Vermont and Maine, in particular, are very loyal to their own native-made products. Their products were greeted by a great big collective yawn. These lessons aren't lost on craft brewers who have undergone major expansion programs. For instance, Great Lakes' new brewery will eventually expand production to over 60,000 barrels annually. But that flood of beer won't reach beyond Ohio and contiguous states.
Small breweries can police their accounts and rotate stock faster in their backyards.
On the same note, don't look for many new craft beers from large companies. Miller's Lowenbrau Marzen and Premium Pils sank with barely a ripple. The Jack Daniels Distillery axed its line of specialty beers at the end of 1997. Latrobe Brewing Co. in Latrobe, PA, will probably write finis to its Latrobe Pale Ale, Bohemian Pils and Bavarian Black. Anheuser-Busch quietly retired its American Originals line, preferring to bank on the less assertive Michelob specialty family.