Fake Craft Beers

I mean, until Karbach began making their Ranch Water brand of seltzer, nobody had heard of them outside of Texas.

Frankly, I’ve come to care less about the craft/macro distinction the more I’ve gotten into beer. There are craft beer options that I love, and there are macro options that I also heartily enjoy. Most of my drinking these days are imports from other countries’ macro breweries. Many macro brands are excellent beers in their own right, some craft beers are quite questionable in their quality. Many people here tend to ding the macro brands, but if you look carefully, you’ll see they’re critiquing those companies’ business practices, not the actual product. If you look at the WBAYDN threads, the macro beer posts get just as much likes as those obscure IPA.

Just find out what you like, and drink it!

 

Most of my beer purchases are from independent breweries. Two exceptions are BCBS (although I haven’t bought any In at least 3 years) Founders. I don’t begrudge the former independent brewers or those that support them. There are just too many options out there. I’m not going to buy Elysian or Lagunitas or Karbach or the like. My exceptions are hypocritical but I’m ok with that.

Blue Moon is entirely different, IMO. It was never independent. The ‘fake craft’ moniker fits nicely here. Since it’s inception it has marketed to look like a craft beer to consumers.

 

Or perhaps a swing and a hit considering how many people here seem to not realize that the difference between attitudes and awareness regarding Goose Island and Founders is partially a result of the lack of BeerAdvocate users living in Spain.

 

For me -

I separate by independent or not.

"Craft beer" has much more to do with how it's made and less with who made it (again for me)

I prefer independent beer from independent breweries. They all tend to be craft beer and local to about 40 miles from home under my definition.

Macro breweries can and do produce "craft beer" - again, as I define it FOR ME. It's not AAL produced to the cheapest common denominator. Founders as discussed here would fall into that category.

I've never been a guy that believed you support "craft beer" (old definition) just because it's craft beer. News flash - some craft beer isn't very good, either to style or over all. I'm not going to reward that just because "hey we're craft and have beards", no more than I reward "Hey we're independent and have beards"

Product has to be good too, not just a label on the can. I try and go independent but if FBS is what I want - it's what I get and it IS a craft beer for me.

 

Do you mean "fake" like the WWE is "fake"?

 

Oh boy, *now* you did it.

 

Wow, hard to believe the phrase craft beer could have even less meaning than it had when I was a daily drinker, or its use could be even more without value, but here we are.

 

Not only has craft lost its meaning and usefulness as a term, IMO so has "independent.".

According to the Brewers Association, a brewery is still "independent" when owned by a larger corporation or even a buy-and-sell asset management company so long as they are not one of the evil macro brewers.

How is that "independent"?

 

@BruChef 'asked': "Define “craft” beer."

Here is one take on the very controversial topic of "What is Craft Beer?"

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/What_Is_Craft_Beer

Cheers!

 

Perhaps, and only a guess - those non BMC breweries that have ownership stakes - they can't influence the industry as much as the others can?

I mean - if my family wants to give me 4 million dollars to open a brewery - am I not independent, even tho it's not my money? What if they happen to own a chain of restaurants - a corporation? What if my brother owns a hedge fund/PE/VC company and I get the money there?

Am I not independent if I have investors?

 

For what its worth,, I have heard a rather compelling argument that Mahon San Miguel is a more acceptable overlord since it is still family owned and allegedly devoid of the kinds of negative accusations levied against the likes of AB-InBev. I have not investigated those claims at all, but they are claims that have been made

 

The fixation on "what is craft beer" baffles me. It is like debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. IMO, quality is more important than how or by whom the quality is acheived, although I admit to a (very) small bias for products produced by the underdog.

 

Which is as controversial a topic as which beers are "craft beer". How do you define which is a "quality beer"? Would you classify Budweiser as being a "quality beer"?

Cheers!

 

I’ve never liked the term “craft beer” and I still don’t. Drink and let drink is my credo.

PS: I love having a credo.



In all seriousness, though, I don’t care for the term “craft” because in the end it’s all just beer. There are certainly beers that I enjoy more than other beers, but if a particular beer is enjoyed by someone (Mrs O and Miller Lite, for example), may the beer godz bless them. I’m a beer nerd, not a beer snob.

If I do have a nit to pick, it’s when we go to a restaurant and the menu suggests I ask our server about the establishment’s craft beer selection.

I make the request and invariably get “Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Shock Top, Blue Moon” in response. When I ask if they have something ….. a little more local, the inevitable sigh and a snappy “I’ll be back in a minute with the list” is something that I do NOT enjoy.

 

Depends on the paperwork.

In many (most?) cases, no. If the investor has an equity stake, the investor has a say in any/all business decisions, usually driven by profit.

 

Just remember "the truth isn't the truth". It's been established by a mayor, for God's sake!

 

Craft or not?
I'm worried about the final product. I'm less worried about Heineken owning Lagunitas than ABInbev owning Goose Island, Blue Point, and Alliance/Widmer. At this point, Lagunitas products only come from their Illinois and California breweries. ABInbev produces many of their Goose Island and other beers at their large plants, not at the acquired brewery. I thought I noticed some shift (not in a good way, to my taste) in some Blue Point brands retained after the acquisition.

 

Except if one is in Europe apparently.