"Craft or crafty? Consumers deserve to know the truth"

And all this and more can be yours!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Odd-Pr...770?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec7e5e822

 

The flavored versions (Vanilla, Chocolate & Cherry) of Celebrate were available from 2005-2007.


Around the same time AB also was dabbling in crafty as well with their Brewers Private Reserve

 

Right you are, D.C.! I conflated the original release date of Anheuser World Select with that of the later, deluxe Michelob packages -ditto the Brewers Private Reserve- none of which sold in the desired numbers. I hope you'll forgive an old codger for his poor memory, but this was a retailer where beer hobbyists were always quick to judge (and take a pass on purchasing from) the proliferation of "Pseudo Microbrews". At least the wholesaler was good enough to credit us when those packages sat and sat -- most of the time, at least.

 

watched a really great movie on this awhile back really opened my eyes to how the beer industry really works.

 

I still have a magnum of that whale.

 

I had a magnum...

 

I know that this thread has long roots but I do think that Schell got shafted by the BA.

 

http://business.time.com/2013/08/13/that-craft-beer-youre-drinking-isnt-craft-beer-do-you-care/

I don't care if it's SN, SA, FT, or smaller. Good Beer is Good Beer to whomever drinks what they like.

 

Well that sure does settle it doesnt it
​

 

I stay away from SABMiller and INBev, other than that, I dont care how much SN makes, cause thats the only thing that doesnt make them "craft".

 

I have no interest in whether or not what I drink is craft beer. I have no allegiance to craft beer as a concept.

 

You're right, good beer is good beer, no matter who makes is.
However, regardless of whether BMC companies DO make good beer, I do think it is a bit disingenuous that they will put out beers suggesting they are craft, with no indication who owns the labels. For instance, I was at a place that they had Henry Weinhardt's brews. I had not heard of that brand before so I gave it a chance. Later when I got home, I looked it up and found that it was a Miller product. (BTW, it was the IPA, and was barely fair. wouldn't drink it again if I had a choice)
There was nothing saying it was a Miller product. if there was, I may have gone another direction in my drink that day.
Goose Island is also an odd circumstance. I never cared much for the regular offerings - the IPA, 312, etc, but I do like the big bottle series, - Sophie, Matilda, and of course BCBS. I will probably continue buying those as long as the quality holds out, but with that slight twinge of giving money to AB-Inbev.

ETA: It doesn't matter to me the size of the company brewing my beer, but the quality of the beer itself and also the quality of the company. For instance, Sam Adams may not have the best beers in the world, but things that the company does will keep me buying it. The hop sharing they did a couple years ago, the loans to up-and-coming companies, these are things that they wouldn't be able to do if they weren't as big as they are.

 

Craft...not craft....micro....macro...nano....who really gives a shit?

If it's good, it's good. If Inbev/Coors/insertothergenericmacrobrandhere would come out with a world class beer, I would drink it as easily and lustily as anything made by any small trendy operation.

The only people who care about these designations are the hipster doofuses who want to seem cool while wearing their thick-framed glasses and tams to seem edgy. Drink what you like, and who cares whether it's considered "craft".

Boston Beer Co. is a good example. Despite the incessant flaming and bullshit around here, they still make some world-class beer, and I couldn't possibly care less whether they are doing it in 20 barrels a year, or 20 million...as long as its good.

/end rant

 

I totally understand the concept of "if it tastes good, I'll drink it." What I don't understand is this acceptance of huge companies using deceptive marketing techniques to push their products. I'm sorry, but if your beer is brewed at a huge factory with a Budweiser logo on the side of it, and it says on the label that it's brewed by Shock Top and makes no mention of Budweiser, then you can go fuck off. I'll give my money to the next guy that's going to at least be honest to me.

EDIT: I'm not saying I refuse to purchase their stuff either. At ball games if there's no option, I'll get myself a tall boy.

 

Wow, that was a mostly accurate, mostly inoffensive summary of the debate that we here on BA find super familiar. And it is in Time Magazine???

 

Nice work on getting your thread linked in a Time article cavedave!

 

"Brad Tuttle covers business and personal finance for TIME."

With all the media people getting laid off lately, couldn't some of these on-line publications hire someone who actually knows something about beer instead of marketing or business or food or ferris wheels?

For example, if I did my homework from Jesskidden's posts, neither BBC, SN or NB exceed 6 million barrels which means none of them "are too successful to be considered 'micro.' "

And BTW, I wonder if there wasn't some quid-pro-quo-behind-the-back-under-the-table schmoozing for Mr. Tuttle to write this article? it comes out right after Tom Long's defense of Blue Moon as a craft brewery and contains mostly positive comments about ABInBev and MillerCoors products.

 

Jim Galligan of Beer and Whiskey Bros had a lot of good quotes in that article:

“The size of the brewery and who owns the brand isn’t the main issue,” he explained. “It’s really about a brewer trying to make the best product they can imagine, putting quality and flavor ahead of dollars and sense.” And Galligan and many others feel that “for mega brewers like A-B InBev and MillerCoors, and their ‘crafty’ brands like Shock Top, Batch 19 and Landshark Lager might look the part, but they really don’t taste the part.”

Though some may view the whole “craft beer” labeling debate as annoying and pretentious, Galligan sees the discussion as important for beer lovers everywhere. “People demanding an honestly good product is a good thing,” he said. It’s not remotely snobby or silly that people care enough about good beer to want to protect the scene from corporate brewers “who are simply looking to cash in without making meaningful contributions to craft beer culture,” Galligan said.

Ultimately, it all comes back to producing the best product possible, he said. “I think most people just want delicious and interesting beers to drink, and the size of the brewery that makes them matters far less than the quality of what’s in their glass.”

Cheers to Jim Galligan!

 

Maybe the Bros should grab the current list of the BA top 250 (after editing out the imports) and march over to Time for an article on the "Real" Best Beers in America.

On second thoughts, marching isn't practical, just borrow your favorite local breweries delivery truck and take a few tasty offerings out there as well.

And Jesskidden.....

 

The "concept" of craft beer, as I see it of course, is what fueled my passion of craft beer. Two each their own.