Boycotting Is a Slippery Slope

A smart and effective strategy.

Indeed you do.

I'm a bit confused, though. Do you, personally, boycott places? If so, what are your criteria for said boycott?

 

I recall a TV special with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery, during which he explained how AB and other corporate brewers constantly hit him with frivolous lawsuits. So I understand the feelings of folks like Sadie.

I also understand the need for a small magazine to secure ad revenue to survive.

I boycott all big beer companies. Not consciously, though. I simply can't stand their beer, if you can even call it beer.

Craft beer has won the hearts, minds and taste buds of millions. And the big boys know it! Also, needless to say, passions run high among craft beer drinkers.

I support BA with an annual magazine subscription. I think the BA site is an invaluable resource for beers lovers. And I would never want to see it disappear.

Apologies for the rant. I'm only on my first IPA. I suppose it could've been worse. Cheers!

 

Curiously, I wonder how you think Sam C. treats other craft brewers who have infringed upon his trademarks?

If you didn't know, here's a clue.

 

With so many alternatives and selection for customers, should we really be shocked the industry is becoming so cutthroat? I'm sure any brewery would smack anyone with lawsuits to protect their niche

 

Good well balanced article that illustrates nicely both sides of the dilemma faced by those who need to have trademarks and defend them. In a situation of "defend it or lose it" I'd say DFH has chosen one of the more civil paths through the morass created by trademark law and the need to do due diligence before naming something.

 

I wouldn't consider trademark protection to be cutthroat, but for Sam C. to talk about frivolous lawsuits is rather ridiculous, as the examples in the article represent entities that really aren't in competition with DFH.

And as happy-go-lucky as Sam C. seems in the media, he (and his wife) is as viscous a business person as anyone that I've ever heard of.

 

Unfortunately it's not just the beer industry where such things happen. The problems of "Defend it or Lose it" are much more pervasive in the world of business in general.

 

Not that I want to hijack this thread and make it into a trademark thread, but the oft recited mantra that craft beer is a family, just isn't true. There is no more kumbaya in craft beer and there really wasn't much to begin with.

 

Yeah, as the article points out, such changes are a side effect of the increased number of producers of alcoholic beverages. It also doesn't help when the new kids don't even realize they need to do their due diligence when entering the new community/territory/business environment.

 

Regarding boycotting brewers and publications, I recall a comment by Oscar Wilde: "Moderation in all things, including moderation." I find AB and their ilk irritating and when convenient I will avoid their stuff, but with the exception of Bud Lite and similar abominations, if it is a choice between drinking beer or drinking soda water I will drink the beer everytime. Hypocrisy? I go with Ralph Waldo Emerson: "consistency is the hobgoblin of a little mind (roughly quoted)." Unless I am boiling brats or trying to learn something I generally buy craft but I am not going to waste my time trying to memorize everybody AB InBev and their comrades own.

Regarding taking adds from Darth Vader, I am reminded of an Albert King song: "Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die." If I have to choose between sitting around wrapped in spiritual purity in a diaper chanting om or reading a magazine that stays in business selling adds to Darth Vader, if the content is good, I'll crack open a beer and read the magazine.

 

Although not ‘kumbaya’, there is certainly some camaraderie in craft beer, at least around here. The relationships I have with guild members are not unlike the relationships my da had with his ‘brothers’ in his 30 years in I.B.E.W.
We compete, and shit talk, and not everyone gets along, but if you have a stalled ferm start and need lager yeast, or your coolant had a leak and you need glycol and can’t deliver any for a couple of days...someone is going to help you out at no cost.

As far as boycotts go...personally, the only breweries I refuse to patronize are ones with a history of poor treatment towards their workers. I don’t have the moral luxury to support a company that given the opportunity, would have no problem abusing me or my pocketbook. That includes several average craft brewers, one (sadly) tasty import, and, as far as I know, zero of the big guys. I usually don’t drink their stuff because I just don’t like it that much.

Maybe this makes me a dick for caring more about my industry than the “sweatshop workers who make my phone”, but...you know...gotta look out for me and mine, fam.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as if small, local brewers tend to have a better relationship with each other than they do with larger concerns.

That makes a lot of sense.

Also understandable.

 

I think it’s a regional thing. I hear the Milwaukee craft brewers get along just fine with the Miller guys. They drink in the same bars after work, try each other’s beers and shoot the shit. And the Miller guys dream about getting to brew IPAs and people thinking they are cool and the craft guys dream about making twice the money they do and getting to use those badass fittings you remove with a mallet like John Henry or something.

It also has to do a lot with distributor loyalties. If you are with a bud or a miller house (and many, many craft breweries are) then you tend to be cooler with those guys just because you have the same reps and deal with the same people.

We don’t have a Sam Adams or Yuengling here in Chicago. The closest thing would be Goose and Lagunitas. When you sell, you lose the right to some memberships and stuff, but the guys working there are still buddies. I’m sure if Goose or Lag ever needed a bag of hops or something (they wouldn’t) someone would help them out. Definitely vice versa.

 

Thanks for sharing that, man. Cool stuff.

 

No problemo! And that’s just how it works here. Chicago beer is doing great and there’s no need for nastiness.
If that changes, or in different markets where the industry is hurting, or over saturated, or the big guys are loosing money...I can see things being a little different when your livelihood is at stake...

 

Love what's happening there. Wish I could make it there more than every other year, though.

My issue is that I've seen breweries employ less than fair practices in regards to other breweries even if scarcity wasn't an issue. Guess I'm just a bit jaded.

 

That’s a bummer. Some guys just don’t get the concept of “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

A lot of the shady stuff done in beer happens on the distributor level. Obviously breweries are partially responsible for who they choose to do business with, but it’s not like a distributor, while courting a brewer, will say, “we are going to use your desirable brand to strong arm accounts into buying other things in our portfolio.” And good luck breaking up with a distributor. It’s a nightmare.

In many ways, brewers are, either by accident or purposefully, oblivious to what happens to their beer once it leaves their doors.

On the brewer level, I could see some of the big guys having the means and motive to pull bullshit, but short of badmouthing other brewers, what exactly can a little guy do to sabotage?

 

At the risk of being controversial...

In the case of the distributing beer business there are three elements: brewery, wholesale distributor and the retailer. When 'issues' occur it seems that every party has a finger (or two) to point at others in this chain. As the end consumer (we beer drinkers) we have absolutely no way of knowing who is at 'fault' when things do not work out properly (e.g., fresh beer being available at my local beer store).

Do you have any suggestions on how we beer drinkers can divine what is 'truth' here?

Cheers!

@Sixpoint @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @SierraTerence @IceAce

 

Quite frankly, the frontline of sales will usually be the segment that has to bury the moral compass the most.
Its easy to say, “I won’t do that” until your paycheck is in the balance. This is not specific to beer. It’s part of the reason I think commission (and tips. Sorry!) are bullshit.
All brewers have to do is make the product and make it well. Salespeople take over from there and they will often do whatever they can to get a placement.

 

Are you meaning the brewery sales force or the distributor sales force? You seem to be saying the brewery bears no responsiblity for their choice of a distributorship.

I'd personally think that a brewery does bear some responsilbilty for how their product gets handled/sold after it leaves the brewery since they are the ones who signed the contract with the distributor in the first place. Yes, contracts once signed can be hard to get out of, but distributorships do have reputations, etc.