| Confusing Craft by Dave Henderson Hi Bob - I love craft beer and want to support craft breweries but I'm getting confused. Case in point - Boulder's Avery Brewing recently announced that it had given up a 30 percent stake in the company to Spanish brewing giant Mahou San Miguel. The sale keeps the Avery brothers in charge of the brewery's future, but it means that the beer maker, founded in 1993, is no longer considered to be a "craft" brewery — at least according to the definition used by the Brewers Association (BA) trade group. That definition has grown increasingly controversial and confusing over the past three years as large craft breweries have sold all or parts of their companies to a variety of big money interests, including private equity firms and foreign breweries. For me the whole concept of what is craft It has become a bit irrelevant and complicated. I see understand it the BA jettisons a brewery if more than 25 percent is owned by a beverage company that is not a craft brewer. That means the BA has lost some of its largest members, including Lagunitas Brewing (owned by Heineken), Ballast Point (Constellation Brands), Breckenridge Brewery and Four Peaks (Anheuser Busch InBev) and Founders, which also sold a 30 percent stake to Mahou San Miguel in 2014. In the meantime, breweries that have been purchased or invested in by fellow "craft" brewers or private equity firms remain part of the club. These include Oskar Blues, Dogfish Head and many more. Since it was created, the definition of what a "craft brewer" is has changed twice, and many breweries believe the BA will change it again based on the organization's interests. I hope you see why I'm scratching my head over all of this. Maybe a look at the BA's actual definition of craft will be of interest to your readers: Here is the definition: 1) Small. "Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships." 2) Independent. "Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer." 3) Traditional. A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers." I read on BeerNexus that the BA recently created a logo that breweries who meet that definition can put on their bottles and cans to make things easier for we consumers who want to support craft beer. And yes, I do look for it. Needless to say the logo doesn't mean the beer is any good only that the BA considers it craft. Bob, I seriously want to support craft beer but wonder if for any widely distributed brand is really craft even if it qualifies for the BA logo. When in doubt I now opt for beer made by local breweries near me. Hope you find the topic of interest and publish my article. Thanks!. ---------- Many thanks Dave. for tackling an important concern to all of us who support craft beer. Personally I support the BA's effort to make a stand against the takeovers by the macro brewers. I agree things are getting a bit muddled but at least the Independent Logo is a start. I enjoyed your thoughtful article - please write again. I'd like to invite everyone to send me their own columns about anything related to beer in any way just as Dave did. I select the best and publish them here. So join in and get writing! Cheers! BobH |
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