The brewing world is in a constant state of evolution. New beers and new breweries seem to be opening every day. Lansdale had one brewery in 2012, and if rumors are to be believed, by 2020 there could be as many as 10 breweries and tap rooms in the Lansdale area.
Without a doubt, the Lansdale area is the local craft beer nexus of Montgomery County. I’m not going to address the questions of “are there too many breweries?” Rather, I’ll discuss some of my thoughts on some brewing news from this past week.
On Thursday, I headed to State College to attend the Brewers of PA Mid Atlantic symposium. As is custom, I usually bring a case or two of beer to share. As I was selecting beers from our takeout location, I noticed that our selection was largely pale ales, IPAs, DIPAs, fruited DIPAs, saison and fruited saisons. Of the 14 varieties for takeout, 12 fit into hoppy ales and saisons, all just variations of a theme.
This was not what I envisioned when we started brewing, but market forces are what they are.
There was a huge outcry this week about Founders being bought out. On Facebook, one of my brewer friends took a shot at the beer geeks that only chase Hazy IPAs and Fruit purée bombs. I’m not going to join him in casting those aspersions, but I do shed a tear every time I see a beer that has more pounds of fruit than malt in the batch. Round Guys makes 12 heavily hopped beers. I’m not sure if that includes us as being part of the problem. We need to make more brown ales, pilsners and bocks.
On a similar note, Evil Genius just released a collaboration with Sheetz called Blueberry Muffins and Wawa nation erupted in protest. The level of derision leveled upon them was appalling. I had a chance to talk to one of the owners about the backlash. He shared with me that the revenue they got from that paid his employees health insurance for the year. We are all trying to make money: Evil Genius, Round Guys, Founders. I’d love to do a collaboration at that scale, and we do collaborate as much as we are able.
I understand all the outrage. I am guilty of it at times. Just wait for my next article about the new brewery use tax that rolls out on Oct. 1. The industry is changing, and every brewery has to adapt. I used to get mad at breweries and call them sellout, but now I take a step back, and ask myself what I would do if I were in their shoes. Since we have no offers on the table and Sheetz isn’t knocking on our door, I’m going work on that brown ale recipe, and maybe take a few IPAs off of the brew schedule.
Scott Rudich is the head brewer and co-owner of Round Guys Brewing in Lansdale, PA. Rudich is heavily involved in the local beer scene, and was awarded the Brewer Award at the 2013 StarChefs’ Philadelphia Rising Stars Gala. This opinion column is sponsored by Round Guys, and appears every Tuesday on North Penn Now. If you have any questions or comments, please email them to [email protected].
See also:
Round Guys: Embracing The Moments
Round Guys: Collaborative Brewing
Round Guys: Welcome To The Party, Pals!
Round Guys: The Parallels Between Indie Bands And Brewers
Round Guys: Learning To Unplug
