Because individual, flagship beers often get ruined when this sort of thing happens. This occurs even when a brewery isn't bought out but simply expands too quickly. The example I cited to TNG is that case. Bell's Oberon is now made with orange juice concentrate and it's a sad reminder of what used to be one of Michigan's best brews. I'm glad to see more people drinking Lagunitas, but not at the expense of my bitter-ass cloudy IPAs eventually getting watered down for price efficiency and marketability. I would say SOME kinds of beer benefit greatly from industrial scale. I would not have classified most Lagunitas brews that way. Also, of record, I'm fairly certain you and I have VERY different taste in beer.Why does this make you upset?
I understand the perspective. That said, you've got an n of 1, which is not "often." And you're right. radically different. I look up Bell's Oberon and see that it is served with mutherfucking fruit and I know that the beers you like? they're the ones that prevent me from buying the beers I like. Everybody lost their shit when InBev bought Elysian but Elysian ceased to be interesting when they started bottling the shit. Used to be you could go to Elysian Brewery and they'd have like 4 beers they brewed in the back and like 15 they'd bought somewhere else and their sandwiches were delicious. THAT is the brewery tradition - you sidle up to the counter or you buy a keg or you fuck off. The fact that Lagunitas has four breweries in three states means they might as well be Heineken anyway.