Odell to discontinue Single Batch Series

The beer forums on BeerAdvocate were a buzz today when word leaked out from Odell Brewing Company of Fort Collins Colorado that their beloved Single Batch Series of beers were being discontinued. One of the BeerAdvocate beer faithful reported from an anonymous source who works at the brewery stating:

"We are discontinuing our single batch series including the Extra Special Red. Get it while you can. With a changing Colorado market and the possibility of chain stores carrying full strengthen beer, we feel as though the single batch series will be left out and not increase in sales. We will be brewing some new seasonal beers however."

I was surprised by this statement and wanted to verify this. So I wrote to Odell Brewing today and asked them to confirm or deny this rumor. Here is the response I got back from Amanda Johnson of Odell Brewing Company:

"It is true that we are discontinuing the Single Batch Series. Although it is no secret, we are not formally announcing it either. We are working on some new seasonal offerings that will likely be available next year. I don’t have much more info as we are in the extremely early phases of R&D.

We are expecting Woodcut No. 2 sometime next spring. We don’t have any immediate plans for other beers in 22 oz. bottles right now, however that doesn’t mean we won’t do one in the future.

The pending expansion is not the cause for changes in our lineup. The quote (above) you found pretty much sums it up.

Hope that helps. Thanks for inquiring – I’ll be sure to include you on any new updates we have."

Odell's Single Batch Series of beers include their Extra Special Red, the Imperial Stout and the Imperial Pilsner. These beers have a loyal following with the locals.

The reasons for discontinuing these beers stem from current market conditions and possible fears over pending legislation in Colorado that would allow large chain stores like King Soopers and Safeway to sell full strength beer. Currently, these stores can only sell 3.2% beer. These stores were hurt last summer by passage of a law that allowed liquor sales in Colorado on Sundays and cut back on sales of beer.

If some proposed legislation passes in Colorado, stores like King Soopers and Safeway could become a huge competitor to the small Mom & Pop liquor stores and drive many of them out of business. These small liquor stores tend to be the places that seasonal and small batch beers from local breweries sell the best. If these stores close, sales of many lines of beers from local breweries like Odell Brewing could suffer greatly.

Large chain stores would tend to dominate their shelves with just the top selling national brands and tend to ignore smaller local brands altogether. And if competition from large stores drives out the smaller variety stores, we may see many more lines of beer like Odell's Single Batch Series dry up and disappear.

The Colorado Brewers Guild is sponsoring a web site called "Save Colorado Craft Beer" and is trying to raise awareness to the threat that this pending legislation brings to Colorado brewers and smaller liquor store owners.

If we don't do something, we may see many of our smaller craft breweries around the state of Colorado dry up and shut down completely. The early closure of Odell's Single Batch Series may only be the beginning. Help save Colorado craft beer and visit that web site. And while you're at it, stock up on as much Odell Single Batch Series beers as you can before they leave the shelves. This will be the last year you will see it available.

Related articles:
- Sunday liquor sales legalized in Colorado.
- Liquor now sold 7 days a week in Colorado.
- Seasonal brews released from Odell Brewing.

This article came from FermentedlyChallenged.com
Help us grow. Forward this article to a friend and have them subscribe here