There's nothing to be said that hasn't already been said, and more thoroughly and eloquently, by others (BeerLovesCompany, BeerUnion). But I wanted to toss in my own two cents in offering a grudging congratulations to the two men who spearheaded the craft beer scene here on Long Island.
It's the end of an era. And I am sad. Blue Point was one of the early beers that first got me into the craft beer scene. I always looked forward to their Blue Berry Ale and their flagship Toasted Lager was immensely quaffable. As my tastes changed, I leaned more towards Hoptical, Old Howling Bastard and whatever caught my eye in the tasting room. I'm a hophead now and favor more West Coast offerings but I remember my roots and still enjoy a Toasted from time to time.
The news that the dreaded A-B juggernaut has absorbed our precious brewery is unsettling and taken with a sense of anticipatory trepidation. With the corporate machine behind them (or over them), the whole world can now know their beers! Long Island will finally become a global beer mecca on par with Belgium! OK. Definitely not. But getting wider recognition is, in fact, cool. But will the product suffer?
Will the line up become watered down? Will recipe development cease? Will a fetching girl in a Superbowl commercial next year hold a bottle of Toasted Lager and ask an unwitting rube if he's ready for "what's next?" A-B engulfed Goose Island in a similar fashion and the Bourbon County Stout still tastes pretty good to me so, who knows? Maybe it will all stay the same, as Mark and Pete proclaim. But I am skeptical. How can it? Only time will tell.
On the flipside of things, I am genuinely happy for the duo. They made their dream come true. They built a brewery, kicked ass and were able to cash out and enjoy retirement. Could they have clutched the wheel of the ship tightly and refused to relinquish command? For the Idealist, yes. But the Realist knows that it's only a matter of time before the shine from your star starts to fade.
Being such a "big micro", they're forced to compete in ways that nanos don't and, given their trajectory, they would either have to continue to grow or die. A-B's purchase takes this yoke from them. The burden of daily operations is perhaps lifted and maybe they can just focus on recipes and beer if all pans out the way they say.
The boys have worked hard and deserve the brass ring. Thank you, Mark and Pete, for doing everything you did for craft beer and the Long Island Craft Beer Movement. Thank you for Spring Fling, RastafaRye, Winter Ale and Toasted. Thank you for the cask fests (the early ones, when it was fucking cold and the cask ales were reallly appreciated). Most of all, thanks for being there for my beginnings. From Bass, to Sam to the Blue Point lineup and beyond, it's been a slippery, and delicious, slope.
Thank you.
(PS, my liver says "SCREW YOU GUYS! I'M DYIN' HERE!")
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