[pct-l] change of manufacturing for Brooks Beast?

[Robert Henry]

I wore Brooks Beast trail running shoes for my through hike in 2012,
wearing out 6 or 7 pairs (I lost track) along the course of the summer.

The latest Beast I bought in November 2013 has worn in a way like none of
its predecessors.  The mesh top has worn out over my big toe; the old
versions didn't do this. The shoe box on the inside of the heels is much
less smooth than the old version, exposing large scale "lumpiness" which I
fear would lead to blistering.  The torsional rigidity of the new shoes
after a while seems much less than the old ones.

Does anybody on the list know if Brooks has made substantial changes to
this product line, which, historically at least for me, was quite
successful?

Robert "Collector" Henry