Brewers Association Updates Craft Brewer Definition

Since I am paying for it and drinking it, I will decide for myself which is a craft beer and which isn't.

 

Indeed. Good beer is good beer. No meaningless definition from a useless trade organization is going to change my mind about that.

 

Get off my lawn! I enjoy being a cynic!

 

Here's the difference to me (and I'm not arguing FOR macro beer; I'm pointing out the fallacy of their ignoring private equity firms and call them "independent"):

Macro beer buys craft brewers to brew beer;
Classical private equity firms are the corporate flippers. They are not interested in beer, or in long term profits; they are interested in increasing the value of the company, and flipping it.

 

According to an email from the Association's president and CEO, quoted in the Brewbound article on the change:

but it is doubt any of them are close to 50% "non-beer", as is BBC.

Another interesting aspect of the change, according to a blog post by the BA's Watson, (quoted in the same Brewbound article):

 

Thanks some of that numerical information that I didn't have. I also didn't know BBC was close to the 50% line, which may have triggered the review that led to the change, but as your sources note, there were others being excluded (probably unnecessarily) who will now be eligible for membership in the BA and there by have full access to the data they collect and a some of the other benefits of full membership.

 

Yeah, according to the B.A.'s stats for Boston Beer's barrelage last year (2017):

Total - 3,755,000 bbl.
Beer - 2,000,000 bbl.

The "Beer" figure is their estimate (altho' why they can't just ask Jim Koch, former B.A. board member ), the "Total" based on BMI's figures. Likely the 2018 BBC barrelage will reflect the same trend:
FMB, cider, seltzer=UP
Beer=DOWN.

Speaking of Koch, a BMI article from August noted he gave a brief speech at a Brewers of PA meeting, in which he noted that:

 

Maybe they did but can't acknowledge it publicly, so the round it off and call it an estimate.

 

Boston Beer Company is growing because of its non-beer products:

“Boston Beer’s year-to-date depletions are up 11 percent due to increased demand for Truly, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard products, the company said, and only partially offset by Samuel Adams’ declines.”

It sounds like they have an initiative to reverse the decline of Sam Adams products:

“Still, much of Boston Beer’s focus is on reversing negative Samuel Adams trends. Koch said the company will continue its attempt to improve the health of Boston Lager and Samuel Adams seasonal offerings. Asked what gives Boston Beer confidence that it can “move the dial” in the beer category moving forward, Koch responded by saying that “Sam Adams is the heart and soul of Boston Beer Company.”

“Part of that plan includes replacing the Samuel Adams “Fill Your Glass” TV ads, developed by outgoing CMO Jon Potter, who departs on July 31. Burwick said the campaign “wasn’t delivering” what the company needed. Instead, the company will roll out a new campaign highlighting the differences between Boston Lager and other lagers.”

https://www.brewbound.com/news/boston-beer-companys-double-digit-growth-continues-q2

I suppose we will have to take a wait and see approach to see whether Boston Beer Company can reverse the downward trend for their beers. In the meantime they appear to be doing very well with their non-beer products.

FWIW, there is no doubt in my mind that the Brewers Association made this recent change to what defines a craft brewery specifically to maintain Boston Beer Company as being a craft brewery. Some other small breweries may have benefited as well with this change but…

In my opinion the changes that the Brewers Association make is for consistency reasons: they consistently want to keep counting Sam Adams beers as craft beers in their statistics. Even if the sale of Sam Adams beers are in decline, counting around 2 million barrels of their beer as being beer from a craft brewery is a ‘benefit’ to the BA.

Cheers!

 

Part of the reason the Brewers Association keeps having to revise the definition of "craft brewer" (NB: They never have defined craft BEER) is because from the beginning, it was a definition of who is NOT a craft brewer re-worded and disguised to appear to be a definition of what IS a craft brewer.

But, then, "A craft brewer is any company that brews beer that is not AB-InBev, Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, Heineken, China Resources Enterprise, Mahou San Miguel, Asahi, Kirin, or Sapporo and their subsidiaries, successors, and assigns..." is a bit long-winded, incomplete, and less than classy!

 

Koch is back on the Board. Steve Hindy is too

https://www.brewersassociation.org/brewers-association/governance/board-of-directors/

 

Yes, that is also noted in the current Brewbound article:

...even if

But that "8%" figure is interesting, considering that in 2010 (the year before the B.A. upped the "2M bbl" definition of "Small" to 6 million) Boston Beer Co.'s share of the craft beer segment was 18.77% according to the B.A.

 

"the company will continue its attempt to improve the health of Boston Lager and Samuel Adams seasonal offerings"

6/12 packs of Holiday Porter and Old Fezziwig wouldn't hurt.

 

The long tail has gotten longer. 72% of the breweries are 1000 bbl or less

 

On more than one occasion I asked Boston Beer Co. Sales Reps: "Why don't you package Old Fezziwig as a stand-alone seasonal beer". Their basic reply is "abba dabba jabba wabba".

I really wish I could go to my beer store today and buy a 6-pack of Old Fezziwig,

Cheers!

 

6 Million Barrels????? WOW #Moving Target

 

Exactly

 

Same here. Maybe things will change someday.

 

Well, I am not holding my breath. I have discussed this issue with Boston Beer Co. Sales Reps over these many years and nothing seems to change.

My 'conspiracy theory' is that they solely sell Old Fezziwig in their Winter Pack to 'incentivize' people to purchase this pack. I personally refuse to buy this pack since I do not want to reward this bad behavior.

And the folks at Boston Beer Co. wonder why their beer sales are declining!?!

Cheers!

 

Since I opined about Old Fessiwig in the above post I will go further with my thoughts about Boston Beer Co. and their Marketing & Sales (non)prowess.

For a very long time Jim Koch was resistant to:

• Packaging his beers in cans
• Producing IPAs
• etc.

He eventually 'changed his mind' on these things but using an old saying: he was a day late and a dollar short.

If Boston Beer Co. is relying on the instincts of Jim Koch to 'turn around' the sales performance of Sam Adams beers then I do not have high hopes for them. Perhaps the recently appointed CEO Dave Burwick will be able to execute a beer sales turnaround here?

Cheers