Craft Beer In Brooklyn

From today's Times. Nice to see a journalist place craft beer in a larger historical context -- but who knew there was a "Brooklyn boutique beer aesthetic"? Or that Brooklyn Brewery is (apparently) too big (too successful?) to embody that "aesthetic"? Anyway -- for those who are interested.

Side note: I loved Steve Hindy's book (which he co-wrote with co-founder Tom Potter). I think it's the best book on the business of craft brewing.

Budweiser American Ale = Starbucks? Maybe So.

Finally, a reasoned and thoughtful analysis of A-B's new Budweiser American Ale. (No surprise, however, given that it's Jeff at Beervana who's the commentator.)

I'll just toss this into the mix: The "Starbucks effect." Many people believe and assume that Starbucks has destroyed or will destroy locally owned coffeeshops. In fact, the opposite is true: When Starbucks comes to town, the locally owned shops are not far behind. (*1)

Why? Because Starbucks functions as a "starter" coffee for someone who doesn't know much about coffee. The potential customer visits Starbucks because she's seen the stores everywhere and because the logo is familiar. (That matters when customers are new to a product: they gravitate toward the familiar; toward what they've seen in ads or commercials.) She encounters friendly employees who help her decide what to drink. She goes back again and again. She becomes more adventurous and "upgrades" from plain ol' coffee to latte with mochawhippedwhatever. (I don't drink coffee, so I have no idea what any of the coffee terminology means.)

Once she's become experienced an coffee drinker, she feels more comfortable walking into a strange coffeeshop. She's not worried about appearing foolish. She's learned to appreciate coffeehouse culture. She's willing, in other words, to frequent that non-chainstore, locally owned coffeshop down the street that she might otherwise have walked past and never entered.

Anheuser-Busch could become craft beer's Starbucks equivalent. Budweiser Ale may serve an an "entry" beer for people who would otherwise never consider trying a craft beer.

Think about it: A-B owns about half the American beer market. It has the most loyal customers on the planet. Budweiser drinkers trust A-B. Many will translate that trust into a reason to try Budweiser Ale. (*2) They get comfortable with this newfangled beer and decide "Hey. I like this. Maybe I should try one of those other, strange beers that I see in the grocery store." Next thing ya know: Bud Ale fans have become -- Left Hand fans or Summit fans or Abita fans.

Stranger things have happened. No pun intended.

_________________

*1: I learned about the Starbucks effect in Taylor Clark's excellent book Starbucked.

*2: This is assuming, of course, that A-B does a good job marketing Budweiser Ale. That means a) the company doesn't waste time wooing craft beer drinkers, who simply won't drink it; and b) the company doesn't try the "whassup-Spuds-McKenzie" angle. Bud Ale is a different beer; the company needs to use a different approach.

Another Beer Social Network Site: The Aleuminati

And speaking of social networks and beer, I got an email from Shawn Connelly about another beer social site, The Aleuminati. Shawn is the founder of Aleuminati. He also blogs at beerphilosopher and writes about beer for helium.com. (He also, by the way, shares two-thirds of a name with my brother: Shawn Patrick.)

Aleuminati is gearing up to celebrate its first anniversary (November 12) -- members are celebrating that event by sponsoring a fund-raising drive for Pints for Prostates. PfP was founded by Solid Good Guy Rick Lyke, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. Rick came through the ordeal (just saw him in Denver; he looks great!) -- but he realized that he did so in part because of early diagnosis.

So he launched Pints for Prostates as a way to encourage men over forty to make regular PSA testing a part of their lives. You can donate money, too, by clicking on the "chipin" button at Aleuminati's website, or by visiting the Pints for Prostates site.

Anyway, cheers for the great folks at Aleuminati for celebrating their own good news by giving back to others -- and for providing an online forum where beer folks can gather and talk, ya know, beer stuff.

Thanks and a tip o' the mug to Shawn.

Beer Social Site

Just got tipped off to a new beer social networking site, mustlovebeer. Think FaceBook soaked in suds and hip with hops. Thanks and a tip o' the mug to dondon.

Saving Savebudweiser.com

I have to admit: I hadn't thought about it. What DO website owners do once their url loses its meaning? As in: what do the owners of savebudweiser.com do now? (Assuming, of course, that the InBev/A-B deal goes through....) So asks the Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal blog, which you can read here. (Or so I hope. As I've said before, I've given up trying to figure out what's free and what's not at the WSJ's website.)

Be sure to read the comments posted at Deal Journal. Apparently people are STILL arguing over which American beermaker will be the biggest one standing.

Getcher Seasonal Beers Here, Folks

Hey all you lovers of Pumpkin Ale (and other seasonal brews): Here's a groovy kind of thing, courtesy of the Brewers Association. At the Seasonal Beer And Food site, click on the "Browse Seasonal Releases" link for a drop-down menu that allows you to search for seasonal brews by state. Cool!