Where Is Craft Beer Headed Now?

Will Pot replace Beer? The Brewery Workers union thought it might, way back in 1970.

 

Or, the people who view using it as being part of a rebellious movement will abandon it once people no longer see them with an illegal smile!

 

if growth in the legal cannabis industry will stop the weed puns in the beer industry, bring it on...please.

 

Well, remember that was still journalism's "Reefer Madness" period - ya can't believe everything you read, believe me.

 

Might that just put the squeeze on the 15$ +four pack market? Win win!?

 

I know what I'm about to write isn't going to be popular, as it touches upon what has historically been a sore spot on BA (at least since I've been here), alcoholism and alcohol overuse. Here's where the craft beer "movement" differs pretty significantly from cavedave's other countercultural movements--as much as we like to call this a "hobby," it's foundationally based on the consumption of a potentially harmful, highly addictive substance. As a former pothead and user of hallucinogens (as I suspect many of us here are/were), I can state pretty safely that marijuana and other drugs that are often adjacent to music experiences (Grateful Dead, etc.), are simply not as potentially harmful or addictive.

Let's be real: most of our spouses, family members, and other significant people in our lives have no idea how much alcohol we're actually consuming. When they see us drinking a single DIPA/TIPA or pastry stout, they don't know that the ABV is between 2-3 times higher than what they think of as "a beer." Many of us consume way more alcohol than we know is healthy, whether we're functional alcoholics or not.

Here's my point--I think sometime in the next one to two years, a prominent print or online journalist is going to write a takedown of the craft scene as a hotbed for growing alcoholism and alcohol overuse, especially among a younger crowd who came to beer through 9-10% milkshake IPAs and 10-14% pastry stouts. I know this is purely anecdotal, but the last couple of times I've been to the Other Half taproom on a Saturday afternoon, I've seen far more belligerent drunks than I've ever seen at a regular bar or brewery in my life. I predict there will be a reckoning among brewers that results in more responsible brewing, serving, and selling practices.

I'm truly not trying to be moralistic here. I love my big-ass-ABV beers as much as any of you, but I think there's trouble brewing here, on the level of high alcohol consumption, that is going to alter the craft beer scene sooner than later.

 

Marijuana, you have a point. Other drugs? Not so much.

I know you stated them separately, but just to be clear: Alcoholism and heavy drinking (aka alcohol abuse) are two separate things.

 

Where is this headed?

Towards a separation hyper local craft from regional and nation wide craft, and every hyper local brewer making the same damn hazy IPA and kettle sour with an annual BBA stout release.

We're almost there now.

 

I do think it's important to keep them separate, but neither are particularly "helped" by the production, sale, and cool factor of sometimes astoundingly-high ABV beers.

 

You left out that part.

 

Agreed.

 

... that people buy at "maximum allotment" levels and feel the need to consume "fresh."

 

Craft will lose some of its cache when people start to realize that it isn't a "movement" or a "rebellion" but rather a business like any other.

 

I was once using the term "strong ale" on BeerAdvocate with wide brush strokes. A member laughed and said something to the effect that a DIPA could be a strong ale too by that definition. He meant it dismissively. The thing is... they are strong ales. DIPAs are completely in the same ABV category as barley wines. When I had my thread where I was drinking a barley wine a day, people commented that I was abusing my liver. And yet, we have a daily drinking thread here that I'm sure features DIPA after DIPA after DIPA... and without anyone giving any thought to it since craft fans associate IPAs as daily drinkers. In the book "The Beer Bible," Jeff Alworth put DIPAs in the strong ale section, immediately after barley wine. I'm sure that confused many readers looking for them in the "IPA" section.

 

Not sure how it's playing out everywhere but in Cali legalization seems to have raised legal prices. Haven't actually been to a store to see for myself but I've heard that after taxes you could be out 50-70$ an 1/8th. Worse than 20$ 4 packs if you ask me

 

I agree with your point that a shift from mainly 5-7% ABV beers in 12 oz bottles to many more 7-9+% in 16 oz cans has made it easier to drink more than intended at home. But if the younger crowd grows up on cans that are essentially two drinks, they won't be surprised that a four pack can get you drunk. Bars typically serve the stronger stuff in smaller glasses, and are responsible for not overserving patrons whether they are drinking IPAs, whiskey, or bottles of wine.

I don't think there's really a story there.

I also wouldn't call alcohol highly addictive. It has a lot of potential for abuse, but it's not chemically addictive like nicotine. Especially now that marijuana is becoming easier to get legally, I think we will actually see more stories about marijuana "addicts".

 

There is still a thriving and very affordable 'traditional' market for cannabis products around these parts for sure. And I do agree that broad legalization has seemed to make things significantly cheaper and more available nationwide. And that march will surely continue. I agree that it is unlikely to have much of a negative impact on craft beer.

 

This is spot on for me. I remember the days when I'd go to the bottle shop and I'd see fresh west coast, black, red, white, etc. IPAs. Nice variety. Now you see plenty of fresh NE IPAs in 16oz cans, all the other IPA styles are shelf turds for the most part. I hope this changes. I think it will - people just need to get the haze craze out of their system. For the record, I do enjoy the style, it's just overkill at this point.