Most "Googled" beer names in 2014

I say that line should be thrown away altogether. Beer is beer.

 

I think this thread is talking about two differnt ideas of a Craft beer. http://business.time.com/2013/08/13/that-craft-beer-youre-drinking-isnt-craft-beer-do-you-care/

 

Re: Sierra Nevada. Pretty hard not to call a brewery that uses open fermentation for some of its beers a craft brewery.

 

It's comments like this that make me really hate this forum.

The beer a brewery makes has everything to do with whether it's craft. Barrel limits are the arbitrary metric, which is arguably why the Brewer's Association has changed them, not that I really care what that marketing group's definition is.

 

Volume is irrelevant to the line that has already been drawn. The line is drawn between brewers of high quality, full-flavored, interesting beers, and brewers of swill who could give a damn about the product, they just make what sells.

 

The Brewers Association stated as much in the 2011 Press Release announcing the change from 2m bbl to 6 ml bbl a year:

 

Volume IS relevant to the Brewers Association, since many of the legislative and regulatory issues they favor and/or oppose are directly related to volume and the market control that comes with that. IOW, attempting to assure as much of a level playing field for the small brewers as they can. That sort of thing. Beyond that, the volume boundary is largely irrelevant, as you say.

 

Since when??

 

Just to remind you all, this thread is about the 10 most googled beer names.

 

Well, according to the Brewers Association, since 2006 when non-craft brewer* Widmer bought approximately 35% of Goose Island.

* (Anheuser Busch at the time [pre-"Craft Brews Alliance"] owned 50% of Widmer, so they were no longer "craft" under B.A.'s definition.)

 

You can always bring your concern to Charles N. Papazian, directly. He is on the Twitter...

 

It's ridiculous when I read posts that claim that craft brewers are defined by the quality of their product and we have posts every day about users pouring craft beer down the drain.

 

Ken Grossman (member - Brewers Association Board of Directors) and Jim Koch -(member - Brewers Association PR & Marketing Committee) would both probably be interesting in hearing about it, as well.

 

I think those would be a misfire though, which happens to every brewer at least a time or two. Part of the development process. Or sometimes, it is just a different in preferred taste. Not everyone likes the same thing. Perhaps instead of saying 'craft' means pure quality, we should say that they are adamant to strive for quality and pay close attention to the details. Whether they hit the mark or not depends on the brewer.

 

It isn't a comment. It's a fact. It's how the industry has decided to define the word "craft". If you disagree, make efforts to change that. None of that is my own opinion

 

Disagreed. If a brewer met the qualifications of "craft" at one point, we shouldn't disown them just because they start selling more.

 

Indeed, they might!

I understand that --within the Craft Beer hobby,-- a (comparatively) smaller production run and generally more-difficult to obtain brands are considered as among the operative qualifiers for brands to belong to the Craft Beer segment. But in truth it is a matter of branding and marketing -- and that's all at the discretion of Brewers Association and the members of the same who agree to belonging the Craft Brewer niche.

 

Nope, Both considered craft still considering they are not brewing more than 2 million barrels a year. Sierra Nevada scrapped over a million last year for the first time while Sam Adams is pretty damn close (especially if you include their 'malternatives') both, especially Sierra Nevada, are still craft breweries.

Also, Sierra Nevada, through and through, is the definition of craft beer. They live and die by the "A rising tide floats all boats" slogan that craft beer was founded upon. Their research and efforts for a better, quality product is unmatched. On all accounts, they are craft beer.

 

What do craft and volume have to do with each other? The latter might just mean you are excellent at doing the former.

 

The Brewers Association changed their "small brewer" limit from "under 2 million' to "under 6 million" barrels in 2011.

Boston Beer Co.'s recognized "beer production" last year was well over 2 million, at 2,875,000 bbl. - add in cider and FMB's and it was 3.4m bbl according to BBC's own Annual Report.