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cowperthwaite OP t1_jd7vbk6 wrote

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CRANSTON - An English style brewery, Iron Stag Brewing, hopes to open by July in Cranston's Rolfe Square, with an expansive patio a slate of beers not usually brewed in the US.

Brewery website:

https://www.ironstagbrewing.com/

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howsyourlife t1_jd86ilx wrote

Mixed feelings about this tbh... Wish them success in their business venture but hopefully the hipster yuppie MA NY CA transplant crowd doesn't start taking over Rolfe Square like it did with Edgewood and Broadway. Just no string lights please--that's like crack to that demographic.

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Diligent-Pizza8128 t1_jd88yog wrote

Very excited for this! As a huge craft beer fan, there really aren't any breweries nearby doing low ABV and cask beer. Hopefully they'll have a nice little niche brewing some unique styles for the area.

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Thac0 t1_jd891oi wrote

Awesome! I’m so sick of IPAs

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Throwaway1231200001 t1_jd89ftx wrote

Excited. Rolfe Square has some real potential as a destination for people.

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dollrussian t1_jd8lmex wrote

Finally. More cool stuff in the neighborhood

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sandsonik t1_jd8nrbh wrote

Been waiting since 2021 for them to open.

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OctoberRust13 t1_jd8t0qo wrote

that's because 85% of them are fucking gross but no one wants to admit it for fear of being shamed by some moustachio'd beer snob.

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a good IPA is really good but the fact of the matter is that most simply aren't.

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beerspeaks t1_jd8v7gn wrote

They'll have a hazy IPA on tap within a year. Bet.

There's a vocal minority that echoes this "I'm sick of IPAs" sentiment, but the reality is they're what keep the doors open and lights on for most breweries.

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Thac0 t1_jd94zu2 wrote

Why? Are the IPA fans the only ones who go to breweries?

I know I avoid them at the liquor store but every time I go to a brewery it’s the vast majority of the selection; which I’m turn makes me less excited to go to breweries

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fmtheilig t1_jd98bgb wrote

English style beers are so unrepresented. And Pizza Fair a half mile away has a pretty good fish and chips.

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amp138 t1_jd99dg8 wrote

Good luck to them but focusing on perhaps the least popular range of beer styles is going to be an uphill battle

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FjordExplorher t1_jd9chjg wrote

Totally agree. You make what the market demands. If they can stand on their own without a hazy IPA, good for them. I know Purgatory broke down and tried to brew one, outside their wheelhouse and it wasn't great, but there must have been demand. There's a reason why most of the locals have multiple IPA and PA variants, which tend to just be light IPAs. They're popular and people are willing to spend money on them.

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beerspeaks t1_jd9clrm wrote

"Most English-style breweries"? How many breweries are there in the US that specialize in English-style beers?

I like an ESB on occasion. Shit, one of the best beer experiences I had in recent memory was drinking a Welly on site at Fox Farm.

But let's be honest - the average American beer drinker couldn't give 2 shits about cask ale. The lack of pub beers isn't a supply-side issue. The demand is not there, so breweries follow the consumers' taste, and make what sells - IPAs.

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PeonSanders t1_jd9ili5 wrote

Yes, but the beer market, including craft, is so saturated with more and more of the same that you'd best be looking for a way to differentiate yourself or you'll just get lost in the shuffle.

English beer styles are oddly underrepresented and differentiating yourself that way when it's genuinely what you know and understand in terms of brewing makes perfect sense.

Also, they could make an IPA you know. A real one ;)

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beerspeaks t1_jd9mr96 wrote

You call it differentiation.

I call it needlessly painting yourself into a corner.

The best way of standing out is making good beer. Given the number of breweries in this state, there are only a few making beer that's better than "fine".

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PeonSanders t1_jd9rnnl wrote

How is someone who has an entire lifetime of experience brewing english beer meant to brew very good beer in another style, one that they don't necessarily have a palate for, or any genuine interest in?

That's a recipe for disaster.

Also, there has been a movement toward more sessiony beers in general in the last few years in american cask beers. You can fill that in any number of ways, but there's nout wrong with using English beers to do it if that's your expertise.

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PeonSanders t1_jdbdkm8 wrote

This is the oddest statement ever in the context of craft beer, in addition to being just hard to understand in general.

If having something different got you lost in the shuffle, there'd be no craft scene in the USA, which has only really come about in the last 3 decades. So God awful options to market saturation in 20 years. Because someone who liked beer tried to do something different than how it was done here.

Then, ipas here in general, the very thing we are discussing... If anything, for me, they are too ignorant of tradition, but they're in their infancy, still. Other beer styles have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years, while this has sprung up in the most wildly, obnoxious, fuck you heres some citrus up your nose, most stars and stripesy entrance into the world of beer. I'm reputed to be shit at this but actually I'm an expert. There's nothing more American than that, and it's all about not being lost in the shuffle by being different.

Then yeah, imitator after imitator... Till the next thing comes along.

Americans aren't traditionalists with food and drink. Fads swing wildly. I'm not suggesting they'll go for brown ale all of a sudden, or milds, but they will go somewhere. They are already moving.

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bumblesnatcher t1_jdcwnm1 wrote

They were fed up with lack of flavor, but craft beer is and has been less than 20% of the market. People still just want Budweiser or other macro lagers. IPA has dominated the market for over 30 years. I'm not saying diversity isn't great, but the average consumer won't order something they're unfamiliar with, it's just basic sociology.

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howsyourlife t1_jddso1g wrote

Assuming you're referring to Buttonwoods Brewery even though it is technically walkable, placing Wellington Ave in same neighborhood as Rolf Square is like calling Wayland Square the same neighborhood as Gano St.

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howsyourlife t1_jddwg4q wrote

Keep downvoting away if it makes you feel more accepted by the subreddit, but Rolfe Square is one of the last places in Providence County where the elderly (especially those who don't drive) and low-to-middle income folks can walk and do their day-to-day business without worrying as much about traffic, safety, and noise. I grew up lower income and spent a good portion of my childhood there so I am naturally protective about it. I also have a rental property close by so if anything wfh transplants would be a financial plus for me. But I'd rather not see it go in the direction of Edgewood or Federal Hill (or even Elmhurst--talk about sticker shock) over the past 10 years. It is what it is.

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