Fake Craft Beers

And is family controlled and with production of less than 2.5% of AB-Inbev.

 

Well, there are thousands of small, independent breweries that we all should agree that a craft.

You are right though I should have said 95% of us would agree on at least 85% of them. There is most always someone that will dissent just for the sake of doing so.

 

Like the definition of pornogaphy- I know it when I see it.

 

An unlikely comparison of organizations, but it's an eye-opener. Wow!

 

I love supporting the small guys and don't really like most of the beers from the big guys. However, even if InBev, or the Russians or even the Chinese bought Founders, I would still drink Oatmeal Breakfast Stout as long as it tasted the same. I love that beer.

 

I think that's what it comes down to - do you like the beer?

Back when this all started and "craft beer" didn't have the gray edges it does today (ironically due to the success it was achieving - PE/VC/macros started buying because they were effective) - Craft Beer was simply BETTER beer that happened to be made by smaller guys with a different focus than the commoditization of a product.

So - can we state that beers from the grey breweries that we've been discussing like Founders, Goose Island, Sam Adams etc - are BETTER beers than the typical AAL/comoditized macros like Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, etc?

I think so - for me that's true. So for me - it's still craft.

Drink what makes your tongue happy.

 

And if you dont make a profit the brewery closes down.

 

No you're not.
If the money is really a gift then you are independent and free to pour those funds down the drain making beers you like even if no one else does.

If the money is an investment or a loan you are no longer independent. You now have a legal & moral obligation to make beers other (paying) people like even if you don't really want to.

 

I get and agree with that. (I work at a tech start up) But then for the sake of consistency - unless the brewery is bootstrapped by the founders - then it's not independent. No asking for seed investment from friends and family.

Likely leaves a VERY small number of breweries that would be "independent" in that definition.

My point was more that investors are typically very necessary and having them - to me - isn't an immediate disqualification as something other than "craft".

 

or in a wax dipped can

 

Ya, semantics aside, I am curious who your personal edge cases are? Is there a brewery you think of as craft that you expect people to disagree with? Vice versa?

 

If you've had a beer you've likely had one from a brewery owned by “big beer” so arguing about a precise definition of craft is kinda pointless

First came across this a couple of years ago. It might be slightly out of date now.

https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2018/07/craft-beer-connections-brewery.html?m=1

 

Sure, but corporate masters tend to never be satisfied and drive relentless cost cutting. And, the money-bags masters are as bad, if not worse, than the macro brewing companies.

 

Hmm I'm not sure I get your point. Just because a person has drank a budweiser they can't also be interested in categorizing breweries? I'm interested in the idea of identifying breweries that perform to a certain quality standard even though i don't necessarily plan to then only drink beer from the best ones

 

I get what you mean. I was just pointing out that once you take on investors you have to brew beers that will turn more than a “making a living” profit, even if they are beers you personally don't care for.

 

Founders. It was much easier to argue they were still craft before selling another 60% stake.

 

It's for those who say they don't drink beer from AB inBev or any other macro.
Devil's Backbone Vienna? Owned by AB. The Kwak I really enjoy? Brewed by Bosteel which is owned by AB. Franziskaner weissbier? Another AB product.

The point I was trying to make is that you miss out on some excellent beers of you refuse drink anything from “big beer”

 

Turn and Burn by War Horse puts the wax on the non-tab side as a joke. Funniest part is that’s it’s pretty good beer.