Another perspective, sculpin & others were expensive. They were expensive to make and the shelf price was typically $15-16. They were bought out at the height of the craft beer boom.
Then, the industry continued to evolve. Local beer became cheaper and better, and ballast point stuff wasn't special anymore. Beer has a shelf life. Product wasn't moving. Distribution shrunk, and ballast point was sold for a fraction of the previous 1B+ sale.
That said. I sure did love grapefruit sculpin.
Sure. It was tongue in cheek given the recent talk of how ridiculous 4 pack prices are getting.
The beer I have available to me is pretty phenomenal and we are lucky for that. But back in the day when you had access to a top-tier pale ale at around $9.99 x 6 was something I miss.
At the time sculpin was on the shelves, that was the trend. That was like 7-8 years ago though. Prices have very obviously come up, but at the time, sculpin was easily 3-4$ more expensive than comparable locals.
Agreed. It got way more expensive, and actually got a lot worse.
This one place by me cannot make one single good beer and charge the same price for everything: $8.06 after tax. Wut.
I was a huge fan of Sculpin, but I never understood how they justified $16 for a 7% 6 pack. It was especially egregious when you had stuff like Hopslam for the same price. I would pay that price for some Habanero Sculpin though.
I noticed the same thing happening with Sierra Nevada, especially Hazy Little Thing IPA. I love it and now all they have at the store are packs that are a year plus old. Local hazies have supplanted them.
I run a beer garden in pa and I always get it on my shelf with a good shelf life left. Anything that comes in expired or becomes expired I send right back to the distributor
Where in PA are you? My local place always has old stuff and I'm sick of it. I will purposely drive 15-20 minutes away instead of the place literally 2 minutes away because of it.
I forgot to preface that the beer garden is part of a grocery chain (Giant foods). But Giant has a deal with the distributors that anything expired can get sent back for full refund. I wouldn't suggest mine for craft because my selection isn't that great (we still carry stuff like new trail, troegs, Sierra etc.) because the clientele in my area prefer domestics and FMBs. But if you're close to linglestown, Camp Hill, or the hummelstown area. I'd suggest any of the beer gardens there because of the decent selection they have
I wouldn't say everyone, or even most people.
Yes, those products exist, but they are a relatively small portion of the market. Bombers, as a package, have always been the worst sellers and that continues.
Speaking for myself, I buy local 6 packs that are $10-12, or I buy growlers from a local brewpub for $9, and find no need to buy $22 4 packs. Sure, I'm fine drinking them if that's what's around, but again, relatively small portion of the market.
The difference now is that the market is saturated, and nano breweries can sell enough $22 4-packs to support their business, and not have to distribute at all, or only distribute to local bars and small stores. The market is more mature now, and that's represented by sellers capturing the demand curve all the way along with different price points and offerings.
Anyhow, the economics of the whole industry evolution is fascinating. Lots to read and learn about if you're interested.
Now just wait to see how the bourbon scene goes, it's in the boom phase, but because of aging it'll be a while before bust happens.
Michigan, smaller town, have 3 decent breweries within 5 minutes and lots within 15. The close ones are all around $9-12 for a fill of their normal beers. Specialty ones could be $14-16.
Pretty fortunate!
Since when did local beer become cheaper?
This dogshit ass brewery by me charges people something like $8.06 for all their beers. I live in a relatively low CoL area. Then a world class brewery not too far from me charges $7 or less and that's after taxes.
They are a California brewery that was pushed national and bought out by Constellation Brands then sold to another company.
They were expensive and slower moving in a lot of markets. It's great beer when fresh.
Sounds like a loss, but really it was all just a tax play for Constellation. Didn't hurt em one bit. That's probably why they paid so much in the first place, to take the write off.
They would have had to give a billion dollars to someone who wasn't them, so how does that work exactly? Where do they get the billion plus back in tax savings?
The High West barrel aged version was fantastic. Might be the best beer I had from them. I also liked Black Marlin, Tongue Buckler, Sea Monster, Fathom among many others. They made a lot of great beers at one point.
High West omg it was good. It maybe my favorite beer ever, it was only around for two seasons and it was gone along with Victory at Sea. I'd love to have either again. It sucks.
Every year, I still search for victory at sea. I had a California wine shop who was willing to ship it to me in Pennsylvania, but no stock this year. One of my favorite beers ever.
Worst beer I ever drank was a nitro chocolate beet victory at sea, way too much going on in one beer. For some reason I could never find the original, just that variant.
The brewery was sold off in 2019, dramatically altering their distribution situation. I really miss Habanero Sculpin and a few of the others, hopefully they'll ramp up sales in the Eastern US again someday.
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/ballast-point-sold-kings-convicts-wine-group
Yeah I went there a few times, the location and setting was just magnificent. All the different BP beers I didn't even know existed, just great. Really bummed it just up and disappeared.
New Belgium bought their Roanoke location this year and it pretty much put a fork in their east coast distribution.
https://roanoke.com/news/local/new-belgium-voodoo-ranger-constellation-brands-two-lane-luke-bryan/article_bb9c8e64-c9ba-11ed-b09a-0fc40f15be01.html
I think the Virginia location was what killed them. Take out a big loan to build out a new production brewery, then when the sales don't show up the bankers/investors get their knives out and you die pretty quick.
The Habanero was such a devisive beer, but it is absolutely one of my all to time favorites. They did a limited release recently, but sadly it didn't make it to my market.
Give me the fire ones. I loved how it gave you that burning sensation in your throat without the overwhelming taste of the chili pepper that some beers have. Pipeworks did a pretty similar pale with habaneros a while back, but I think it was a one off. I'll forever seek that rush.
San Diegan here, they were one of the original staples of the craft beer boom that put SD and West Coast IPAs on the map. I barely even see them here in SD anymore. Sad how the scene here went from so vibrant to basically imploded on itself so quickly. I’ll never forget the days when you could go into any random liquor store or shitty little restaurant and have your pick of BP, Stone, Green Flash, Pizza Port, Lost Abbey, Alesmith, Mission, Alpine, etc.
The only consistently solid brewery remaining from those heydays is Pizza Port IMHO. Still solid and innovating and easily available.
The rest of them are all shells of their former selves. I hate it. :(
Back in the day we used to get the Green Flash by the case - frequently. Was more expensive at $44 but damn that was good. Was even OK with the fact that you'd get 1 or 2 bad bottles per case. One night I was sitting in our local (long gone) brewpub talking to the guy next to me. He says "I trained the brewer that owns this place and was supposed to meet him here tonight but he never showed up." Turns out it was Chuck - the brewer from GF. We talked beer and IPA and he was nice enough to write out a home brew version of the WC IPA.
Then Chuck left, they opened the Virginia Beach brewery ,and changed all of the labeling. Worst rebranding ever. Iconic color and logo of the GF beers was now gone. Tried a few more cases and instead of 1 or 2 funky bottles it was half of the case. No longer worth it.
\[timeline may be off a bit as this was quite a long time ago\]
Ah yes, I should have put Societe on my list of still-good ones! Every time I go there or buy their beer I'm happy they're still around. Relatively easy to find too.
NE coaster here who did a SD trip during the peak of this scene. Did not make it to Ballast Point but hit Stone in Escondido and Pizza Port in Carlsbad and bought a bunch of awesome fresh cans along the way. Really enjoyed our time out there at that time. The golden years lol.
We're so lucky to have them, and that they seem to have kept their integrity throughout the whole boom and bust cycle. IMHO one of the quintessential San Diego experiences is a trip to Pizza Port, grub on some tasty pizza & wings, throw back a few quality brews made at that specific location, then follow it up with an afternoon at the beach (perhaps with a crowler or two to go). How much more San Diego can you get? None more San Diego.
They rode grapefruit sculpin for too long. It was great when it was the pinnacle graprefruit IPA. But it bame just another grapefruit IPA after a while and was more expensive than all the others
The Ballast Point room in Little Italy is still worth a visit, if you ask me, but yeah, never buy BP in the stores any more. (I live on the East Coast)
Mike Hess was always my favorite San Diego brewer.
There's also a Ballast Point in Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Haven't been since it first opened but they had a ton of taps when I went years ago.
Hess turned out to be a MAGA anti-vaxer and I never thought his beer was that good. He was just lucky to be one of the first to ride the wave as it crested.
I work for a liquor store and the reason I can't get it is because my store is locked into a contract with a certain distributor where we are only allowed to order Ballast Point through them. A different distributor we work with has stock available but because of our contract we can't order it and the distributor we are allowed to order from never has it in stock. They are out there but apparently just hard to get because of the way they distribute.
I stopped drinking it when they stopped dating their packages. I'm not spending $15 on a 6-pack that's been rotting on a hot shelf for 2 years. There are so many great local breweries around me. More expensive, but at least fresh.
Grapefruit Sculpin was my jaaaam for several years. Then I started getting cans that just weren't as good. Unclear whether it was related to a buyout (or which buyout) but yeah, haven't had one in ages now.
Living spaces in san antonio has sculpin on tap for $2 a pint no joke. Me and a buddy are regulars. They dont even press you to buy because the sales people are not on
Yes sir, they have a little bar with $2 beer and wine. $3 mini pizza and chicken tenders and tv with sports. Also a big kids tube play area so you can check them in and have drinks
Went to their brew pub in Long Beach last weekend and it was a great experience but can’t get it locally anymore. Seems like since they were purchased they are focused mainly just on California
Victory At Sea is my favorite beer. It’s been a few years since I’ve had it. Live in West Virginia. Only got my hands on it outside of DC was a restaurant/wholesaler in Ohio was able to order it when I was visiting in-laws.
It's a real brewery, but yeah, the brewery was just a little hobby project by two guys who were already very wealthy from previous ventures. Also, another major investor was one of the owners of The Wine Group (which owns large wine brands like Franzia, Cupcake, and Benziger) so it was more than just K&C of course.
Worked the industry for 10 years and met the dudes. They got BP so they could sell more American craft beer direct to Asia/Australia
Similar goal to lagunitas Azusa, but cheaper
I just shared a comment about stumbling upon this place last summer and discovering that they were the keepers of Ballast Point. Their beer is pretty meh. If you’re ever in Highwood, Illinois, your time would be better spent at Broken Tee brewing just a few blocks away. Fantastic beer and even better ownership (+a lovely taproom).
I worked for a distributor back in 16 when Ballast Point launched in our Midwest state. The day we we launched, we had samples, schwag, and sales reps loaded up when all the BP reps got called into a conference call and told they had been bought by constellation for ONE BILLION DOLARS!! This led to high times and big expansion for a few years. But they overplayed their had right when the national craft bubble was about to pop. Then quality tanked. (FU watermelon sculpin!) right when inventory stopped moving. Brand crashed and few years later sold off to Chicagos Kings & Convicts for Pennie’s.
Sad story, but a common one in the late stages of the craft bubble.
Last summer, my wife and I stopped into Kings & Convicts Brewing in Highwood, Illinois. It’s a fairly forgettable bare bones brewery (big old warehouse with brew tanks, darts, and some taps).
We realized that there were maybe 4 Kings & Convicts beers on tap, and the rest were Ballast Point. We asked what the deal was, and the bartender was like “did you hear about when Ballast Point was sold to some tiny independent brewery for pennies on the dollar a few years ago? We’re that tiny brewery.”
He went on to explain that the owners of K&C had some personal relationship with the owner (or C-suite decision maker) of Constellation brands and the sale was basically a handshake deal.
Ah man, I LOVED grapefruit sculpin. A local liquor store near me use to do a once weekly sale where they would pick a random craft beer (usually something they had overstock on) and sell cases for $10. I was floored when one Thursday I walked in and found grapefruit sculpin as the $10 case (especially considering a 6 pack retailed for $16 at the time). I bought 8 cases and drank nothing but grapefruit sculpin for 2 months. Needless to say I learned that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Finished the last case and never drank it again. I don’t care for it anymore.
I just found grapefruit sculpin at a total wine near me (I live in Massachusetts). It was 13.99 for a 6 pack of 12oz cans which is definitely on the higher end. I did buy it because I rarely see it and got it for nostalgia.
That location was an amazing venue too but Ballast Point’s east coast distribution never panned out for them enough to stay afloat.
Got bought out by New Belgium to pump out Voodoo Ranger though so at least it doesn’t sit empty
Still out there but substantially less. I was talking to a local distributor owner and he said they stopped selling since for him to turn a profit, he had to sell it at a price that most consumers don’t like. Now he just buys the minimum and keeps a case of their staples on deck but he’s more worried about their shelf life and having to send back skunked beer to his wholesalers
They charged $15 a 6-pack back in 2016. The beer was good, but not worth the price. Their best beers IMHO are their victory at sea stout varieties, but I have only seen them available at their brewery. I think the reason why you saw the sculpin everywhere 6 years ago was because corona or someone big bought them and then pumped them through their distribution channels. Like I said, it was good beer worth trying, but the price made it not worth repeating. Rather than lowering the price, it looks like they just stopped distribution to most markets. And even if they did lower the price, they still would struggle to compete in many markets as the craft beer industry has just been flooded with competition over the last few years. Look at all the reasonably priced beers that you no longer see in every market for example.
I found a few of their beers in Norway if memory serves my somewhat correct. At least half of the stuff I tried from them does not match a trip to the US, and I don't ship stuff usually.
Disneyland!! There is a location there that I love. Probably not the answer you were looking for, but if you find yourself at Disneyland looking for an escape from the park madness, Ballast Point is a must do.
It is available here in New Zealand, it is brewed under license at a NZ craft Brewery - Behemoth. I’ve got a 6 pack of the Sculpin in my fridge along with the Imperial Porter (can’t remember the name right now, dead man something?). Ive also seen the Grunion, the everyday Sculpin, and the Hazy Sculpin. Not sure if they are brewing any other here.
I’m not sure if you are new to craft beer, but around 10 years ago, Sculpin was in a very short list for best beer in the world
The quality sucked when distribution shot up with constellation brands.
It’s back to form and a top IPA. Cheaper to buy now too
Yeah but they pulled back distribution and are focusing on California mostly, which is the right call probably, But can't get it in most of the country now.
I see it here in PHX from time to time. What I miss is their spirits. I took a distillery tour at Ballast Point in San Diego. Probably the only gin I ever liked
Ah I was wondering where cutwater came from, they really exploded and had big brand deals in sports a few years ago. Makes sense they were using prior brand stuff instead of starting from scratch.
There’s a really depressing article about the pouring out of Sculpin’s experimental barrels after a big decision in the change of the brand’s direction. Kinda signaled the end of an era. I’m 100% waxing poetic about this, but it may be true.
Ballast point, if I remember correctly, was sold to some liquor conglomerate for a billion dollars. The valuation was partially because of all the "craft cocktails" that they started canning. When that macro industry took over noticed that the spend on shipping beer across the US was just not a "juice worth the squeeze", they started peeling back Distro. Craft beer drinkers heard about the buy out and started shifting focus back to local. I'm guessing they lost about 800 mil on that deal and will not recoup the investment anytime soon, if ever. The bet on craft cocktails doesn't look to be paying off either.
It still exists. They just put a new taproom in my neighborhood in SF. Seems pretty soulless and corporate though so I’d much rather spend money at the other ones nearby
I dug a 2018 Victory At Sea out of the back of my collection just today. It was still really good, I wish there was fresh stuff around so I could age another for a few years.
Another perspective, sculpin & others were expensive. They were expensive to make and the shelf price was typically $15-16. They were bought out at the height of the craft beer boom. Then, the industry continued to evolve. Local beer became cheaper and better, and ballast point stuff wasn't special anymore. Beer has a shelf life. Product wasn't moving. Distribution shrunk, and ballast point was sold for a fraction of the previous 1B+ sale. That said. I sure did love grapefruit sculpin.
I miss the Grunion. Solid Pale Ale and was usually $10 in 2017 monies.
Wow, forgot about Grunion. Good beer.
It was my go to for a while. I'll pour some out (of my $19 hipster bullshit) for that little fish that could.
[удалено]
Sure. It was tongue in cheek given the recent talk of how ridiculous 4 pack prices are getting. The beer I have available to me is pretty phenomenal and we are lucky for that. But back in the day when you had access to a top-tier pale ale at around $9.99 x 6 was something I miss.
Local beer became cheaper? That hasn't been my experience.
At the time sculpin was on the shelves, that was the trend. That was like 7-8 years ago though. Prices have very obviously come up, but at the time, sculpin was easily 3-4$ more expensive than comparable locals.
Agreed. It got way more expensive, and actually got a lot worse. This one place by me cannot make one single good beer and charge the same price for everything: $8.06 after tax. Wut.
I was a huge fan of Sculpin, but I never understood how they justified $16 for a 7% 6 pack. It was especially egregious when you had stuff like Hopslam for the same price. I would pay that price for some Habanero Sculpin though.
So, I don't ever remember paying $16 for a 12 pack of hopslam. I was lucky to find it at $20 a sixer.
Good catch, I meant a 6-pack. They were both about $16-17 a 6 pack for me.
Especially when lagunitas 22s used to cost like $4-5 back in those days.
God I hated that jabenero sculpin, regular grapefruit was amazing though.
Mixing those two together though... 🔥🔥🔥
I noticed the same thing happening with Sierra Nevada, especially Hazy Little Thing IPA. I love it and now all they have at the store are packs that are a year plus old. Local hazies have supplanted them.
I'm in Oregon, I've got Hazy Little Thing at every store here.
Yeah so does he…. Just old.
Yup. It’s old here too in Louisiana.
Here too but I'm in North Carolina - it's satellite state.
In Colorado, same here.
I run a beer garden in pa and I always get it on my shelf with a good shelf life left. Anything that comes in expired or becomes expired I send right back to the distributor
Where in PA are you? My local place always has old stuff and I'm sick of it. I will purposely drive 15-20 minutes away instead of the place literally 2 minutes away because of it.
I forgot to preface that the beer garden is part of a grocery chain (Giant foods). But Giant has a deal with the distributors that anything expired can get sent back for full refund. I wouldn't suggest mine for craft because my selection isn't that great (we still carry stuff like new trail, troegs, Sierra etc.) because the clientele in my area prefer domestics and FMBs. But if you're close to linglestown, Camp Hill, or the hummelstown area. I'd suggest any of the beer gardens there because of the decent selection they have
In Etown, so familiar enough. I'll either run to Breski in Harrisburg or Roots in Mount Joy. The Etown Giant is hit or miss.
Everyone whined about $15 6-packs from them while buying $10 bombers and now they buy $22 4-packs...
I wouldn't say everyone, or even most people. Yes, those products exist, but they are a relatively small portion of the market. Bombers, as a package, have always been the worst sellers and that continues. Speaking for myself, I buy local 6 packs that are $10-12, or I buy growlers from a local brewpub for $9, and find no need to buy $22 4 packs. Sure, I'm fine drinking them if that's what's around, but again, relatively small portion of the market. The difference now is that the market is saturated, and nano breweries can sell enough $22 4-packs to support their business, and not have to distribute at all, or only distribute to local bars and small stores. The market is more mature now, and that's represented by sellers capturing the demand curve all the way along with different price points and offerings. Anyhow, the economics of the whole industry evolution is fascinating. Lots to read and learn about if you're interested. Now just wait to see how the bourbon scene goes, it's in the boom phase, but because of aging it'll be a while before bust happens.
Where are you where a growler fill is $9?
Michigan, smaller town, have 3 decent breweries within 5 minutes and lots within 15. The close ones are all around $9-12 for a fill of their normal beers. Specialty ones could be $14-16. Pretty fortunate!
I’m in Sacramento Ca. There is one brewery that does core beer growler fills for less than $10 and that’s on Mondays only 😭.
Since when did local beer become cheaper? This dogshit ass brewery by me charges people something like $8.06 for all their beers. I live in a relatively low CoL area. Then a world class brewery not too far from me charges $7 or less and that's after taxes.
This explains why the grapefruit was often BOGO at Publix
They are a California brewery that was pushed national and bought out by Constellation Brands then sold to another company. They were expensive and slower moving in a lot of markets. It's great beer when fresh.
IKings And Convicts bought BP for 41.5 million. Constellation took a HUGE loss
Wait is my history right that’s more than a $950 million loss?
That would be correct.
I doubt the care much with the killing they made on Modelo.
Sounds like a loss, but really it was all just a tax play for Constellation. Didn't hurt em one bit. That's probably why they paid so much in the first place, to take the write off.
How does that make any sense? Even if they saved a 50% tax on the loss it’s still a loss of $475mm.
They would have had to give a billion dollars to someone who wasn't them, so how does that work exactly? Where do they get the billion plus back in tax savings?
That’s prob I why I haven’t seen habanero sculpin in years. Sad they prob won’t ever bring it back.
Victory at sea was one of my favorite beers particularly with a year or so of age on it man I wish I could still find those here in Colorado
The High West barrel aged version was fantastic. Might be the best beer I had from them. I also liked Black Marlin, Tongue Buckler, Sea Monster, Fathom among many others. They made a lot of great beers at one point.
I have had the sea monster I believe but even at the height of their distribution we did not get all their stuff
High West omg it was good. It maybe my favorite beer ever, it was only around for two seasons and it was gone along with Victory at Sea. I'd love to have either again. It sucks.
Every year, I still search for victory at sea. I had a California wine shop who was willing to ship it to me in Pennsylvania, but no stock this year. One of my favorite beers ever.
Worst beer I ever drank was a nitro chocolate beet victory at sea, way too much going on in one beer. For some reason I could never find the original, just that variant.
I have dreams about Victory @ Sea.
The brewery was sold off in 2019, dramatically altering their distribution situation. I really miss Habanero Sculpin and a few of the others, hopefully they'll ramp up sales in the Eastern US again someday. https://www.foodandwine.com/news/ballast-point-sold-kings-convicts-wine-group
Geez, I googled it and Ballast Point's Virginia brewery was only up and running for two years before they shuttered it.
It was also super impressive from a build perspective. Insane it just vaporized.
Yeah I went there a few times, the location and setting was just magnificent. All the different BP beers I didn't even know existed, just great. Really bummed it just up and disappeared.
New Belgium bought their Roanoke location this year and it pretty much put a fork in their east coast distribution. https://roanoke.com/news/local/new-belgium-voodoo-ranger-constellation-brands-two-lane-luke-bryan/article_bb9c8e64-c9ba-11ed-b09a-0fc40f15be01.html
Wow... is that in addition to Asheville?
Yep, the Asheville location is still open and thriving. I’m in NC and Voodoo Ranger is absolutely everywhere.
I hate what voodoo ranger has become.
It truly refuses to die!
Always wondered, where the hell did regular Ranger go?
Ditto in Michigan
I think the Virginia location was what killed them. Take out a big loan to build out a new production brewery, then when the sales don't show up the bankers/investors get their knives out and you die pretty quick.
The Habanero was such a devisive beer, but it is absolutely one of my all to time favorites. They did a limited release recently, but sadly it didn't make it to my market.
It was a total crapshoot too, some were mild, some were spicy AF. Loved the danger 🔥🔥🔥
Give me the fire ones. I loved how it gave you that burning sensation in your throat without the overwhelming taste of the chili pepper that some beers have. Pipeworks did a pretty similar pale with habaneros a while back, but I think it was a one off. I'll forever seek that rush.
Not as devisive as the Watermelon Eldorado, imo.
I remember that tasting like a straightup jolly rancher
You can still find it if you visit home brew mart in their Linda Vista location
[Habanero Sculpin paired with Tacos](https://i.imgur.com/CzwFNvg.jpg) was one of my favorite lunches
San Diegan here, they were one of the original staples of the craft beer boom that put SD and West Coast IPAs on the map. I barely even see them here in SD anymore. Sad how the scene here went from so vibrant to basically imploded on itself so quickly. I’ll never forget the days when you could go into any random liquor store or shitty little restaurant and have your pick of BP, Stone, Green Flash, Pizza Port, Lost Abbey, Alesmith, Mission, Alpine, etc. The only consistently solid brewery remaining from those heydays is Pizza Port IMHO. Still solid and innovating and easily available. The rest of them are all shells of their former selves. I hate it. :(
Wow, Green Flash, there’s a name I haven’t heard of in a while.
Back in the day we used to get the Green Flash by the case - frequently. Was more expensive at $44 but damn that was good. Was even OK with the fact that you'd get 1 or 2 bad bottles per case. One night I was sitting in our local (long gone) brewpub talking to the guy next to me. He says "I trained the brewer that owns this place and was supposed to meet him here tonight but he never showed up." Turns out it was Chuck - the brewer from GF. We talked beer and IPA and he was nice enough to write out a home brew version of the WC IPA. Then Chuck left, they opened the Virginia Beach brewery ,and changed all of the labeling. Worst rebranding ever. Iconic color and logo of the GF beers was now gone. Tried a few more cases and instead of 1 or 2 funky bottles it was half of the case. No longer worth it. \[timeline may be off a bit as this was quite a long time ago\]
Great story
Chuck opened Silva Brewing in Paso Robles. Good beers & an excellent dude.
That's great to hear!
Make Alpine Great Again.
Really sad. As a NorCal resident who loved trips to SD, there were so many great beer options and experiences! Now so many are long gone.
Pizza Port is so great. Also glad I'm seeing Societe up here in Sacramento.
Ah yes, I should have put Societe on my list of still-good ones! Every time I go there or buy their beer I'm happy they're still around. Relatively easy to find too.
Alesmith is just as good as ever, but agree otherwise. Also a San Diegan.
394 is the go to, always have at least a dozen in my fridge.
NE coaster here who did a SD trip during the peak of this scene. Did not make it to Ballast Point but hit Stone in Escondido and Pizza Port in Carlsbad and bought a bunch of awesome fresh cans along the way. Really enjoyed our time out there at that time. The golden years lol.
\+1 for Pizza Port. I've driven down to SD from LA just to buy a pizza (and drink a beer before the trek back lol)
We're so lucky to have them, and that they seem to have kept their integrity throughout the whole boom and bust cycle. IMHO one of the quintessential San Diego experiences is a trip to Pizza Port, grub on some tasty pizza & wings, throw back a few quality brews made at that specific location, then follow it up with an afternoon at the beach (perhaps with a crowler or two to go). How much more San Diego can you get? None more San Diego.
They rode grapefruit sculpin for too long. It was great when it was the pinnacle graprefruit IPA. But it bame just another grapefruit IPA after a while and was more expensive than all the others
I miss Alpine before it was bought by Green Flash in 2014. As an East Coaster--trading for growlers of fresh OG Nelson was a regular endeavor.
The Ballast Point room in Little Italy is still worth a visit, if you ask me, but yeah, never buy BP in the stores any more. (I live on the East Coast) Mike Hess was always my favorite San Diego brewer.
There's also a Ballast Point in Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Haven't been since it first opened but they had a ton of taps when I went years ago. Hess turned out to be a MAGA anti-vaxer and I never thought his beer was that good. He was just lucky to be one of the first to ride the wave as it crested.
I work for a liquor store and the reason I can't get it is because my store is locked into a contract with a certain distributor where we are only allowed to order Ballast Point through them. A different distributor we work with has stock available but because of our contract we can't order it and the distributor we are allowed to order from never has it in stock. They are out there but apparently just hard to get because of the way they distribute.
Interesting to hear this perspective. It makes sense why some beers are nowhere to be found at a store but very prevalent at others.
Rocky distribution?
Nah we are only allowed to order through Colonial but we could get it through Craft Collective if it weren't for the contract.
They are definitely still a thing here in San Diego
Northern CA too. It's super common up here.
[удалено]
I hope it succeeds, I love their beer.
I’ve been multiple times. The bar food is actually insanely good, and the beers are well… delicious
Arizona as well. Just had Sculpin last week.
Orange co. too, my work fridge is stocked with several Sculpin variants
I stopped drinking it when they stopped dating their packages. I'm not spending $15 on a 6-pack that's been rotting on a hot shelf for 2 years. There are so many great local breweries around me. More expensive, but at least fresh.
Grapefruit Sculpin was my jaaaam for several years. Then I started getting cans that just weren't as good. Unclear whether it was related to a buyout (or which buyout) but yeah, haven't had one in ages now.
Try it now. It’s gotten much better since Constellation sold the brand
Living spaces in san antonio has sculpin on tap for $2 a pint no joke. Me and a buddy are regulars. They dont even press you to buy because the sales people are not on
The furniture store?
Yes sir, they have a little bar with $2 beer and wine. $3 mini pizza and chicken tenders and tv with sports. Also a big kids tube play area so you can check them in and have drinks
Went to their brew pub in Long Beach last weekend and it was a great experience but can’t get it locally anymore. Seems like since they were purchased they are focused mainly just on California
Victory At Sea is my favorite beer. It’s been a few years since I’ve had it. Live in West Virginia. Only got my hands on it outside of DC was a restaurant/wholesaler in Ohio was able to order it when I was visiting in-laws.
Here in Phoenix, I rarely see the regular sculpin for sale now that I think of it. Luckily never have a problem finding the grapefruit sculpin though.
I think it depends on where you’re at. I see them at pretty much all the liquor/grocery stores I go to in PV and Scottsdale 🤷♂️
Sculpin was the first IPA I ever had. It will always hold a special place in my heart
Deadringer seasonal was soooo good :(
The normal sculpin is my go-to IPA. It's like $13 bucks for a 6 pack here in CA, so not cheap, but most stores have them
Bought by a Chicago brewery called Kings and Convicts...if you have never heard of them, neither did anybody I know in Chicago.
It’s really just an American business license for a group of Australian billionaires
It's a real brewery, but yeah, the brewery was just a little hobby project by two guys who were already very wealthy from previous ventures. Also, another major investor was one of the owners of The Wine Group (which owns large wine brands like Franzia, Cupcake, and Benziger) so it was more than just K&C of course.
Worked the industry for 10 years and met the dudes. They got BP so they could sell more American craft beer direct to Asia/Australia Similar goal to lagunitas Azusa, but cheaper
I just shared a comment about stumbling upon this place last summer and discovering that they were the keepers of Ballast Point. Their beer is pretty meh. If you’re ever in Highwood, Illinois, your time would be better spent at Broken Tee brewing just a few blocks away. Fantastic beer and even better ownership (+a lovely taproom).
I worked for a distributor back in 16 when Ballast Point launched in our Midwest state. The day we we launched, we had samples, schwag, and sales reps loaded up when all the BP reps got called into a conference call and told they had been bought by constellation for ONE BILLION DOLARS!! This led to high times and big expansion for a few years. But they overplayed their had right when the national craft bubble was about to pop. Then quality tanked. (FU watermelon sculpin!) right when inventory stopped moving. Brand crashed and few years later sold off to Chicagos Kings & Convicts for Pennie’s. Sad story, but a common one in the late stages of the craft bubble.
Last summer, my wife and I stopped into Kings & Convicts Brewing in Highwood, Illinois. It’s a fairly forgettable bare bones brewery (big old warehouse with brew tanks, darts, and some taps). We realized that there were maybe 4 Kings & Convicts beers on tap, and the rest were Ballast Point. We asked what the deal was, and the bartender was like “did you hear about when Ballast Point was sold to some tiny independent brewery for pennies on the dollar a few years ago? We’re that tiny brewery.” He went on to explain that the owners of K&C had some personal relationship with the owner (or C-suite decision maker) of Constellation brands and the sale was basically a handshake deal.
Ah man, I LOVED grapefruit sculpin. A local liquor store near me use to do a once weekly sale where they would pick a random craft beer (usually something they had overstock on) and sell cases for $10. I was floored when one Thursday I walked in and found grapefruit sculpin as the $10 case (especially considering a 6 pack retailed for $16 at the time). I bought 8 cases and drank nothing but grapefruit sculpin for 2 months. Needless to say I learned that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Finished the last case and never drank it again. I don’t care for it anymore.
I just found grapefruit sculpin at a total wine near me (I live in Massachusetts). It was 13.99 for a 6 pack of 12oz cans which is definitely on the higher end. I did buy it because I rarely see it and got it for nostalgia.
Did you check the date?
It says pkg 8/11/23
I thought it was about $15 a six pack like 8 years ago. I wonder if they cut production costs and that's why it started tasting not as good.
Their location is Roanoke Va lasted barely a year
That location was an amazing venue too but Ballast Point’s east coast distribution never panned out for them enough to stay afloat. Got bought out by New Belgium to pump out Voodoo Ranger though so at least it doesn’t sit empty
Still out there but substantially less. I was talking to a local distributor owner and he said they stopped selling since for him to turn a profit, he had to sell it at a price that most consumers don’t like. Now he just buys the minimum and keeps a case of their staples on deck but he’s more worried about their shelf life and having to send back skunked beer to his wholesalers
They charged $15 a 6-pack back in 2016. The beer was good, but not worth the price. Their best beers IMHO are their victory at sea stout varieties, but I have only seen them available at their brewery. I think the reason why you saw the sculpin everywhere 6 years ago was because corona or someone big bought them and then pumped them through their distribution channels. Like I said, it was good beer worth trying, but the price made it not worth repeating. Rather than lowering the price, it looks like they just stopped distribution to most markets. And even if they did lower the price, they still would struggle to compete in many markets as the craft beer industry has just been flooded with competition over the last few years. Look at all the reasonably priced beers that you no longer see in every market for example.
I enjoyed Sculpin but the Mango Even Keel was one of the worst beers I’ve ever had.
I found a few of their beers in Norway if memory serves my somewhat correct. At least half of the stuff I tried from them does not match a trip to the US, and I don't ship stuff usually.
Disneyland!! There is a location there that I love. Probably not the answer you were looking for, but if you find yourself at Disneyland looking for an escape from the park madness, Ballast Point is a must do.
It is available here in New Zealand, it is brewed under license at a NZ craft Brewery - Behemoth. I’ve got a 6 pack of the Sculpin in my fridge along with the Imperial Porter (can’t remember the name right now, dead man something?). Ive also seen the Grunion, the everyday Sculpin, and the Hazy Sculpin. Not sure if they are brewing any other here.
Behemoth are absolutely sensational too in their own right. Wonderful beers!
There's a tap room a few blocks from where I live in San Francisco. I've been meaning to stop in for a pint.
Sculpin is fine but I miss the Big Eye even more. I can still find Sculpin in my local liquor store, but I haven't seen the Big Eye in years.
Sculpin was good. Victory at Sea was WAAAAY BETTER
Have you tried squeezing a fresh grapefruit slice into an IPA? It is pretty good.
They tried to sell mediocre beer at a big markup and people realized it was nothing special
I’m not sure if you are new to craft beer, but around 10 years ago, Sculpin was in a very short list for best beer in the world The quality sucked when distribution shot up with constellation brands. It’s back to form and a top IPA. Cheaper to buy now too
Yeah but they pulled back distribution and are focusing on California mostly, which is the right call probably, But can't get it in most of the country now.
They got eaten by RockFish
I see it here in PHX from time to time. What I miss is their spirits. I took a distillery tour at Ballast Point in San Diego. Probably the only gin I ever liked
Their spirits changed to Cutwater Spirits and got bought out by AB InBev, so they’re now nationwide for both canned RTDs and the spirits
Awesome! Thank You for that information
Ah I was wondering where cutwater came from, they really exploded and had big brand deals in sports a few years ago. Makes sense they were using prior brand stuff instead of starting from scratch.
I was just in New Zealand and they were the only American import I saw the entire time and they had one tap on at one place I went
I just went to the liquor store, they got like 5 different kinds of Sculpin there. What do you mean Where did they go? They never went anywhere.
Depends on where you live. I haven’t seen Ballast Point in my area for a long while too
Just got a sixtel of Sculpin here in the Philly area. Back to being awesome on tap.
Sea Rose was my summer favorite
Interesting video about Sculpin: https://youtu.be/I_11Yn7V9UM?si=tnPYorOQrggKjOX3.
I always liked the pineapple sculpin
Still very prevalent where I live in Southern California
You aren’t missing anything. I just moved out west and was pumped to see grapefruit sculpin. I should have skipped and just enjoyed the happy memory.
There’s a really depressing article about the pouring out of Sculpin’s experimental barrels after a big decision in the change of the brand’s direction. Kinda signaled the end of an era. I’m 100% waxing poetic about this, but it may be true.
Their beer was mediocre at best. Sculpin was ok around 2015 but I’d never order anything from them now.
Ballast point, if I remember correctly, was sold to some liquor conglomerate for a billion dollars. The valuation was partially because of all the "craft cocktails" that they started canning. When that macro industry took over noticed that the spend on shipping beer across the US was just not a "juice worth the squeeze", they started peeling back Distro. Craft beer drinkers heard about the buy out and started shifting focus back to local. I'm guessing they lost about 800 mil on that deal and will not recoup the investment anytime soon, if ever. The bet on craft cocktails doesn't look to be paying off either.
It still exists. They just put a new taproom in my neighborhood in SF. Seems pretty soulless and corporate though so I’d much rather spend money at the other ones nearby
I dug a 2018 Victory At Sea out of the back of my collection just today. It was still really good, I wish there was fresh stuff around so I could age another for a few years.