Psuedo craft?

I think the people that drink those beers don't give a shit if it's craft, micro or macro.

 

What would a label like that be able to offer consumers so they would want to switch? Most people who drink mainly BMC are extremely brand-loyal, so you'd really have to do something special to convince them to switch.

 

According to the Brewers Association's definition of "craft brewer" such a brewery wouldn't fit their definition because of criteria #3

There are still a handful of such brewers left from the pre-craft era - some that don't met the B.A.'s definition (Yuengling, Schell, Straub, The Lion, Genesee) and some that now brew enough beers that the B.A. considers "craft" but still brew some "American Adjunct Lagers" - like Stevens Point, Spoetzl, Matt, Cold Spring, etc.

 

Hometown Beverages

 

Not if they are using adjuncts.

 

This is a good concept. I mean, I want to drink craft but I am soooo tired of dealing with all the flavorful beers.

Why so much flavor? WHY??!

STOP THE FLAVOR!

 

I think this perfectly describes a large percentage of "brewpups" I've been in. They make a big deal about "crafting microbrews" on the premises, but I can count on one hand the truly good beers I've had that were brewed in-house. Most of it is very "safe" beer aimed at stealing customers who want to go someplace hip from BMC bars. I'm sure there are some really good brew-pubs out there, but I've not had the good fortune to find them. From my experience, most of them are in the restaurant business and know just enough about brewing beer to use it as a gimmick to set themselves apart from the competition.

 

Seriously, won't someone please think of the children. How are little 16 year old Timmy and Suzzie supposed to get drunk in the woods if all the beers have a nice bold hop presence or enough sour to dissolve a nail

 

When I read the OPs question: “But what if someone opened a small regional brewery that really only made BMC session style beers?” the first thought I had was that describes Yuengling Brewery pretty well (jesskidden discussed this as well).

It seems to me that there is a fairly big market (small by BMC standards but big by craft standards) for AAL beers which are not BMC beers. It also seems to me that this market is growing. Below are some numbers I presented in a previous thread concerning Yuengling (Yuengling Lager) and Spoetzl (Shiner Bock). I personally classify Yuengling Lager and Shine Bock as American Amber Adjunct Lager (AAAL) beers.

· There is a ‘sizeable’ market for American Amber Adjunct Lagers and that market is expanding.
· Shiner Bock accounts for 75% of Spoetzl Brewery sales. So, Shiner Bock is about 300,000 barrels annually (and growing)
· Traditional Lager is the largest beer that Yuengling brews. Assuming 75% this represents 1,875,000 barrels annually (and growing)

A combined existing market of a little over 2 million barrels at first blush may not seem large for a company like Anheuser-Busch but consider two facts: Yuengling is presently only distributed in 14 states. Shiner Bock has a large(er) geographic market (40+ states) but it has limited penetration in many of those states. For example, Shiner is theoretically available in the State of Pennsylvania but in the Philadelphia area beer market (which is a BIG beer market) Shiner s not sold. So, what is the nationwide market for a properly distributed beer such as an American Amber Adjunct Lager? Is it double or triple the existing market of 2 million barrels? I would think that Anheuser-Busch (and MillerCoors) would be very excited to enter a 4-6 million barrel market especially considering their decreasing sales over the past few years.

Cheers!

 

I may be mistaken, but aren't there already small regional breweries that produce AALs? And as pcsnyder said, why would people who drink that style switch from their usual brand to a small brewery? Except maybe because of price?

 

I suppose that's based on how far one wants to go back. When I first got interested in the brewing industry, AB, Coors and Miller had less than 40% of the US market - 18.5%, 6% and 4.3% respectively in 1970. That's about half of what they have today.

The rest of the market was overwhelmingly controlled by American adjunct lager brewers (imports hovered around 2-3% and "craft" didn't exist except for the under 5k bbl. brewed by Anchor). So, AAL's other than AB and MC had over half the US market easily. Today, at best, they - led by Yuengling, Pabst, Genesee - probably add up to 5-6 % of the US market - 1/10 of what it was 40 years ago. And Yuengling is the outlier of the survivors, having grown immensely from that era. Pabst and Genesee sell a fraction of what they once did.

 

I should have added more to this than just posting a link to their BA listing but anywho...

These guys marketed a lot around PA/NJ on the radio. There pitch was that they were craft beers but they weren't high ABV so you could "session" them (as they said "you know you can have one after another, after another...").

They were contract brewed by The Lion and their flagships were a Lager and a Light.

I had a hard time trying to figure out who they were marketing to. Their ads kind of bashed full-flavored high ABV beers so it seems like they weren't going to the craft crowd. And if they were going for the BMC crowd positioning themselves as a craft beer that was just another version of a Lager and a Light probably wasn't going to convert BMC drinkers as the taste was most likely the same and cost more.

Obviously it didn't work out seeing as how they are now closed.

 

You mean like this one...

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143

 

Many craft beer drinkers used to high ABV and IIPAs would probably put something like Reissdorf Kolsch in a league with the BMCs of the world. In fact, my wife, who very much enjoys a plethora of Belgian styles as well as many barrel-aged strong ales and barleywines said exactly that to me when I offered her a taste of a Kolsch I had ordered - that it tasted like Coors Light.

In fact, Philadelphia Brewing Co.'s flagship brand, Kenzinger, is a Kolsch-style beer that I can only assume is intended to compete with BMC. They have other offerings as well, and I wouldn't classify Kenzinger as either bland or weak, but it probably isn't all that distinguishable from Budweiser to many beer drinkers. And I think successfully replacing BMC with a Kenzinger has been a large part of their commercial strategy, exemplified by the TV commercial I saw for Kenzinger a couple of weeks ago.

 

JK, good historical points as always.

I think that an important contemporary aspect is that the non-BMC AAAL beer market is a rapidly growing market. When I was at the Spoetzl brewery last November (2012), they had 6 HUGE Fermenters laying on the ground. I was told on the tour that they were expanding to:

1. Meet the existing demand
2. To enable expansion into the states they are not presently in (another 10 states).

I know that Yuengling has been growing like crazy with the latest expansion I am aware of was the Ohio market. I read posts all the time where folks from states which presently don’t get Yuengling (36 states) wish they could get Yuengling Lager.

I find it remarkable that breweries like AB InBev have seen their volume of beer consistently shrinking over the past few years yet breweries like Yuengling and Spoetzl can’t make enough beer for the consumers who want them. This is kind of a weird thing since Yuengling Lager and Shiner Bock are not very distinctive when compared to BMC type AAL beers:

· Similarities between AAAL and AAL beers: moderate alcohol (around 5% or less ABV), lowly hopped (12-13 IBUs or less), light in body due to adjuncts (whether they be corn or rice), etc.
· Differences between AAAL and AAL beers: slight caramel taste from the use of small amounts of crystal malts, amber color vs. golden color.

Of course another distinguishing feature between Yuengling Lager and Shine Bock and the BMC breweries is smaller brewery vs. Mega-brewery.

Cheers!

 

Somewhat ironic you brought up the topic of Kolsch beers. That beer style is indeed a ‘subtle’ beer style when compared to other craft beer styles. A Kolsch is not overly hoppy but at 20-30 IBUs it is significantly higher hopped than an AAL beer. This past weekend I was able to buy two 7 ounce glasses of Reissdorf Kolsch and Stoudt’s Karnival Kolsch to conduct a side by side tasting. My wife also joined in. I preferred the Reissdorf Kolsch, I thought it had a ‘better’ Pilsner malt aroma/flavor to it. My wife (who is a self-proclaimed super taster) preferred the Stoudt’s Karnival Kolsch.

Cheers!