d90 to make dubbel.

[denny]

and now, Shelton Bros.  Won't be any Belgian beer in the US....https://www.goodbeer...on by its bank.

[positiveContact]

and now, Shelton Bros.  Won't be any Belgian beer in the US....https://www.goodbeer...on by its bank.

 

I'll just have to make my own!

[MakeMeHoppy]

I've been getting by on at least some selection of Unibroue   it's Canadian but close to being US 

[HVB]

and now, Shelton Bros. Won't be any Belgian beer in the US....https://www.goodbeer...on by its bank.

They are in the next town over from me and my BIL worked for them for a while. It has been a long time coming. They are dysfunctional and I think that has more to do with it than anything else.

[Genesee Ted]

and now, Shelton Bros. Won't be any Belgian beer in the US....https://www.goodbeer...on by its bank.

Someone will pick up some of the brands. There is still demand for stuff like Cantillon. That being said, Shelton Bros probably had some comeuppance earned. They definitely had some cool brands and all that but I feel like they always had this “better than you” kind of vibe that was kind of annoying tbh. I also went to a festival that they throw last year and while there was a lot of awesome beers, they oversold it to an obnoxious level. It was a thick sea of drunk humans. Very difficult to navigate. Horrible from a logistics standpoint. It sounds like they were fairly shifty in their business dealings, but hey Mikkeller and Prairie left too.

The industry is gonna have a whole lot of shakeout post covid. It had already been shifting away from regional craft brewers to small local places for a while and I can absolutely see that trend continuing. Imports are gonna largely see the same thing and probably have been feeling it for a while. Unintended consequences of the hyper local brewery explosion. There will start to be a lot of breweries closing as more continue to open, very much like restaurants. The tasting room/brewpub business model is probably a lot safer because they can be nimble enough to adjust to fickle tastes, but it will definitely create more churn.

[HVB]

Someone will pick up some of the brands. There is still demand for stuff like Cantillon. That being said, Shelton Bros probably had some comeuppance earned. They definitely had some cool brands and all that but I feel like they always had this “better than you” kind of vibe that was kind of annoying tbh. I also went to a festival that they throw last year and while there was a lot of awesome beers, they oversold it to an obnoxious level. It was a thick sea of drunk humans. Very difficult to navigate. Horrible from a logistics standpoint. It sounds like they were fairly shifty in their business dealings, but hey Mikkeller and Prairie left too.

The industry is gonna have a whole lot of shakeout post covid. It had already been shifting away from regional craft brewers to small local places for a while and I can absolutely see that trend continuing. Imports are gonna largely see the same thing and probably have been feeling it for a while. Unintended consequences of the hyper local brewery explosion. There will start to be a lot of breweries closing as more continue to open, very much like restaurants. The tasting room/brewpub business model is probably a lot safer because they can be nimble enough to adjust to fickle tastes, but it will definitely create more churn.

 

I was at The Festival for year one in Worcester MA.  My lord that was an awesome time.  I could walk right up to Jean at Catillon and chat and get a pour.  After that year they started to sell more and more tickets and it was no longer the same.

 

Shelton was also know to love litigation and I think that turned a lot of people away from them.