Is it time for a 'craft brewer' label?

"Bakkster, touring car driver" (Bakkster)
08/09/2013 at 18:30 • Filed to: beerlopnik, discuss, qotd

Common theme repeated again, major brewer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , advertises it as if it were an independent craft beer (no Anaheuser Busch logo, in the craft brew section), and hopes people pick it up looking for independent beers. Should there be a logo to certify beers are brewed by independent breweries instead of one of the giants? Like kosher foods, or members of a trade organization?

DISCUSSION (14)

Brian, The Life of > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 18:39

Where art thou, Gamecat?

I'll chime in on this, I'd say it's not really necessary. Beer aficionados are not going to be fooled by corporate beer with edgy "craft beer" vibe packaging. The proof is in the pudding, as it were. If the biggies actually "get it" and begin brewing beer that is actually decent, good for them (and their customers) because it would sell and they would deserve the revenue. You can't build a successful product sales model by hoping people "accidentally" buy your sub-par beer, because they simply won't buy it again.

Gamecat235 > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 18:42

In a word. No.

Why? Because beer should be judged on it's merits, not the size of the brewery.

How would you define Sam Adams? Or Red Hook/Widmer (or the other breweries owned by the "craft breweries alliance")?

J. Walter Weatherman > Brian, The Life of
08/09/2013 at 18:42

Well said. Agreed.

For Sweden > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 18:43

What makes a brewery independent?

Gamecat235 > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 18:52

Also, ANYONE who confuses that little cartoon for Ralph Steadman's work needs to be educated, and if they continue to misidentify art next to commercialism after being educated, then they deserve the beer they drink.

Bakkster, touring car driver > For Sweden
08/09/2013 at 19:10

Not owned by MillerCoors or InBev, who control >90%of the US market.

Bakkster, touring car driver > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 19:17

I'm not against the major's beers. I just want to know what I'm drinking. Sometimes I like to buy a craft beer I've never had because I like supporting independent brewers and their creativity. What I don't like is when an InBev/MillerCoors beer gets packaged and advertised as if it were a small independent brewery.

I'm not against their beer, I'm against their advertising tactics, and I don't like supporting them for that. For me, I don't buy their beer on principle, I figure it evens out any people who thought they were buying a craft brew they hadn't heard of yet.

I'm not so worried about people thinking this beer is actually a Flying Dog beer. It's about beers that look as if they came from a small craft brewer but actually come from the majors. If they were so confident in the quality of their beer, they wouldn't need to copy the independent guys.

Bakkster, touring car driver > Brian, The Life of
08/09/2013 at 19:22

I think that's the thing. It's not the afficianados who get fooled, it's the average beer drinker. The majors can afford to sell for less than the independents, so they start to corner the market among the bulk of people who want something other than a light pilsner. And that hurts the indies, which hurts all of us.

I'm not so snobby to want them not to brew craft beers, I just want to know that the money goes to MillerCoors or InBev instead of a small business. I would have no problem buying major label beers like that, I do have a problem with them trying to disguise their product as if it were made by a small business.

Gamecat235 > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 19:36

I understand. And I actually read enough about the beer business to know who is owned by whom. But... IMHO there is no need for consumer protection in this arena. If big beer realizes that they can appeal to people by making their bottles look artsy and handmade and making better beer, then who wins?

Of course, so far, that I have seen, they've failed on the better beer part. I'm not saying that the macro beers are bad, but they aren't my mug of beer. Or in my mug of beer.

Is it underhanded? A little. Is this anything new? Not really. I don't see this as being any different than companies that try to make knockoff products on other successful brands. It happens in all arenas.

pdx107 > For Sweden
08/09/2013 at 19:47

One example would be Full Sail in Hood River, Oregon. Employee owned by a workforce of 47. If that isn't independent, I don't know what is.

TheKingOfBirds > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 20:56

If a craft brewer put out a label that looked anything like a BMC label they would be slapped with a cease & decist before ther beer was cold.

Brian, The Life of > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/09/2013 at 21:16

Look at it this way, the average beer drinker wanting to level-up the beer they consume is going to stumble upon offerings like this and Sam Adams that have a craft brew-ish/better quality appeal. Truth is, these will be better choices than the Yankeelager they'd always drunk. However, they will the talk to others, experiment with other labels, and quickly figure out what quality beer really means.

I just don't see a them as a threat to those who make legitimately good beer.

Bakkster, touring car driver > Gamecat235
08/09/2013 at 23:18

That's my point, it's underhanded and I don't like it. I don't care how common, I'm not going to support it. I've been burned too many times, like when I got convinced to try Third Shift, then after getting a wet cardboard taste found out why.

Squid > Bakkster, touring car driver
08/30/2013 at 21:39

I love beer and the science behind brewing. I respect what A-B Inbev does with the production aspect of multiple large breweries producing the same product that is identical.

I don't respect their marketing tactics though. I am not a fan of the big "craft style" beers like Shocktop or Bluemoon and I am pretty damn sure I wouldn't pick out a sixer of this Wild Dog crap.