Friday, April 8, 2011

the last time i drove to cleveland there was a car on fire in the middle of the street, and to passers-by it seemed completely normal...

I was anxiously awaiting yesterday's ratings to be posted. The Mentalist is by far one of the best shows on television. Last night they once again proved it by completely dominating in their time slot and coming in second overall (behind American Idol)[1]. So far this season, it is rated at #9, but other than NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, every show above them is some sort of singing, dancing, or sporting competition. So as far as actual produced/filmed in a studio with actors TV shows go, The Mentalist is #3[2]. Crime dramas can be pretty entertaining, but I always like to laugh, and The Mentalist delivers a great mix. I just spent the last few weeks catching up on missed shows and from season one till now the winning formula really hasn't changed. I guess that is why this show has never been "on the bubble." When you average 15 million viewers a week, you probably aren't going anywhere. Which is great; it's a winning formula for a reason...which is what confuses me about beer. There are so many good beers that are "here today and gone tomorrow." While the craft beer industry seems to be constantly growing [3], it makes me wonder, why do they cancel my favorite beers? I would have thought that it followed the same formula as TV: if people like it, keep selling it. That's why we probably won't see Patrick Jane catch Red John anytime soon. So why doesn't Great Lakes Brewing Company apply this to their beer? Their Grassroots Ale was in a seasonal mix pack I bought last spring and it instantly became one of my all time favorites. I haven't seen it since. Great Lakes' website lists it as a "pub exclusive," so if it is popular enough to keep around at your pub, then why not bring it back to the masses? How doesn't this make logical sense? I want to buy it, you have the ability to sell it, yet you don't. It reminds me of every TV network's Tuesday line-up: They've got the good stuff, they're just selling it some other day while Tuesday remains this strange day of the week where there is nothing on TV, and if you want to buy Grassroots Ale, you have to drive to Cleveland. It just seems backwards.

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