r/Homebrewing • u/ryanmetcalf • Sep 10 '26
RIP SS Brewtech
Middleby Corporation today announced that it will discontinue its Middleby Brewing & Distilling Solutions Group business (“Brewing Group”), which includes its Deutsche Beverage + Process, Ss Brewtech and Wild Goose Filling brands, with the wind-down expected to be substantially complete by the end of this year.
Haven't seen it in an article yet, but direct to the press release
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260909186311/en/Middleby-to-Discontinue-Brewing-Group
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u/jack3moto Sep 10 '26
God damn this hobby is deteriorating quickly.
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u/Delicious_Ease2595 Sep 10 '26
All my kettles and accessories are SS Brewtech, loved the brand but I knew those proprietary accessories were going to bite me.
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u/edman007 Sep 10 '26
How much proprietary accessories do you have? Only thing I really see is proprietary are their temperature controllers, but that's easy enough to replace with something else, might be a little expensive as you'll likely have to replace the controller, pump, and heater together.
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u/warboy Pro Sep 10 '26
First blichman, now this. Chat, are we cooked?
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u/slimejumper Sep 11 '26
SS brewtech was one of the ‘sexy stainless’ brands from that circa 2015 beer/craft/homebrew boom. was good times and i guess my brewtech brew bucket will prob keep working as long as the gasket survives.
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u/jahnkeuxo Sep 10 '26
Damn, hope this at least means being able to score some brewbuckets on liquidation.
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u/brewjammer Sep 10 '26
buy extra gaskets!
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u/OperationBusy6274 Sep 11 '26
Just did ordered 2 silicone lid gaskets and 4 packs of the O rings for the dip tube
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u/toaster_programmer Sep 10 '26
pro brewer here. the wild goose filling hurts bad. complicated machines with lots of parts. ours was around $10k if i remember.
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u/yzerman2010 BJCP Sep 11 '26
This breaks my heart. I love their products. I bought a electric kettle, RMS system and a controller during the Black Friday sale 2 years ago and its sitting in boxes waiting to be used because I haven't got off my ass to get a 220V installed in my garage :(
ugh.. someone buy the brand and the designs and save it already!
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u/joetheday Sep 14 '26
I have to imagine someone will. It’s not just homebrew gear. They have their entire pro line and clients too.
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u/BillyWalker11 Sep 15 '26
Hi, this is Billy from Spike. There’s been a lot of industry turbulence in the short period of time I’ve been in charge here. Seeing long-established, respected companies close their doors isn’t great for the community. If it’s any comfort, I just want you all to know that we’re in this for the long haul.
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u/Dardock Sep 10 '26
I have a Brewtech 7-gallon unitank. I’ve noticed some people are worried about proprietary parts. Aren’t all the gaskets standard? Which parts would be difficult to find?
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u/microbusbrewery BJCP Sep 10 '26
You're right, things like TC gaskets and fittings should be standard. I just have the Buckets, so for me the primary concern was the lid gasket. They're kind of hard to measure so it could be a little trial and err to find a good off the shelf one.
Just in case anyone needs them, the poor man's racking arm o-rings are 8.5mm ID × 10.5mm OD × 1mm C/S, and the valve o-ring is listed as 16mm ID x 19.6mm OD x 1.8mm C/S on SS Brewtech's site. I measured mine with calipers and they were around 2.2-2.3mm C/S, so I'm planning on using 16mm ID x 20.4mm OD x 2.2mm C/S if/when I ever need to order some.
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u/Delicious_Ease2595 Sep 10 '26
Nope, for instance the flow valve diaphragm is completely proprietary
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u/Alternative-Bug-8269 Sep 11 '26
If someone has a spare to model from it shouldn't be too tough to get them made.
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u/Delicious_Ease2595 Sep 11 '26
Oh i dont know how or if the cost is worth it though.
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u/Alternative-Bug-8269 Sep 11 '26
Not to sell them maybe but it would give someone a source to make it themselves. 3d printed mold of the gasket and inject some silicone. Or if it's a solid style gasket print it in nylon
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u/Delicious_Ease2595 Sep 11 '26
Actually I did not think about 3d printing them in silicone, if there is an option to 3d printing in Buna-N im sold.
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u/Stinky_Fartface Sep 10 '26
Another victim of Trump’s tariffs.
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u/Positronic_Matrix Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Indeed. It came directly from their financial statements:
Middleby Corporation faced insurmountable margin and profitability pressures from global tariffs, freight expenses, and inflation affecting its equipment manufacturing.
They explicitly called out the tariffs, gas, and inflation.
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u/Writing_is_Bleeding Sep 11 '26
Just like my LHBS. Although to be fair, this admin just accelerated an already fading industry.
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u/eight_heads Sep 10 '26
This is really going to suck for breweries running Wild Goose canning lines...
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u/mikeb550 Sep 10 '26
i wonder how replacement parts will work in the future...
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u/edman007 Sep 10 '26
There won't be any.
But most of it isn't going to really be an issue, triclamp fittings are easy to find. O-rings are easy to find. The real issue is the gaskets custom molded to their things and maybe some electrical stuff (like pumps and heaters), I feel like if you have a pump/heater you just need to buy a replacement from someone else, it's not going to be a replacement part, you're not repairing your pump.
The vast majority of the stuff on their parts is just generally available on amazon for half the price. I did buy some brew bucket gaskets and a mash tun gasket just now, as that's things that will be hard to find. Everything else, well a stainless steel lid isn't going to fail unless I run it over with a truck.
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u/SDJSGK Advanced Sep 10 '26
Dang. I love my SVBS and was about to pull the trigger on a unitank and glycol chiller. Glad I didn’t but sad because I love their quality. Any recs for alternate brands? Maybe Spike?
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u/Dr1ft3d Advanced Sep 10 '26
I’ve been wanting the glycol as well. Go for the unitank tho. Hopefully a decent sale happens before the doors close
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u/SDJSGK Advanced Sep 10 '26
I’m worried about no customer support if things go wrong on such a big purchase at this point. I had to go back and forth with SS quite a bit as I was troubleshooting some early issues with my SVBS
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u/Dr1ft3d Advanced Sep 10 '26
The unitank is pretty bulletproof imo. The only proprietary gasket in the racking arm piece. The SVBS flopped pretty hard on launch. Sorry to hear yours had some issues as well
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u/lolwatokay Sep 10 '26
Spike is great but crazy expensive. They also got new ownership recently. Not private equity but you never know what is coming with a change in ownership. Could be better! Could be worse.
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Should be great. Blichmann and Ss out of the way running sales driving prices down just to stay in business. Also new ownership has enthusiasm for the niche. I was checked out and onto my next venture for a long time.
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u/scrote_n_chode Sep 10 '26
I have been eyeing spike myself, looks like nice stuff. but have you seen their prices? Good lord.
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u/WeAllLoveTacos Sep 10 '26
Yeah, crazy prices. Spent like $500 for a Spike counterflow chiller. Super sturdy and gets the hot wort down to fermentation temp in one pass (~10 minutes) tho so no regrets.
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u/scrote_n_chode Sep 10 '26
I've also noticed resellers seem to have the equipment at much lower prices if you can find them. I think they are basically just gouging at the front door.
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u/Dr1ft3d Advanced Sep 17 '26
I loved my spike chiller until the copper tube inside collapsed.
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u/WeAllLoveTacos Sep 17 '26
Oh jeez! How did that happen?!
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u/Dr1ft3d Advanced Sep 18 '26
I suspect water froze in the outer loop even though I blew it out after every batch. I’m hoping someday to figure out a way to fix it.
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u/Puzzled-Attempt84 Intermediate Sep 10 '26
Why not still pull the trigger? Nothing proprietary about the unitank. My entire cold side is ssbrewtech. Hoping they go clearance and can snag another unitank.
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u/WortlessGBRacker Sep 10 '26
Spike sold out and moved to NJ. Who knows how long they'll stick around. I have a spike Ebiab system, and love it
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u/lauterPope Sep 10 '26
That leaves BrewBilt!!! 🫤🫤. I’m convinced Morebeer took over Blichmann/Anvil to bury the brand. 🤪
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u/ceedee20 Sep 10 '26
Nah. Blichmann wanted to retire. He looked for an out. It was that or absolutely nothing left.
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u/lauterPope Sep 10 '26
It kinda blows. I was trying to get the BrewEasy (the stacked kit) for nearly a year. The footprint was pretty good.
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u/ceedee20 Sep 10 '26
Yep. It sucks. They made great compact breweries and had top notch accessories.
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u/rudenavigator Advanced Sep 10 '26
People seem to love clawhammer AIOs. But I have to imagine they are in a similar position, albeit I think still owner operated.
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u/lauterPope Sep 10 '26
Not a fan of CH. much like Spike (who I also don’t support) it’s like they have tons of marketing out there. I see CH systems on FB marketing place often.
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u/ExaminationKlutzy194 Beginner Sep 10 '26
I’m not trying to convince you but I’m curious what your thinking is on CH and Spike behind this comment.
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u/lauterPope Sep 11 '26
I’ve owned spike products (spunding valve, glycol chiller) and both have failed. The chiller has leak points that needed to be replaced and repaired. No real help from spike other than to send it back (which I would have to pay for to ship) so I repaired it as best I could. It is useless because it doesn’t hold the temperature when crashing and stays at 40 degrees. The valve I got 6 fermentation out of before that failed. It can’t hold more than 8 psi. When it should hold 15. By no means am I saying not to buy their products I’m just saying I can’t support a company who sold products that fail when it costs a good amount of money. And CH didn’t reinvent the wheel. Plenty of people like their products but some people don’t. I actually made my own electric brew kit (240v 5500w) and spent less than I would have if I bought a system like theirs. Not saying people shouldn’t buy them either.
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u/DowntimeBrewing Sep 16 '26
you literally bought Spikes two most troubled products which is unfortunate. I have had the spike solo and CF15 fermenter for 5 years with zero problems.
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Spike >>> BrewBuilt
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u/lauterPope Sep 16 '26
Don’t tell me BB bought out Spike.
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Lol nope. They offered pennies on the dollar for just our inventory after having a very profitable year. That's why when Blichmann is saying BrewBuilt bought them and they brand will be carried on I know that's total crap. They bought Blichmann for pennies on the dollar.
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u/Darth_Duane Sep 10 '26
Well crap, I bought an infusion mash tun last year. Guess I better order an extra gasket or two for the false bottom.
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u/notontherugman69 Sep 11 '26
Just picked up an SS mash tun. Great piece of gear. Also have one of their 20 gal kettles. Great vendor. They'll be missed.
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u/colonpal Sep 11 '26
I'm going to jump on a Unitank soon then, and likely a Brite.
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u/chino_brews Sep 11 '26
soon
You have until supplies last or the end of then year, whichever comes firs
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u/Writing_is_Bleeding Sep 11 '26
JFC, I just sold some of their big-ticket products, and quoted a guy on another one, citing excellent customer service and consistent access to parts. Sigh...
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u/xnoom Spider Sep 11 '26
Announced now on their site.
Given the long lifecycle of our products and the quality of workmanship, we are confident that our customers will be able to operate their equipment for decades to come. We want to support that effort by strategically discounting parts inventory over the coming months leading up to a planned year-end closure.
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u/yzerman2010 BJCP Sep 11 '26
That's good news.. hopefully someone will buy or make a deal with the designs so things can be made and built by 3rd parties.
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u/goodolarchie Sep 10 '26
SSBT, Anvil, not even spike is safe from the long cruel arm of M&A, PE, etc.. It can rescue a business to reach more efficiency but also throw it to the buzzards. Perhaps somebody will pick up their customers as a distressed asset, those investors exist.
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u/chino_brews Sep 11 '26
SA Brewtech was founded in 2013 and sold to the current owner, Middleby, a huge restaurant and food equipment conglomerate, in June 2019. So it’s been part of a larger portfolio for most of its life.
Personally, I don’t those customers exist in numbers to support the business. If you thought that they did, you be better off starting your own brand than buying this sinking wreck from Middleby.
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u/goodolarchie Sep 11 '26
Yeah that's possible. We don't know that much about the manufacturing side of the business model. They already have invested (in China) custom stamps and dyes, etches etc. Then the welding and fab. It made sense they got acquired by an outfit already doing that at scale, even for a waning market. More than anything it seemed like SSBT was a marketing engine for itself. I'll never forget when the one of the owners posted in homebrewtalk as a rando user, a CIP and flushing circuit with valve trees and stuff in a video. Everyone was like "Cool, and it only took $3000 of stainless to do!" Then it became evident he was an owner in SSBT and that was that.
Also I have exactly 3 SSBT tanks, all of which were pre 2019, and the welds were largely shitty. Spike at least was doing really quality welding work, not sure if that's still the case. They were doing shitty pricing practices though. We're a waning market, I can't see why anybody would want to be back in it. Bring on the local/homebrew stainless TIG welding shop revolution!
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u/chino_brews Sep 12 '26 edited Sep 12 '26
All of those assets were paid for up-front on a cash flow basis, and probably fully-depreciated (accelerated) on a tax accounting basis. To the extent they are not they get to take a full charge this year, and if they instead sell it, they have to pay recapture tax on the full sale price at their marginal corporate tax rate. Not that it wouldn't make sense to sell the assets and IP if they can and pay a portion of that in tax, but it definitely reduces the incentive to do so.
In seven years, Middleby has probably integrated everything into their workforce, systems, and relationships, so for an absolute minnow of a business line, they probably won't want to bother with the diversion of corporate resources and energy to separate SSBT and make it a saleable, separate unit. Given the Dec. 31 timetable, it feels like they've chosen not to bother because there's not enough time to make it saleable, even if you and I passed the hat around to our friends and made a decent offer for SSBT.
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Sep 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/chino_brews Sep 12 '26
Do you really think it would be worth it, given the state of the market?
Especially when you could just open a new company, A+ SS Brewing, and start with whatever you think is the single piece of equipment that has the largest gap in the market? For this sort of design and fabrication, Chinese manufacturers have in-house engineering and design on par or better than anything in the U.S., at a much lower cost than buying from Middleby or hiring a consulting engineer or draftsman locally. Some of the hard parts are QA and QC, distribution, and warranty logistics.
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Sep 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/chino_brews Sep 12 '26
Thanks for sharing. I know you have some insight.
What plug-in are you using for self-destruction? DM me the info on it, please.
I read it, so it's OK to delete your comment now, and I will do the same in a few hours.
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u/SecretAmbi Sep 10 '26
In other news, SS Brewtech’s non existent customer service will remain unchanged.
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u/Ill-Adhesiveness-455 Sep 12 '26
What do you mean? I've always received good support, albeit through email.
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u/bossmt_2 Sep 11 '26
Shit I love their stuff. Hope someone buys the brand and keeps their products going
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u/whoosyerdaddi Sep 15 '26
It’s a great time to upgrade to a 20 gallon electric brew kettle. 25% off everything
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Lots of political nonsense here. I sold Spike in June 2026. 2025 was our most profitable year in about 8 years. It was adapt or die since 2022. Blichmann and Ss didn’t adapt and they are now dead.
I’m excited to see Spike flourish now that the market is finally consolidated. Funny part is I was talking to Blichmann and Ss about selling but pride got in their way. Would rather go under than sell to a competitor. I would have phased them out anyways so saved me a little bit of coin while accomplishing the same end result.
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u/Haddock51 Sep 16 '26
Adapt to what exactly? Higher costs? Decreased interest in home brewing?
And how did you adapt?I only have Spike equipments since the original 20g Solo. Prices were getting too high in recent years. People were not buying or inly bought used ones.
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Higher materials costs, higher wages (our entry-level position went from $12/hr in 2016 to $25/hr in 2026. And even then we couldn’t find good help), the commercial brewing market down 90% and home brewing down about 75%, etc, etc.
We went from about 30 employees at our peak in 2021 down to a handful when I sold in June. Almost all were contractors, many remote. Our entire supply chain was totally rebuilt based on much lower demand. I stopped all R&D spend in 2023 when it was obvious a meteor hit home brewing and life was going to be different.
It was really obvious a shift was happening. I started shifting Spike in 2023. Ss and Blichmann never did until it was far too late. Coyote off the cliff.
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u/Haddock51 Sep 16 '26
I’m really curious about that meteor. Why it happened and still happening. Any insights?
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 16 '26
Better analogy might be meteor shower. There wasn’t just one thing. Crazy inflation since Covid increased everything from labor to materials cost to insurance to rent. That also eroded people’s excess cash. Even consumer habits changed. People aren’t drinking and far more health conscious.
In my experience, most people left in the home brewing hobby are angry and fighting some internal demons. I saw somebody post in our user group that said home brewing was a hobby that masked an addiction. That resonated, as the hobby turned into a very angry group of people that was incredibly unsatisfying to be a part of.
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u/Delicious-Crab-8617 Sep 17 '26
Well said. I work in beer and wine and a lot of people are panicking. I have a lot of friends who are owners of breweries and wineries and there is a lot of writing in the walls that something big is happening.
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u/FloatingFlame Sep 17 '26
If they are just seeing it now then they have had their eyes closed for years. I’m afraid it’s too late for anyone that did adapt in ‘24/25 at the latest.
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u/Delicious-Crab-8617 Sep 17 '26
IMO there were two waves for a lot of people the social media wave and the post Covid Gen Z wave. People who didn’t adapt in 2018 are closed and left behind, people who didn’t adapt to Gen Z and closing and left behind. A lot of companies complain how Gen Z isn’t drinking, but a lot of it is that Gen Z isn’t drinking booze from companies that never met them half way. That and the fact that beer and wine is no longer recession proof is just a great reason why I got out of the business.
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u/Haddock51 Sep 17 '26
Yes, Covid changed habits and commerce. Two things that permanently changed America were 9/11 and Covid.
I’m personally not angry, ok maybe angry about prices and not finding the time to brew. What are they angry about? There is a generational change for sure about drinking, or what to drink. But $10 beers at bars or restaurants seem ridiculous. At least four breweries are closing near me in LA. It’s sad times. Maybe the bring back home brewing again.
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u/hartmannr76 11d ago
If you're thinking about buying, get on it now. I got a 7 gal unitank yesterday and now they're all out of stock.
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u/microbusbrewery BJCP Sep 10 '26
That's a bummer. I have two Brew Buckets. They don't have many bells and whistles compared to some of the other stainless fermenters, but I really like them and they fit perfect in my ferm fridges.
I also have their keg washer. I love the design of it, but the pump on it is garbage. I got it used and have had to replace the pump twice because the case swells and cracks after a couple years. I ended up converting mine to use a standard magnetic drive pump.