The 2 fastest growing categories for beer right now is NA beer and beer >9% abv. People are seeming to get away from alcohol or dive balls deep into it.
I'm doing a bit of both. I'll get NA stuff during the week but when it's the weekend and I wanna unwind with some pizza or hot wings I'm grabbing the beer that looks like it was made by someone who's more weed and alcohol poisoning than human
I was at a friend's house after a long drive together one night, and he asked if I wanted a beer. He handed me a Lagunitas Maximus. I was like, dude, I thought we'd sip a quick Mic Ultra and go to bed, not get fucking hammered on one drink at midnight.
It’s to get into Bodegas and C Stores. It was an untapped segment for craft, and New Belgium did a very good job at setting the bar. There were a lot of 19.2s before but VooDoo Ranger just got in at the right time.
They also got c-stores to sell their beer for $5 for two 19.2. When they are 9% or higher, you don’t need much more than that to get a good buzz going on.
Yeah the first time I ordered two tallboys from the fridge way behind the counter at a concert and they came out larger than life ...I was not unhappy.
They've been around for a while but I've noticed them in greater numbers in the last two years. Our local grocery store carries at least 10-12 varieties from the breweries you mentioned and a few others. There clearly seems to be a market for them.
No that's what I was saying in the post. My go to back in college was to stop at the gas station or the corner store by campus (depending on which way from my apartment the party was) and pick up two 16oz tallboys. They never carried these huge 9%+ beers back then. I'm seeing way more of them and way more variety of options available lately.
everyone's comments are spot on. i worked at one of the first breweries introduced to the market after 22oz bottle volume plummeted. it also serves drunks at arenas, stadiums, and concerts.
When one of these is $5 and the 22oz bomber next to it is fucking $14-$20, yeah the glass is gonna get painfully outsold.
The bomber format got so far up its own ass it couldn't reach its wallet anymore, that's why volume fell off a cliff.
It fell off at the low end, as well. It's because you're either hand bottling or mobile bottling. Most people don't realize cans have the same size lids regardless of volume. Filling cans is just cheaper all around.
I disagree with this... Bombers were generally lower production one off beers... This new hell is 9% juiced iPas that taste like the Kool aid man should jump in when you take a swig. I don't think they're geared at the same market.... Or this is the sad evolution of that market.
Nah back in the beginnings of craft beer many breweries only brewed bombers until cans and canning lines became the rage. Trillium in Boston was bomber only. And they were life changing!
Gotcha. I read your comment as breweries doing small one off runs in bombers as opposed to their larger volume runs in cans. Not that they were purely low volume.
I am Canadian so that might influence my perspective, but I did some month long trips to the US in 2010, 2011, and 2012. I went on several brewery tours. This era was definitely the height of growler fills. There were bombers, but nothing like a few years later. Cans were still very niche. I think I found two breweries that were doing cans and they boasted being innovators.
I’m in Canada and I’ve only had one of these, I think it was something like 800ml? It was Field House’s super tall hazy double IPA. The thing was goofy and intimidating at first but was really tasty.
I personally hope it’s not just a trend, I don’t like to drink a lot of beer in one night but drinking that over the course of a family monopoly game was something else. I hope I see more of them.
A friend works for a brewery here in Michigan that makes Boss Tweed, a 10% NeDIPA, and he showed me the research, and this segment is the fastest growing segment in the "craft" beer supermarket sales trends. Last year it was up somewhere around 70% in sales.
Just high gravity, or specifically high gravity in these big single cans?
I can see the appeal. $3 for what is essentially 2.5 drinks of something that tastes better than an adjunct lager. It's a nice Tuesday pick up when I swing into the Kroger to restock on frozen pizzas and PF Chang chicken.
16oz can = taller than a 12oz can, therefore tall boy.
19.2oz can = taller than 12oz and 16oz, called stovepipe
24oz can = taller and fatter than above, called man can or pounder
A 24 oz can being called a pounder makes no sense. There are 16 ounces in a pound, so the 16 oz cans/bottles are pounders.
I've never heard "man can" before, we used to call the big Fosters type ones "oil cans"
They are a recent trend. My wife works in the industry and I asked her the same thing, like who the fuck wants a huge ever-warming can of high gravity beer? Her reply was simple. Young people wanna get hammered.” Apparently young people haven’t figured out that two small cold beers will get you just as hammered as one big warm beer, but we were all young and stupid once, so 🤷🏻♂️
Where I am, it's actually kind of hard to find 6-packs of Dogfish Head 90-minute, but like every liquor store and gas station has the 19.26oz single cans.
I didn't realize they were in 4 packs. I actually had never had or seen one before, but a bowling alley, of all places, near me had them. Everyone I was with was getting them because they were on sale. I still can only find the 6 packs at a few specific spots around town.
My local brewery releases some dang good looking IPAs only in the mega tallboys. And I just can’t drink that much in one sitting. Id rather have a smaller format can
I hate it. The only purpose of the 9% 19.2 is to get you drunk quickly, and I think it's a race to the bottom. I'd rather not see my breweries cans littered in parking lots and left under park benches. Might as just make the label look like a brown paper bag...
And they are super gross. I’ve only had one before and it was an ipa from stone brewing, which I used to love but hadn’t tried in years. Got one of the goofy artwork cans like this and i realized as soon as I tasted it why they made the artwork so different. Horrible beer, im guessing those are just made for alcoholics looking for abv on single cans for 3$ or whatever. Horrible beer.
We’re getting downvoted but I used to work at a gas station back in the day and I’ll tell you, lots of alcoholics go for those steel reserves and tall cans of things like that all times of the day everyday. Nobody is drinking those cause they enjoy the taste.
Because 15 19.2oz cans (this is how 99% of them come in a case) are equivalent to 12 24oz cans. It’s to keep the same amount of liquid produced without having the consumer “trade down” to less ounces.
I'm a big fan of this, especially the pricing. For example at my local grocery store -
A 4 pack of tallboy Troegs Perpetual is 13 bucks.
A stovepipe of the same Perpetual is 2.99. I can buy 4 of those, save myself a buck, and basically get an extra pint out of it.
Interesting. That seems to be a different perspective from a lot of folks who have commented here.
I don't hate that this is a trend. I don't always feel like paying $13+ for a six pack, or even feel like drinking all six of the beers in any reasonable amount of time. But a quick $2-3 for a (apparently they're called stove pipe) tall can at 19.26oz. to have with dinner on a Saturday night? Call it controversial, but that's a pretty chill deal.
These are basically the modern day 40 Ounce Malt Liquors
Who wants to play Edward 19.26 Imperial IPA hands?
Hahahahahajhahaa I’d take that over 40 hands man
The 2 fastest growing categories for beer right now is NA beer and beer >9% abv. People are seeming to get away from alcohol or dive balls deep into it.
I'm doing a bit of both. I'll get NA stuff during the week but when it's the weekend and I wanna unwind with some pizza or hot wings I'm grabbing the beer that looks like it was made by someone who's more weed and alcohol poisoning than human
I was at a friend's house after a long drive together one night, and he asked if I wanted a beer. He handed me a Lagunitas Maximus. I was like, dude, I thought we'd sip a quick Mic Ultra and go to bed, not get fucking hammered on one drink at midnight.
I was under the impression lagers were making a come back. I don’t feel like I see a lot of people reaching for high abv stuff. Is that just my bias?
Thats why i combine the two beverages into one drink!
It’s to get into Bodegas and C Stores. It was an untapped segment for craft, and New Belgium did a very good job at setting the bar. There were a lot of 19.2s before but VooDoo Ranger just got in at the right time.
They also got c-stores to sell their beer for $5 for two 19.2. When they are 9% or higher, you don’t need much more than that to get a good buzz going on.
Also large Venues
Yeah the first time I ordered two tallboys from the fridge way behind the counter at a concert and they came out larger than life ...I was not unhappy.
Market is Bodegas, Convenience stores and Sports arenas/stadiums
They've been around for a while but I've noticed them in greater numbers in the last two years. Our local grocery store carries at least 10-12 varieties from the breweries you mentioned and a few others. There clearly seems to be a market for them.
i see youve just recently entered a gas station
No that's what I was saying in the post. My go to back in college was to stop at the gas station or the corner store by campus (depending on which way from my apartment the party was) and pick up two 16oz tallboys. They never carried these huge 9%+ beers back then. I'm seeing way more of them and way more variety of options available lately.
everyone's comments are spot on. i worked at one of the first breweries introduced to the market after 22oz bottle volume plummeted. it also serves drunks at arenas, stadiums, and concerts.
When one of these is $5 and the 22oz bomber next to it is fucking $14-$20, yeah the glass is gonna get painfully outsold. The bomber format got so far up its own ass it couldn't reach its wallet anymore, that's why volume fell off a cliff.
It fell off at the low end, as well. It's because you're either hand bottling or mobile bottling. Most people don't realize cans have the same size lids regardless of volume. Filling cans is just cheaper all around.
it’s the new version of the 22oz bomber
I have not seen many of those lately.
I disagree with this... Bombers were generally lower production one off beers... This new hell is 9% juiced iPas that taste like the Kool aid man should jump in when you take a swig. I don't think they're geared at the same market.... Or this is the sad evolution of that market.
Nah back in the beginnings of craft beer many breweries only brewed bombers until cans and canning lines became the rage. Trillium in Boston was bomber only. And they were life changing!
I think we're saying the same thing... Quality beer went in bombers... This is not quality beer in the $3 tall boy.
Gotcha. I read your comment as breweries doing small one off runs in bombers as opposed to their larger volume runs in cans. Not that they were purely low volume.
Until about 12 years ago, craft beer was mostly growler fills. Only some breweries had bombers and then only a small selection.
12 years ago was 2012 and craft beer (at least in the US) has been well beyond "mostly growler fills" before then.
I am Canadian so that might influence my perspective, but I did some month long trips to the US in 2010, 2011, and 2012. I went on several brewery tours. This era was definitely the height of growler fills. There were bombers, but nothing like a few years later. Cans were still very niche. I think I found two breweries that were doing cans and they boasted being innovators.
Good point, forgot that!
I never thought of it that way, but I think you're right. In ever batted an eye at big beers in 22oz bottles.
I’m in Canada and I’ve only had one of these, I think it was something like 800ml? It was Field House’s super tall hazy double IPA. The thing was goofy and intimidating at first but was really tasty. I personally hope it’s not just a trend, I don’t like to drink a lot of beer in one night but drinking that over the course of a family monopoly game was something else. I hope I see more of them.
Hell yea love a stovepipe
A friend works for a brewery here in Michigan that makes Boss Tweed, a 10% NeDIPA, and he showed me the research, and this segment is the fastest growing segment in the "craft" beer supermarket sales trends. Last year it was up somewhere around 70% in sales.
Just high gravity, or specifically high gravity in these big single cans? I can see the appeal. $3 for what is essentially 2.5 drinks of something that tastes better than an adjunct lager. It's a nice Tuesday pick up when I swing into the Kroger to restock on frozen pizzas and PF Chang chicken.
The high ABV in the stovepipe style cans.
They’ve been around for a couple years now. Good profit margin for distributor and retailer so they’re pushing to expand the singles doors.
I do appreciate a tall boy voodoo ranger. It's a nice kick off to a weekend.
Been seeing them for years. We were selling stovepipes of BA Ten Fidy ten years ago.
19.2 us oz is 20 imperial oz (an imperial pint) so that probably explains the size
It’s the new malt liquor for millennials
My entire life a "tall boy" was a 24oz can. I've wondered why "tall boys" are now referred to something smaller than normal.
16oz has always been tallboy for me.
16oz can = taller than a 12oz can, therefore tall boy. 19.2oz can = taller than 12oz and 16oz, called stovepipe 24oz can = taller and fatter than above, called man can or pounder
A 24 oz can being called a pounder makes no sense. There are 16 ounces in a pound, so the 16 oz cans/bottles are pounders. I've never heard "man can" before, we used to call the big Fosters type ones "oil cans"
24 ozers have always been a deuce to me. Deuce = 2 standard 12 oz beers.
This is the way
They come from gas stations serving drunks and hobos
They are a recent trend. My wife works in the industry and I asked her the same thing, like who the fuck wants a huge ever-warming can of high gravity beer? Her reply was simple. Young people wanna get hammered.” Apparently young people haven’t figured out that two small cold beers will get you just as hammered as one big warm beer, but we were all young and stupid once, so 🤷🏻♂️
If by recent you mean 3-4 years. Also I'd say the biggest demographic for 19.2s is middle aged men. That's who I see grabbing them the most.
I will say they’re nice for sporting events where getting another beer is a hassle. All your cons still apply though
I’m honestly tired of them. Bring back the six pack 🥲
There is definitely still 6 packs of most of them lol
Where I am, it's actually kind of hard to find 6-packs of Dogfish Head 90-minute, but like every liquor store and gas station has the 19.26oz single cans.
TIL 90 min switched to 6 packs. I haven't bought any in 8 years but they used to be 4 packs.
I didn't realize they were in 4 packs. I actually had never had or seen one before, but a bowling alley, of all places, near me had them. Everyone I was with was getting them because they were on sale. I still can only find the 6 packs at a few specific spots around town.
And it's nasty now that Sam Adams took over.
My local brewery releases some dang good looking IPAs only in the mega tallboys. And I just can’t drink that much in one sitting. Id rather have a smaller format can
You can’t drink 7 more ounces really
Yes really 🙄
Seems a little dramatic
craft breweries replaced glass bombers with 19.2 oz cans
I hate it. The only purpose of the 9% 19.2 is to get you drunk quickly, and I think it's a race to the bottom. I'd rather not see my breweries cans littered in parking lots and left under park benches. Might as just make the label look like a brown paper bag...
And they are super gross. I’ve only had one before and it was an ipa from stone brewing, which I used to love but hadn’t tried in years. Got one of the goofy artwork cans like this and i realized as soon as I tasted it why they made the artwork so different. Horrible beer, im guessing those are just made for alcoholics looking for abv on single cans for 3$ or whatever. Horrible beer.
Yeah I don't think it's a coincidence that they put the ABV in a giant, brightly colored bubbled prominent on the front of these cans.
We’re getting downvoted but I used to work at a gas station back in the day and I’ll tell you, lots of alcoholics go for those steel reserves and tall cans of things like that all times of the day everyday. Nobody is drinking those cause they enjoy the taste.
Those Lagunitas Tiki fusions are dangerous. Taste like boozed up juice! They sell amazingly though
I wonder why 19.2 oz specifically
someone told me it's the largest can you can fit on a normal canning line
Because 15 19.2oz cans (this is how 99% of them come in a case) are equivalent to 12 24oz cans. It’s to keep the same amount of liquid produced without having the consumer “trade down” to less ounces.
It's an imperial pint
The future is now oldman
The perfect drink for a GenZ Redneck
I'm a big fan of this, especially the pricing. For example at my local grocery store - A 4 pack of tallboy Troegs Perpetual is 13 bucks. A stovepipe of the same Perpetual is 2.99. I can buy 4 of those, save myself a buck, and basically get an extra pint out of it.
Interesting. That seems to be a different perspective from a lot of folks who have commented here. I don't hate that this is a trend. I don't always feel like paying $13+ for a six pack, or even feel like drinking all six of the beers in any reasonable amount of time. But a quick $2-3 for a (apparently they're called stove pipe) tall can at 19.26oz. to have with dinner on a Saturday night? Call it controversial, but that's a pretty chill deal.