I Don't Think This Is Right

I finally got around to reading Greg Engert's Esquire piece this morning.  He makes an argument that we shouldn't valorize local beer just because it's local.  I'm not particularly persuaded by his overall point (though I really wish people drank a lot more imported beer than they do), but it's plausible.  This, however, struck me as dead wrong:

All too often, when locally brewed beer gains prominence, a uniformity of offerings ensues. Bars, restaurants, and retail shops begin to showcase a similar roster of breweries and flavor profiles. These lists are often hop-heavy based on the standard session IPA, pale ale, IPA, and Imperial IPA.

One of the problems in assessing this statement is that I don't live everywhere.  It's absolutely not the case in Portland.  Whether you walk into restaurant with four tap handles or a beer bar like Apex, you're going to be offered a range of beer styles.  I just recently went on a whirlwind tour of Victoria, BC--not true there, either.  In the smattering of restaurants and pubs I've visited in Maine and Massachusetts, not true.  When locally-brewed beer gains prominence, more people are drinking it, which means there's more variety in the market. 

But that's just my experience. Can anyone point to a place where a burgeoning beer scene reduces variety?  I'd like to hear about that.

Chalkboard at the Hop and Hound, Bothell, WA