I’m very concerned about this. It seems like most of the hardcore beer snobs went too far with it, got fat, and decided to go back to drinking AAL’s like Busch Light and Flight. Not to mention crazy inflation in the early 2020’s forced changes to spending habits by all Americans. You would think craft brewers would respond by creating a 100 calorie light beer that they could sell for $15 a 12 pack.
Am I just out of the loop or are any breweries wising up to this trend finally? It’s not too late…

What do you base that statement on? We're pretty much all hardcore beer snobs here, and while some ALSO drink AALs, few if any have gone back to it exclusively.

What makes you think that small craft breweries are capable of making any beer that can be sold for $15/12?

The craft segment hasn't really lost any market share, and it seems like trying to beat macro brewers at their own game is a losing proposition, so I'm not sure why small breweries would really try too hard

Sierra nevada pils is really good, and not very pricy. Been slamming those down so hard I've been forgetting about ipas! And, I only drink ipas. Now the fresh Bigfoot / arrogant bastard strong ale taste is hitting the spot and ipas at least hazy ipas, seem cloying

Not on topic, but I think a tangent observation - my local Total Wine carried two aisles and a half of another of craft beer to peruse and pick at. Now it's down to essentially an aisle. Top it off, the selections are becoming 'stale' in my opinion. Makes me wonder about how much the popularity or like for craft beer has waned over the last couple of years...

To echo the point made by @unlikelyspiderperson, we already have plenty of 100-calorie light beers available for $15/12-pack. People know where they can get that if that’s what they want. The whole point of “craft” beer is to offer more variety and flavor for people who are looking for something more than what the big macro producers have to offer. There will always be some level of instability in the market as tastes change—and that means smaller independent breweries will always be vulnerable to these fluctuations. But that doesn’t mean they should abandon their core mission, or the beer drinkers who have supported them, by making yet another version of a style of beer that is already all too ubiquitous.

Some? I think...

Beer, overall, has seen a measurable dip in US sales. Craft beer has seen a smaller dip (3.8%) than macro (5.7%) or imports (5.3%)

My understanding (layman, not in the industry, not super bright either) is that it is more visible in the craft industry, though. Big companies react by diversifying: RtD's, Twisted Tea, etc. Maybe by consolidation.

Small breweries react by contracting offerings, retreating from the shelves, or dying altogether.

How old were most of those 2.5 aisles of beer?

The common joke out this way is that total wine is where you go to buy 3 year old ipas.

I've been beating this drum for years now, and I'll continue as long as it's relevant; More SKUs of old beer isn't actually more options!

LOL! Good question - most honestly were shelf-turds, but they do put out a very small selection of seasonal. I try and stick to those, and I always look for the date on the can. But yeah, I agree with you wholeheartedly...

Salud!

Agreed
I may be slowly getting fat despite my best efforts, but I haven’t resorted to AALs

Well put

Right. I almost mentioned this too but please, let’s not start using Total Wine’s inventory as a benchmark for the current state of craft beer.

There's a terrific craft brewery near me called Creature Comforts and they brew a light lager called Classic City Light. It's 100 times better than Bud Light, Coors Light, Ultra, etc., and runs around $10 for a sixer. I'm not sure how far they distribute outside of Georgia, but they brew fantastic beer and cater to the college crowd in Athens, GA. What I'm surprised about is how craft breweries haven't changed the American palate for more flavorful beer, and that Michelob Light and Bud Light lead sales. Lack of distribution is probably part of the reason. Take Treehouse for example, and their business model. Only a very small fraction of the population has ever heard of them, let alone experienced their beer offerings.

Probably OK for historical beers, though. And it's cheaper than salvaging shipwrecks.

It's called, "Total Old-Ass-Beer" for a reason..............

It is a positive sign that warehouse stores are reducing their craft beer selection. That is the worst place to get craft beer as it usually is old and stored warm.

The shift I have seen is towards buying direct from the brewery or from your local high turnover beer store, something made within 100 miles.

With around 10k craft breweries in the U.S., there should be plenty of local, fresh options.

I just surveyed the online inventory of Belmont Station, the premiere craft beer vendor in Portland OR. For some reason the list currently posted is one from February, but I doubt the composition has changed much.

It listed 248 IPAs, two Doppelbocks and one Scotch Ale. (Some of those IPAs are double counts with "IPA" in both the name and description, but most are not).

Fifteen years ago you'd see a much greater range of style choices. It's almost like social media algorhythms reducing our choices to the narrowest band of possibilities.

This seems impossible, and if it's true then it's definitely not "the premiere" outlet anymore.

I just checked the best local spot (Dead Reckoning) and they list 10 IPA/APA out of their 36 taps. Their bottle/can list is almost no IPAs, but i know that they cycle through IPA cans fast and dont keep them all on the untapped menu so I'm sure they have more options to go then whats on there.

But anywhere that is actually catering to beer people should have more than 3 styles and not be 99%+ IPA