Originally Posted by thenewflesh
For example, one of the best (IMO) breweries in the country, Deschutes in Bend, OR, can only be had on the west coast. There is absolutely no way to get it on the East coast no matter where you go. Sure, you can get Anchor Steam and Rogue and Sierra Nevada and such, but these are all piss in comparison to Deschutes, particularly their seasonal blends. For my money, the summertime Twilight Ale is the best light ale I've ever had, and I've had lots and lots of ales, both light and dark. Their stout and porters are also phenomenal. If you are ever in WA/OR and love beer, I would highly, highly recommend trying these out.
You can't get Oregon's Deschutes (or Colorado's New Belgium, or Virginia's Old Dominion or etc. etc. etc.) everywhere because these companies are too small (hence the term "microbrewery") to economically distribute nationwide. And by that I don't just mean the expense of shipping to an area, but also things like the cost of marketing, of signing up a local or regional representative -- and also the cost in lost sales by reducing the amount of beer available to sell in their local or regional territories.
But stop and think: if you found a great bakery in San Francisco, would you be surprised that you couldn't find their pies on store shelves in New Jersey? Different product, same issue.