Smiths Shafts Odell for Bottled Water

Anyone else notice the sudden lack of Odell beers in the local Smiths stores? Yeah, me too. To get the scoop, I made a call to Odell's headquarters in Fort Collins, CO. Thanks to Amanda Johnson and Ryan Bogart, I learned that the Odell line, save for the IPA, had been nixed from Smiths to "Make room for additional domestics and their cheap signature line", according to Bogart. That's quite the setback for a store that had been making strides in the craft beer area, and I haven't noticed any IPA on the shelves, either. It's like the brand never existed. I have noticed the addition of the Moe's Backroom line of beers, which include a pale ale, lager, and amber ale. All are brewed by the "Tap Room no. 21 Brewery". Wow, at least the Odell line is being replaced by another quality craft brewery, right? That Tap Room Brewery is better known as City Brewery, the La Crosse, WI giant that specializes in malt liquors, such as the brown bag classics City Slicker, Crazy Stallion, and Pit Bull, among others. While I have been known to throw back the occasional 40, I don't want to see a faux craft brewery taking shelf space over a higher quality product. Send Moe's Backroom to the 7-11s, and put Odell back in Smiths, right next to the Michelob Ultra and Old English 800.