Short's sells to Lagunitas
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Since it's only 20%, they can still fly the craft and independent label...
mulletmaster
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Founders sold 30% to a Spanish company a while back too. I suspect memories will be short regarding this.
So sweat off my back to either company, making money is why they exist as a commercial enterprise.
So sweat off my back to either company, making money is why they exist as a commercial enterprise.
tjpfeister
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Heineken owns Lagunitas. Heineken now owns 20% of Shorts.
I love how they are trying to avoid sounding like selling out to big beer by saying that they sold the stake to Lagunitas instead of being honest and saying they sold it to Heineken.
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Per the BA definition, they are still craft and independent...
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Just had their DIPA and their sour, brilliant!
The Mexican lager and hefe were, meh, at best
The Mexican lager and hefe were, meh, at best
I find most of Short's offerings to be underwhelming. IMO, they are at the bottom of the Michigan breweries list. If they closed up tomorrow, I wouldn't even take the time to shrug.
Good for them for taking a small payday and possibly improving their distribution. Maybe their beer will improve too.
madscientist451
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Never heard of them, so I looked them up on Beer Advocate. They have many beers in the very good category and some outstanding with scores 90 and above. Lagunitas has a large distribution network, so I guess they are seeking brands to add to that. They make a large variety of interesting beers, I'd like to try their black cherry porter if I can get some. I'm growing weary of row after row of IPA's on the shelves.
I think the pace of buy-outs will accelerate as more and more breweries compete for limited shelf space.
My dream is that all this competition results in better beer at lower prices for cheapskates like me....
Edit: I took some time to explore their website, looks like a great place to visit. 19 brews on tap, plus pouring cask ale, and they have music there too.
I'm not a real fan on visiting dull breweries with a short, boring taplist and not much else happening, put this place looks to be nothing like that...
I think the pace of buy-outs will accelerate as more and more breweries compete for limited shelf space.
My dream is that all this competition results in better beer at lower prices for cheapskates like me....
Edit: I took some time to explore their website, looks like a great place to visit. 19 brews on tap, plus pouring cask ale, and they have music there too.
I'm not a real fan on visiting dull breweries with a short, boring taplist and not much else happening, put this place looks to be nothing like that...
Shorts is hit or miss with me. Their offerings are so varied, that's likely the case for most people. There's all kinds in the world.
Spacerocks IPA is pretty good.
You coudl do worse than to go Up North and visit them, and enjoy the scenery. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly Lagunitas gets out of the deal. Shorts has always had a slogan, "Michigan Only, Michigan Forever". They changed that a few months back, owning up to the fact that they were in need of expanding beyond the state if they wanted to grow and become a regional brewery. I guess this is how they propose to do that.
Spacerocks IPA is pretty good.
You coudl do worse than to go Up North and visit them, and enjoy the scenery. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly Lagunitas gets out of the deal. Shorts has always had a slogan, "Michigan Only, Michigan Forever". They changed that a few months back, owning up to the fact that they were in need of expanding beyond the state if they wanted to grow and become a regional brewery. I guess this is how they propose to do that.
I agree that their DIPA (Superfluid) was quite great, but I wasn't impressed with their Qwikkriek. I think drinking Kasteel Rogue has spoiled me. While the other two were not awesome, they were still enjoyable summer beers.
Ironically I saw the news this morning after picking up a six of their new shandy yesterday - Power of Love. I've been a Short's fan for years including their brewpub in Bellaire. I'm hoping the investment stops at 20% since Lagunitas started "only at selling a 50% stake" before eventually selling the other 50%. I'm also hoping that they'll start distributing more of their "Michigan only" beers to their neighboring states
Actually they changed it around March 2016 which made me very happy to get Shorts when not on vacation! I had to do a double take when I saw their beer at Whole Foods as I though surely it was a mistake...
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I find most of Short's offerings to be underwhelming. IMO, they are at the bottom of the Michigan breweries list. If they closed up tomorrow, I wouldn't even take the time to shrug.
Good for them for taking a small payday and possibly improving their distribution. Maybe their beer will improve too.
What I appreciate about them is that they're experimental and buck trends.
They're constantly trying something new and put themselves out there. They're willing to try something new for the sake of innovation and every time I drink one of their beers I feel like a guinea pig; I like that as I never know what to expect - they're different
Michigan is a tough beer market to crack
OP
OP
JB_Brewing2
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More on the story here with a little reading between the lines:
http://www.freep.com/story/entertai...ewing-co-owners-talk-heineken-deal/517068001/
http://www.freep.com/story/entertai...ewing-co-owners-talk-heineken-deal/517068001/
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