By Oktober Ecks
If you follow craft beer news at all, you have by now noticed an interesting trend. It is interesting mostly because to some of us, it creates an internal conflict. It challenges our thought, our morals, and our true nature. It makes us question where we really stand, what it means to us, and to the breweries in question. I speak of that moment when a beloved craft brewery is sold to a larger company.
Most notorious are the InBev acquisitions. When we see a brewery join their ranks, many of us see it as a defeat. An infiltration by the enemy of our sacred ground. A pure act of betrayal by those we are dutifully defending against the hydra-like monster of Big Beer. We can’t stop it, and as the craft beer industry gains ground, we will see this happen on a more regular basis.
Big Beer’s response to the ever increasing foothold of craft has been interesting over the years. First were expansions of their core lines, creating new recipes (i.e. AB’s now discontinued American Ale and Golden Wheat), providing higher alcohol content choices such as the 6% ABV Bud Light Platinum, and more modern label designs.
Next was the birth of “secret” brands, such as the Blue Moon and Shock Top lines- Big Beer creating off-shoot brands in order to dupe the consumer into buying what they think are craft brands to get in on that market. Those off-shoot brands are sure to hide any outright association with the parent company on their labeling, to further enhance the deception.
However, we craft drinkers are a resourceful and savvy bunch, and quickly learned about the man behind the curtain. For many of us, this only furthered our disdain for these companies, seeing how they would stoop to such levels. They not only make sub-par beer, but they lied to us, they tried to trick us. How dare they!
Then, the enemy found a new tactic. Seeing how their imitations would only get them so far, they then used the one resource that they have to their advantage:
Sheer power.
They have the money. They have the hold on the markets and accounts. They have the distributing lines, the product placement, the valuable real estate, the advertising campaigns; all the things the craft industry needs to succeed. So Big Beer decided to share their resources…for a price.
The first one I remember the the sale of Goose Island. In 2011, The Chicago-based craft brewery decided that it was in their best interest to sell majority stock to AB InBev, thus losing their craft classification and becoming a part of a larger brand.
The outcome? First- the head brewer stepped down after the sale. Second- Goose Island is now much more widely distributed, allowing the masses to enjoy their beers. Its not just the basic flagships, mind you, but the vast majority of their product line. Everyone goes nuts to get their hands on Bourbon County Stout and the variants, and now many can with relative ease. Madame Rose is one of my favorites, which I can, from time to time, find at my local bottle shop, usually without a bottle limit.
The Goose Island example highlights the core of the issue:
We want craft beer to succeed. We want to break the control that Big Beer has on the industry.
When a craft brewery joins hands with Big Beer in order for their survival and growth, is it feeding the monster, or taming the beast? This trend is not going to stop outside of legal actions forbidding it, and business mergers happen all the time, and remember kids, this is a business. So far Big Beer has been smart as to not stifle the creativity of the original breweries obtained. Some will argue Goose Island or whatever brewery they target “just isn’t the same”. Yet for most of us, we wouldn’t know because we aren’t local to the brewery. We normally wouldn’t get to try their beer at all if not for things like the mergers and buyouts.
Do I like that is happens so frequently these days? Not really, but to a degree, it is a necessary evil. The name of the owner doesn’t always matter as much as what’s inside the bottle.
I wholeheartedly support local craft beer. I’ve worked for one, I love the people and the community surrounding them. Local craft breweries are about so much more than catching a buzz, but a display of local flavor and passion. When I travel, I try to visit as many breweries as possible, attend festivals, and absorb the local beer culture in that area.
However, if you are offering me something new, something I hadn’t tried before, I will gladly take a sip for the experience. Be it local, imported, or Big Beer; If it is good, if it is different, I want to try it. The biggest advantage that Big Beer offers is expansion of distribution. It allows us to try new and sometimes interesting things that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
The reality is, the lines have been blurred. It is no longer as easy to have the “us vs. them” mentality. Ego and pride might deter some from accepting that, while it looks like we are being consumed by the ever-growing maw of Big Beer, maybe there is some common ground, maybe there is some understanding. The craft brewers are the artists and the creative force, while Big Beer takes care of logistics. It can be a very positive thing. Let’s hope it turns out to be.