The End of Craft Beer

I think the main point of the article is that "craft" is becoming or is already a subjective term. Unless you can draw a line in the sand then the definition of a craft brewery will be ambiguous at best.

I don't know where I would put that line personally, as I don't know the brewing practices of all the micro/craft breweries that I frequent or support, but to me, there is more of a vibe that starts to arise when a brewery starts to lose that craft feel. Or actions taken by said brewery.

My closest example would be Victory. They make some great beer, but if you ask me, a craft brewery doesn't have two brewhouses, two brewpubs, and a spot as the main beer vendor at a major Philadelphia entertainment venue.

I can't blame them for profiting from their hard work, but maybe that has come at the cost of me being able to call them "craft"

On the other hand, maybe they are still craft because of the variety that they produce. Perhaps craft is synonymous with trying new things to further along the art of brewing a fantastic beer.

Nice read but as Sam said we'll see who's left at the end of the fight. Most breweries will sell out and the real Brewers will be here in the end.

Meh, I think the homebrewers alone will keep demand high. Didn't this happen before when all the big breweries tried to buy up the smaller ones and then went under themselves?

I loathe the word "Craft" in regards to beer. It's a garbage umbrella term.


Hell! Sam Adams calls it's beer "craft".



I'm gonna set up a "Craft Lemonade" stand for my kids next year. Then they can charge twice the amount!!!

I also loathe the term craft. Just because a brewery is large doesnt mean they arent a craft brewer. There are some huge breweries that still put out interesting and delicious beers. Dont have to "sell out" (what does that even mean?) to become successful and wide-spread. In my mind craft anything means it's higher quality ingredients/product. That's about it.

Im going to say only beer that has live yeast should be considered "craft beer". Ive been lookin up homebrew health..so that's where I'm at.Everything else is Micro/macro

Craft has definitely lost its meaning, the BA keeps redefining the term and has slowly diluted its meaning over the years. I agree a brewery is not small when you have more than one brewery. Stone, Sierra Nevada and Laguintas were already big guys on the block before building second breweries.
In reality we have 3-4 sizes: Macro, Large Brewery, Micro and Nano. Nano is questionable, but nano and micro would fit the majority of your local breweries

I don’t care for the word “craft” either. I admit that conversationally I do use the word quite often, but it’s mostly out of laziness, to provide some short-hand means of conveying the notion of “beer that is not ****ty American Adjunct Lager”. I realize that is kind of an over-simplification, but it’s kind of shocking how often such a crude distinction is sufficient to get the message across. I have considered coming at it the other way, and achieving the distinction by simply referring to my favored brews as “beer” and referring to BMC beers as “***** pops,” but that wouldn’t be very tactful in most social situations.

For my purposes, “craft”—insofar as it represents beer that is “desirable”—is more of an ethos than a classification of production volume. I just want full flavors, colors, and aromas. Don’t fear ales and give me a breadth of styles. Do not fall in the trap of “lowest common denominator in the name of highest profits,” because that would amount to taking Nickelback’s artistic philosophy and applying it to beer (all aboard for a one-way trip to Suckville!)

What I REALLY don’t like is when the word “craft” is used on product labels in what is presumably a shameless attempt to drum up street cred. That always translates as very lame and stilted to me, even if the beer within is tasty and of good quality.

When it comes down to it, I’m capable of enjoying a well-made beer regardless of the size of the company behind it, but as a matter of principle, I do not give my money to juggernauts like InBev because they care more about the profits than the product, and that is not a philosophy or culture that I want to help fund. That means I stop buying beers from “craft” outfits that get bought out by Big Beer. I don’t do this to make the statement that I no longer think the product is any good, it is just me using my wallet to voice my disappointment. I don’t blame little guys for selling out to get the big payday, but the flip side of that is they shouldn’t blame me for spending my money elsewhere when I find out that they gave away the keys to the kingdom.

mattdee1 said:

I do not give my money to juggernauts like InBev because they care more about the profits than the product

Click to expand...

Do you honestly believe ANY medium-to-large company maintains any level of "passion" for their product that exceeds their focus on profits?

Corporations have shareholders to answer to, and shareholders demand profits. A company can be passionate as a hippy at Woodstock, and make the best widgets the market has ever seen, but it won't keep the lights on and the doors open if no one is looking at profits.

Don't be naïve. As an investor, I fully expect any company I invest in to prioritize the bottom line above all else. Quality and passion are merely a means of achieving ongoing profits.

I remember reading an article in the '90's about craft beer. Ingredient cost for craft beer from a regional brewer was 1.5 cents higher per 12 oz bottle than for macro beer. It makes me wonder what "craft" beer would cost if it was actually brewed on a macro scale. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

End of craft beer? Please. More like shake up in the market place. Also, no new news in that article, all fluffing up old news. The only thing that will kill craft beer is a lack of demand for craft beer. Until that happens, there will be plenty for all.

Also, yall are mixing up "craft" and "macro". If A-B came out with a killer RIS, does that make it less craft? Does that make A-B less big beer? Size doesnt have anything to do with creativity. Is Lagunitas product somehow tainted now that it is partially owned by another company? (spoiler: no, they would have to change the product for higher profit first).

Craft...Micro...Macro. Just a bunch of charged up words. What's under the bottle cap is what matters.

ncbrewer said:

I remember reading an article in the '90's about craft beer. Ingredient cost for craft beer from a regional brewer was 1.5 cents higher per 12 oz bottle than for macro beer. It makes me wonder what "craft" beer would cost if it was actually brewed on a macro scale. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Click to expand...

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is usually less than $1 more per 12 pack than Coors here. I think that's the floor, it won't get cheaper.

ncbrewer said:

I remember reading an article in the '90's about craft beer.

Click to expand...

Must be nice.
I can't remember what I did last summer.

blah blah blah *inconsequential opinion* blah blah blah, im tired of these topics
what about the good ol days where we would bicker about IPAs?

m00ps said:

blah blah blah *inconsequential opinion* blah blah blah, im tired of these topics
what about the good ol days where we would bicker about IPAs?

Click to expand...

That topic has already been resolved:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=548974

until someone zombifies it next week

m00ps said:

blah blah blah *inconsequential opinion* blah blah blah, im tired of these topics
what about the good ol days where we would bicker about IPAs?

Click to expand...

IPAs are bad.

kombat said:

Do you honestly believe ANY medium-to-large company maintains any level of "passion" for their product that exceeds their focus on profits?

Click to expand...

Maybe passion was the wrong word choice, then. If it makes you feel better, then let's replace "passion" with "the enthusiasm for beer, the boldness, and the creativity required to design, perfect, produce, and market beers that have varied and full flavor and color, even if it means making sacrifices in broadness of appeal and product cost".

That's a bit of a mouthful, though.

Whatever we choose to call it, I'm not sure why you're responding to what I said by arbitrarily re-framing the discussion to "medium to large" companies, when a significant chunk of the money I spend on beer goes to local companies that are decidedly "small".

Corporations have shareholders to answer to, and shareholders demand profits. A company can be passionate as a hippy at Woodstock, and make the best widgets the market has ever seen, but it won't keep the lights on and the doors open if no one is looking at profits.

Don't be naïve. As an investor, I fully expect any company I invest in to prioritize the bottom line above all else. Quality and passion are merely a means of achieving ongoing profits.

Click to expand...

What in the world do these two paragraphs have to do with anything I said in my post?

Yes, corporations answer to shareholders and strive to make the biggest profits possible. It is precisely the knowledge of such self-evident facts that is guiding my buying choices--that was the whole point of what I said.

With all of what you were arguing in that other BMC thread, and now this, I'm guessing that you're choosing to interpret every dig against BMC as a dig against the very philosophies of big business and capitalism (random, incongruous use of the word "hippy" was the clincher). Why make it about that? It's about setting the conditions needed for the proliferation of good beer, that's all.

It is because the smaller companies are usually not beholden to shareholders that they are able to operate under different rules, with different styles of management, and different guiding motivations. Heck, I work for a privately-owned global company, so I can see firsthand how much of a difference that makes in how the show gets run, compared to the corporation I worked for before (a major automotive OEM). Night and day.

When it comes to beer, selfishly, I stand to benefit more from the success of smaller, independent outfits than I do from the success of Labatt Blue. This benefit comes in the form of new, good beer at bars and stores, to temper the glut of flavorless swill.

iijakii said:

I also loathe the term craft. Just because a brewery is large doesnt mean they arent a craft brewer. There are some huge breweries that still put out interesting and delicious beers. Dont have to "sell out" (what does that even mean?) to become successful and wide-spread. In my mind craft anything means it's higher quality ingredients/product. That's about it.

Click to expand...

Well said. Heck, there's a brewery near me (Red Oak) that could produce 2-3 times more than they already do and still remain a "craft" beer by definition, but something about our state laws prevent them from brewing more than they do.

Now I want a Red Oak... and I don't have $20 for a 12-pack, nor $6 for a pint at the bars near here that carry it on tap. Damn.

POP QUIZ! Circle the correct answer.

1) The main ingredient in beer is water.
2) The main ingredient in beer is money.

1) Beer producers truly care what you think of their product and strive to make you happy.
2) Beer producers don't care WHAT you think of their product as long as it sells, which depends upon them making you think they actually care about what you think.

1) The color of beer is pale yellow to very dark brown.
2) The color of beer is green.

GHBWNY said:

POP QUIZ! Circle the correct answer.

1) The main ingredient in beer is water.
2) The main ingredient in beer is money.

1) Beer producers truly care what you think of their product and strive to make you happy.
2) Beer producers don't care WHAT you think of their product as long as it sells, which depends upon them making you think they actually care about what you think.

1) The color of beer is pale yellow to very dark brown.
2) The color of beer is green.

Click to expand...

#3 Yeast will one day take over the world!!!

fuzzy2133 said:

will one day take over the world!!!

Click to expand...

ftfy

This one again?

Why would "craft" beer end?

Beer as a whole has less sales/buyers/drinkers than 10 years ago, 20 years ago, etc.
That's what matters most.

Without starting an argument (yeah right), BEER is an industry, "Craft" Beer is a small part of a bigger industry.

Get your Vodka/Wine/Ripple drinking friends swung on ANY Beer and they're way more likely to drink "Craft Beer" and help the industry.

Yeah, I gotta say, I'm on the fence on this one.

On one hand, I believe that not only is "craft" an ambiguous term, but ultimately it is the "us vs. them," mentality that truly drives an unnecessary wedge and creates artificial boundaries between devout Macro and Micro beer drinkers. Both sides are to blame.

On the other hand, however, smaller breweries happen to make more flavorful, enticing, and exciting beers. Smaller batch brewery beer costs a little more, but its completely justified in most cases because the beer (again, in most cases) is worth the extra couple bucks.

So in a comparison between the two models, I gotta say I firmly believe that the so called "craft model" simply makes a "better" product and that will not go away anytime soon.

Whether or not the market will become over saturated, however, is another matter. I predict that the bubble will burst in the next 3 years.

kombat said:

Do you honestly believe ANY medium-to-large company maintains any level of "passion" for their product that exceeds their focus on profits?

Click to expand...

The two are not mutually exclusive. There are lost of examples of modern companies who are successful because of their pa$$ion. In fact in his book Linchpin, Seth Godin explains that in these modern times, anything you do is easily copied by somebody who will do it cheaper. The way to remain relevant is to focus on excellence and the dollars will follow.

Einstein said, "Many things that count can't be counted, and many things that can be counted don't count." Spreadsheets can't calculate a recipe. People like Sam Calagione are focusing on making beers they can be proud of first, and are financially successful because they haven't let the dollars make the decisions for them. What separates "craft" from "macro" is that brewers are making the decisions instead of accountants. And, the brewers are making beers people want to buy. And making money because of it.