"Good" Craft Brewers v. "Bad" Craft Brewers? Real v. Not-Real?

I've long been fascinated by the way craft beer "insiders" (aka beer geeks) perceive their perceived "enemy": Mainstream Beer. Logic and reason seem to fly out the brain's window when fans of craft beer contemplate who ought to be allowed into the craft beer club and who ought not. (A point I contemplated at length in the last chapter of my book Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer.)

A prime example is a fascinating blog entry just posted by the ever-contrarian Andy Crouch -- a followup to a blog entry he wrote a week or so ago.

This is all apropos of another example of the illogic of the beer geeks: The desire of some of them to oust "foreign" beers from the Great American Beer Festival.

The GABF is just what the name implies: a festival devoted to American beer. Last year, there was rumbling that Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, and Leinenkugel all ought to be booted from the festival because  they're "foreign owned." (Leinenkugel is owned by SABMiller.)

What I wondered at the time was: Do critics want to go that road? Because that would also mean booting Mendocino Brewing Company, one of the oldest craft brewers in the United States. It's been foreign-owned since the late 1990s. That, by the way, is not a criticism of Mendocino's original owners; in the late 1990s they faced a choice: sell or go under. They opted to sell --- to save the company --- and to continue to make great beer.

Of course the more interesting question is this: How many people who drink Mendocino know that it's no longer wholly-American-owned?

More to the point, if they did know, would they suddenly decide that the beer is undrinkable? Hard to know. Worth pondering. (And if you're up for more beer-related ruminations, check out Stan's latest blog entry, in which he asks people to comment on "extreme beers.")

You Want to Support An “Indie” Artist? Here’s Your Chance

The internet is full of chatter about supporting independent entrepreneurs. About “buying local.” About supporting self-published writers and indie films that flout Hollywood. About supporting open-source software.

You get my drift.

Time to put your money where your mouth is. I’ve mentioned Beer Wars here several times -- and to repeat the full disclosure: yes, I’m in the film. Yes, I’m friends with Anat Baron, who financed, produced, and directed the film.

But even if that were not the case, I’d still say: Support this film. Buy a ticket. See it on April 16.

Why? Because this documentary is the work of an independent film maker. There are no big names, and definitely no Big Bucks, involved. This film came straight out of Anat’s desire to tell a specific story.

No, not a story about Big Beer versus Pure Beer, as many people seem to think. Rather, she wanted to explore a larger, more universal matter: the nature of personal vision, ambition, and entrepreneurship.

Because Beer Wars isn’t about beer. She only used “beer” as a lens through which to document what happens when ordinary people pursue their dreams. As a result, it’s a film about both success and failure. (This is not a totally-happy-ending film.)

I’ve heard lots of chatter in the beer blogosphere from people who don’t want to see the movie. They object to Ben Stein as moderator of the live panel discussion that will follow the film. Fine. Leave when the film ends.

Some say they won’t bother to see it because the story of  Big Brewers versus Small Brewers is Old News. To which I say: it’s only “old news” if you’re ensconced in the beer world. But most Americans are not part of the beer world.

Finally, the beer-geek critics complain that the world keeps ignoring Craft Beer. They’re frustrated that 97% of Americans still drink Big Beer rather than local craft beer. But when someone tries to tell a story centered on craft beer, well, see the critiques above. Ain’t no pleasin’ some people.

But I hope you'll see the film for another, more personal reason. I'm a writer, and I know how hard it is to create something from nothing. To have an idea and pursue it from vision to printed page. Making movies, I've learned, is exactly like writing books: It requires self-discipline and dedication. It requires thousands of hours of work, oceans of blood, sweat, tears, and an infinite capacity for frustration, depression, and despair.

In short, making movies, like writing books, brewing beer, editing Wikipedia, or creating open-source softeware, demands personal passion.

It's hard for me to find words to express how much I admire Anat for her devotion to this project. She's spent three years of her life, and a whole lotta money, pursuing her vision, creating something from nothing.

So I hope you'll support an indie artist and her work. Beer Wars. April 16. In a theater near you. (And if it’s not in a theater near you, don’t blame Anat. The event will be beamed via satellite, and not every American movie theater is “wired” for satellite.)

Consumer Perception, Beer, Prices, and Homebrewing

Okay, the following will likely only appeal to those who are interested in 1) beer; 2) economics; 3) the current economic crisis; 4) homebrewing as a response to said crisis; and 5) Chris Anderson's Long Tail theory.

Trust me on this, it's all here and all connected. And yes, this will be a bit complicated and require some patience to wade through. (Will it be worth it? I have no idea.)

Anyway . . . First: I understand that craft brewers -- all brewers, in fact --- are in business to make money. They also manufacture an agricultural-based product, so to a large extent their prices for raw materials are dependent on drought, excess rain, hard winters, and so forth. They also have to pay for fuel, insurance, blah blah blah. AND they want to make a profit.

But I suspect that many consumers of craft beer are starting to wonder if craft brewers are taking said consumers for granted, as in: "Oh, they only drink craft beer. They'll buy at any price." If so, they could be in trouble.

Again, I'm not saying that's what craft brewers are doing so. I'm saying that this is the perception among some consumers of craft beer. And perceptions are powerful things.

So that's the general background. The specific background is that some weeks back, I posted a blog entry about beer prices. You can read that here. I followed that up with blog entry on a follow-up from Patrick Emerson on the economics of homebrewing.

No surprise, the subject of beer prices came up again recently at the blogs of Jeff Alworth and Stan Hieronymus. And all of this prompted a full-tilt rant from Dexter, my Loyal Reader From Hawaii. I now turn this blog entry over to him so you can read the rant in its entirety because it's worth reading (and because he's a hugely entertaining writer).

There is a punchline of sorts at the end.

I can home brew so [rising beer prices don't] affect me so much. Although... when Samuel Adams switched to "Variable Pricing" on their Double Bock it certainly got my BVDs in a bunch. Last year SA sold its Double Bock seasonally in six packs at around $33.50/case.

I bought 5 cases in March and stored it a cool, dark unlighted place. Figured it would last me until March Ought Nine when I could stock my next year's supply. [In Hawaii buying good beer is like shopping at Costco. If I see something unusual at Tamura's Fine Wine & Liquors in Kaimuki, I have to buy as much as I can afford that day because there is no guarantee that it will be there when I come back.]

Anyway come January this year I read a press release saying that SA is yanking their Double Bock out of seasonal rotation putting it in some fancy printed cardboard 4 pack to increase its "perceived value" and jacking that value to $9.95/4 pack. So this smooth marketing move was hiking the price of Double Bock to $60/case!

As Peter Cooke says in 'Good Evening'(1977) "Well, I wrote a letter!" - more like screamed at their customer relations department, "What the fuck are you doing raising the price of SA Double Bock over 50%i n one year?!" And Mr. Todd Bellamy wrote back saying that SA Double was being added to their new "Imperial Series" [just oozes "perceived value"] and that

Samuel Adams Double Bock is expensive to brew. It is brewed with a ½ pound per malted barley per bottle—three to four times the normal amount. Barley prices have increased significantly in the last year.  When it was brewed seasonally and we sold it 6-packs we elected to keep the price consistent with other Samuel Adams styles in order to maintain continuity and avoid confusion despite it’s significantly higher cost.  Now that we are introducing Samuel Adams Double Bock on a year-round basis we need to price it at a point that more accurately reflects the cost of the ingredients to brew this extraordinary, rich lager

It wasn't until the beginning of March when I tasted some of the Ought Nine Imperial Series Double Bock that I came to the realization that this was Bullshit.

Now I don't doubt that in years past that they did use more barley. You could taste it, it had a ton of malt flavor. SA would advertise that its DB was "Award Winning" and "World Class", and they were right! Ron would bring in German DBs from Philly and the SA Double Bock could hold its own Head to Head.

But what I tasted this year wasn't "Award Winning" - it was watered down - it was a New Coke double bock clone. They had gone and changed the recipe!!! http://www.pintlog.com/2009/02/samuel-adams-to-release-new-imperial.html

AARGGH! Why would you go and change a recipe that had won you numerous awards in national competition?? You would change it because some bean counters told you that when you geared up for annual production you now had to adjust your ingredients to hit a price point.

There may be some extra malt in their DB mash, but I can't tell because it's not coming out in a great flavor like last year's DB had. I wrote back to SA and told them that their "New Coke double bock clone" wouldn't even place in the SA Long Shot Home Brew Contest.

More indications that this is marketing bullshit. Around the beginning of Philly Beer Week Don Russell [Joe Sixpack] did a little piece on Good Tasting Beers for Good Value. The last beer he featured was Spaten Optimator which he says is available in Philadelphia in six packs for the same price as I paid for SA Double Bock last year!!!

How can Spaten's Optimator kompt all the way aus Deutschland  . . . and still cost 50% less than SA in national distribution? And why wouldn't SA customers be tempted to switch when "New Coke double bock clone" doesn't taste anything like last year's SA Double Bock???

If this trend keeps up there should be a corresponding 50% increase in home brewing...

And then Dexter emailed me the next day with the following, the punchline to the entire rant --- and a reaction-to-prices that craft brewers ought to take seriously.

With home brewing in the mix, this move to "Variable Pricing" could become a social move as well as an economic decision for some customers. What's a craft beer lover to do when the prices for his favorite commercial porters and stouts and maple brown ales start inching skyward??

Okay okay...as a craft beer drinker you are already in a social subset. When the guy at the next table says "Simcoe", you know it's bitter, piney hop, not the newest addition to the Dow.

But do you stay with the group who can still afford to "pay the price to be the man"? Do you sacrifice other marginal purchases to keep buying the IPA that won a medal in Denver? OR do you truck on down to the Brew Supply store and talk to the owner for 30 minutes about which oak chips are best for your next brew project.

As a home brewer you will still be rubbing shoulders with guys who flew to Hilo to pick up 2 growlers of Mehana Hawaiian Crow Porter,  but you will also know 8 other people who can brew a better porter and will be happy to show you how to brew it as well.

The whole experience is more participatory...instead of being a consumer waiting  at the end of a long chain, subject to the whim of bean counters and distributors, you become the whole chain. Instead of calling the brewer at Kona Brewing in Kailua-Kona to ask him what Seasonal he decided to put on tap next week, you are corralling him at the Kona Beer Festival to ask him about the  type and percentage of specialty grains in his Barleywine.

It's a whole different outlook. Spassky said "Chess is like Life" But Fisher said "Chess IS Life". But he didn't have to make room for a used Frigidaire® in his garage, and his wife isn't pestering him to make some more Midas Touch.

Anyway, there's not much I can add to Dexter's comments except this: Hey, craft brewer! You wanted educated customers. But be careful what you wish for, because you may educate them right out of your market. PS: Connection to Anderson's Long Tail theory? I think Dexter's closing comments about "participatory" consumption and the consumer as the "whole chain" make a nice corrollary to the theory.

A Photographer Explores What's Left of the Rainier Brewery Complex (Seattle)

Dawn Farmer, one of the contributors to Scholars & Rogues (one of my favorite blogs), has a nice piece today about her excursion, camera in hand, to what's left of the Rainier brewery complex in Seattle, Washington. Check it out here.

Update: Dawn alerted me to another Seattle-related blog, Vintage Seattle, which has some entries related to Rainier. Just enter "beer" in the search box at the VS blog.

Brits' Views on Drinking, Class, and Other Matters

Astute Reader Dexter (our man-on-the-beach in Hawaii) sends along a group of links to some fascinating discussions about beer, beer's image, and other matters -- from a British perspective.

As always, make sure to read the comments posted at each entry; those make some of the best reading.

First this from the Real Ale Blog.

Then this from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog.

The estimable Pete Brown also weighs in here.

And this, too, from Pete.

To that last entry from Pete, Dexter adds his own punchline: a terrific riff of Aquarius" --- and, presumably, my own recent series titled Is This the Age of E-Quarius?

Golden liquid dreams of visions Mystic hoppy revelations And the mind's true libations

Love it! Major tip o' the mug to Dexter for taking the time. (And sorry I didn't get to this sooner. Was focused on correcting all those dead links. Which, I might add, have been repaired.)

Brewing Like It's 1992?

Fascinating article in this morning's Wall Street Journal: the focus is the number of people who are using the current economic crisis to follow their dream -- of becoming a brewer. You can read the article here.

What's most interesting to me is how much the tone of the article smacks of the early 1990s, when everyone and her sister was hopping on craft brewing as the Next Great Employment Gig. Anyway, worth reading, and the piece (which ws written by David Kesmodel, who is, in my opinion, the best beer industry journalist out there) also contains a video. Have at it.