Defining BMC

Yeesss... I mean BBC (as if you didn't know ), and they're below the 6 million barrel annual limit designated by the (less than objective) Brewers Association?

 

Or a Goose Island IPA.

 

If that were ever to happen, I'd certainly defer my opinion until I actually tried the beer.

 

AAL is a product
BMC is a lifestyle

Neither is evil

 

The Brewers Association recently changed their definition of craft to include a new 6 million barrel limit (up from 2 million) specifically to accomodate Boston Beer Company. The change did not escape notice on this site when it happened back in 2011.

 

Macro, bland (yes I know that's different for everybody) lagers. Bud, Miller, Coors, all their "lite" offerings, Corona, Heineken etc.

 

That isn't the answer to the question I posed, which was: is the BBC brewing 6 million bbls or under annually?

Maybe it didn't escape notice to all those who bow down to the rulings by the BA, but most of us judge our beers on how much we like them.

 

You are showing quite a bit of hostility here and I don't care to engage you any more. Look up Boston Beer Company's production numbers yourself, it's public information.

 

And this certainly speaks volumes:

So yeah, I'm hanging on every decision the BA makes because their objectivity is always so clear.

 

Hostility, sarcasm, whatever.

 

The numbers here for beer look to be accurate. Add in Tea and Cider, BBC may be around 3 million bbls.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/05/24/top-10-us-craft-breweries-by-sales-volume/

 

That doesn't seem light? I can't honestly say because it's not the sort of stat that rivets me, but based on some "opinion" that floats around here, BBC makes too much beer to be considered "craft." But I guess if you have a seat on the board that decides that sort of thing...

*By the way, that's sales volume. Not sure where that falls in proximity to actual production.

 

The numbers for Bells and SN look to be spot on.

Yes, Jim Koch was on the BA board when change was made, IIRC. He is no longer on the board. As JK has said, it would hurt the growth numbers if BBC were to drop off.
http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/about-us/board-of-directors

 

With Twisted Tea and their two cider brands (and, one supposes, that wholly-owned Somesort of Traveler subsidiary's barrelage, as well) Beer Marketing Insights put BBC at 2.7 million barrels for 2012.

Changing the B.A.'s ceiling for "small" from the TTB's limit of 2m bbl/yr to 6m bbl/yr also allowed both Yuengling and Pabst to become small in the eyes of the Brewers Association (neither are "craft", tho', due to their adjunct usage).

The "under Two Million barrels" definition dates from the mid-1970's when the reduced Excise Tax Rate went into affect. At the time there were about 12 "Big Breweries" in the US, ranging from AB's 29m. bbl to Genesee's 2.5m bbl., leaving about 40 or so "Small" ones, from the soon-to-be bought by S&P Pearl (1.5m) to Anchor (under 10,000 bbl.). So the industry was very different than it is today, with only 2 "Big" brewers left, accounting for 160m bbl. or about 3/4 of US beer sales.

 

What did escape many people's notice was that the original 2 mil figure was an aribitrary choice in the first place...

 

Well, the core of this question is whether you use "BMC" to describe a type of beer manufacturer (aka, brewer) or a type of beer. The definition *has* to start there.

When I read a comment that references "BMC", I tend to associate the term with any AAL or similar style beer that exemplifies the traits we typically see in Bud/Bud Light, Miller/Miller Lite, and Coors/Coors Light. So to me, BMC is a way of describing a categorization of beer that is broader than a specific style, although it tends to be associated with a specific style.

If we're talking about BMC in reference to producers, then it conjures up a specific *approach* to selling beer in my mind. It's the difference between tailoring a product to the lowest common denominator to maximize sales volume versus tailoring a product to a quality/style standard then using marketing to find the niche who wants to purchase those kinds of beers. Obviously, both approaches depend on sustaining sales to remain in business, but with craft beer, it seems there is more focus on sustaining vs. more focuse on growing with BMC. To me, the difference could be summed up by two different mission statements:

BMC: "I want to make money by selling beer"

Craft: "I want to make beer and need to make money so that I can keep making beer"

Now, whether or not that's an accurate description or not is the question. It's my perception at least. Maybe BMC is like ****--it's hard to define, but you know it when you see it...

 

With Coors and Miller being owned by SABMiller the C of BMC seems a little redundant. I motion to replace C with H. Being the third largest brewing conglomerate in the world, Heineken deserves recognition as a great advertising agency pushing a mass-produced, sub-par product on an ignorant demographic.

Though I do recognize that BMH does not flow as well.

 

Craft= go-to
BMC= emergency back up
The goose is now on the back up plan roster and a good one at that!

Too many festivals with nothing but a goose tap handle and no one there to talk brew. I know it's tough to cover all the events but if you can't rep your product either stay away or you're a BMC. Just my opinion please don't crucify me!