Bitters and English Pale ales are a big part of what I brew. And yes, its due to availability. We can get Fuller’s here - London Pride, Porter, ESB - Boddington’s in nitro cans, and not a whole lot else. Some of the stuff we see is not in good condition by the time it gets here, either.I started brewing again after 20 years because everything on the store shelves looks like alcoholic Kool-Aid. That's fine, go for it. But if I want an Ordinary Bitter, I have to make it. Like it was 1976 or something.
I’ve noticed the same thing with IPA, too. Every can is labeled hazy, juicy, dank - words we never heard in years gone by. And many of the others are falsely labled - that’s one of the biggest complaints is that guys don’t know what they’re buying when they buy IPA anymore. Much of it seems to be in cans now, bottles seem to be getting fewer and fewer.
I don’t drink a whole lot of IPA these days, but I enjoy one now and again. When I do, I usually buy Lagunitas.
And yeah, every company has a hard seltzer now because they are dirt cheap to produce and the profit margin is extremely high, plus they are lower calorie beverages popular with women.