From: "John Beamish" 

Actually, you're quite close to the answer.  Next door neighbour is a VP
Marketing and has handled the two major breweries at one time or another.
He was saying that, basically, most people have their first beer from one
of the majors and that "tells" them what beer is supposed to
taste like.

This leaves brewers with two choices:  brew something very close to that
and sell it to the broad market or brew something different and sell it to
a much smaller market.

Interestingly enough, the same beer does vary slightly by market.  At the
Ontario Science Centre about 12-15 years ago, there was an "everyday
chemistry" exhibit and one of the guys was a brewmaster from Molson. 
He was talking to Josh (my buddy who dragged me along) and me and Josh
asked about Export.  Guy says it's different in Quebec:  sweeter.  I _keep_
meaning to test this out but it would mean drinking two Molson Export beers
and I can't bring myself to do that. :-)



"Doug Bryce"  wrote in message
news:405e32e0.68235087{at}news.barkto.com...
> On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 15:51:24 -0600, Gene McAloon
>  wrote:
>
>
> >That sounds encouraging although I am no admirer of stout, anyone's
stout.
> >
> >The thing about the Dubuque brewery was that it was not in any sense a
> >micro-brewery. It was a long-established local brewery that had just
never
> >tried, or perhaps couldn't afford, to go national.  If you wanted to
taste it,
> >you had to go there.
> >
> >I can't help but wonder how many of local breweries still left produce
really
> >good beer that no one but the locals know about? And that is a shame. The
> >nationally distributed brands are all rotgut, every last one of them.
> >
> >I blame it all on Judy. It was when the nationals decided they had to do
> >something with their product to attract the traditionally non-beer
drinking
> >females that they ruined the product. That's it. Blame Judy! Yeah!!
> >
>
> I tend to think it's more a case of the nationals brewing their very
> bland, appeal to 'Joe Six-pack' beers to the extent that that's what
> everyone thinks beer should taste like.  The smaller brewers, be they
> micro. local, or regional, tend to brew beer that is more flavourful
> and has more 'character'.  'Joe Six-pack' doesn't like that very
> much....so going national may not be feasible when one considers the
> market size for real/good beer .
>
> doug
>

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