It must not be such a great time for the beer
industry. It seems that sales were down by just about 2 percent in
2013. It’s hard to imagine why so many breweries are opening new
locations and looking to expand when sales are down.
Well, just
because sales are down, doesn’t mean that sales aren’t up.
While sales were
down for the entire beer industry, sales for craft beer in the U.S. grew over
17 percent in 2013. This is good news for a segment that is shooting to
reach 20 percent market share by 2020. As the craft beer market grows,
the guidelines of what is considered ‘craft’ continue to blur. Just about
every beer enthusiast has their opinion about what is or isn’t craft beer,
however; the supreme voice on this issue belongs to the Brewer’s
Association.
The three
characteristics that define a craft brewer are small, independent, and
traditional. The Brewer’s Association defines small as having annual
production less than 6 million barrels. While this seems like a LOT of
beer, the BA points out that this amount is approximately 3 percent of U.S.
annual sales. Independent is defined as having less than 25 percent
ownership by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not a craft brewer
itself. This allows for brewery mergers and buyouts, just as long as the
purchaser isn’t a non-craft brewer. The defining characteristic of
traditional brewers, are those that have a majority of their total volume in
beers whose flavors derive from traditional or innovative brewing
ingredients. Up until this year, a number of century old brewers were
kept out of the craft category for not being considered traditional.
The definition
of craft beer has created an ambitious ‘Us vs. Them’ challenge between the
small brewers and the very large brewers. These guidelines also create
debate among beer geeks who either accept or reject the parameters. The
changes made to the Brewer’s Association’s definition of traditional could
cause a huge impact to the state of craft beer. Due to their use of
adjunct ingredients, Yuengling has never been considered a craft beer.
While the BA hasn’t announced which specific brewers would be considered craft
due to the changes, it is highly likely that Yuengling would now be a craft
beer. The reason that this is so important is because Yuengling produces
more beer than Sam Adams, who is currently number 1 on the craft beer
list. The inclusion of Yuengling alone could have a noticeable impact on
craft beer’s market share.
As beer lovers
around the country get ready to celebrate the annual release of Goose Island’s
Sour Sisters (Gillian, Halia, Juliet and Lolita) as well as the Black Friday
release of Bourbon County Stout, how many of these people will be concerned with
the fact that this is not considered a craft beer. This is a moment when
craft beer drinkers needs to ask themselves, “does it matter?” For the
most part, absolutely not. There are countless beers out there now that
were once considered ‘craft’ that no longer fit into the guidelines.
Does this mean
that the beers are no longer as good? Do these beers lack a certain level
of quality? Should craft beer drinkers avoid them?
NO, NO, NO
What difference
does it make? Well, by drinking these beers, you are in no way helping
increase craft beer’s market share. With the money you spend on that
bottle of Goose Island Gillian, you could have bought a case of Boston Lager
and helped fight the good fight.
Is that what
it’s all about?
It doesn’t have
to be. Unfortunately, the guidelines handed down to us from the Brewer’s
Association equate BCS with Shock Top and Blue Moon. The difference is
that some of these beers that are not considered craft were never considered
craft, while others used to be. The companies that used to be craft are
definitely operating at an advantage now. More money and more connections
to ingredients and distributors can go a long way in the beer business.
How do these changes affect the beer? They most likely are going to improve
the overall quality. So why would anyone boycott a beer that’s higher
quality, just because of different ownership?
Whatever the
definitions may be, it would be amazing to see craft beer gain 20 percent
market share by 2020. The Brewer’s Association works hard to provide all
sorts of help to craft brewers to help level the playing field. This is
of the utmost importance to the craft beer business. While it’s always great to
support the craft brewers out there, it doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive.
Don’t let great beers slip by, just because they’re not called craft.
SOURCES
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