Miller Coors being sued because Blue Moon is marketed as a craft beer

[Chris]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/0 ... 06862.html

Interesting. Not a chance in hell he'll win, but it at least grabs headlines and increases the awareness of "faux" craft

[Cass]

I wonder if the BA has lobbied the government in the U.S. to recognize their terminology legally. Part of the problem with this suit is "craft" is defined by the BA itself for the purposes of its membership, but really anyone can use the word if they want to. Contrast that to something like bourbon, which you can't use unless you conform to specific standards (although ownership isn't one of them).

[Belgian]

I believe the value of the lawsuit is not in the legal outcome, but the outcome in terms of issue visibility and public awareness. Boring as it sounds! Good propaganda.

Public dissent is perhaps the only tool or weapon we can promote to differentiate real craft from wannabe craft. After all, there is no issue besides the supposed threat of less authentic beer to real craft, is there? People don't like the wool pulled over their eyes, so let's use that.

It's like the Reinheitsgebot in Germany – enough people there are now just aware of the principle, culturally that it is difficult to sell beer that does not adhere to a certain standard under any sort of pretense. The German public will resist any beer that's made of anything other then malt water hops and yeast, regardless of legal rulings there in place or not.

Similarly, a growing number of people here know about real craft beer they will enjoy most VS semi adulterated quasi craft beer created for maximum profit. I don't like Blue Moon for example because it tastes like Flintsones vitamins or artificial lemon additive. Dieu du Ciel! Blanche de Paradis is by contrast bursting with authentic and subtle citrus and spice accents.

[Cass]

I believe the value of the lawsuit is not in the legal outcome, but the outcome in terms of issue visibility and public awareness. Boring as it sounds!

I get that. I suppose part of my problem is "craft" is just becoming increasingly generic and muddled IMO. The Reinheitsgebot had a specific guideline that was very clear - it's binary. That's not the case with "craft" as it has all kinds of interpretations.

I agree that people shouldn't be misled though, but that's where politics and taste become intertwined. I have an article that I wrote but never published about craft vs. crafty, perhaps now's a good time to dust that one off!

[Craig]

I believe the value of the lawsuit is not in the legal outcome, but the outcome in terms of issue visibility and public awareness. Boring as it sounds! Good propaganda.

Public dissent is perhaps the only tool or weapon we can promote to differentiate real craft from wannabe craft. After all, there is no issue besides the supposed threat of less authentic beer to real craft, is there? People don't like the wool pulled over their eyes, so let's use that.

It's like the Reinheitsgebot in Germany – enough people there are now just aware of the principle, culturally that it is difficult to sell beer that does not adhere to a certain standard under any sort of pretense. The German public will resist any beer that's made of anything other then malt water hops and yeast, regardless of legal rulings there in place or not.

Similarly, a growing number of people here know about real craft beer they will enjoy most VS semi adulterated quasi craft beer created for maximum profit. I don't like Blue Moon for example because it tastes like Flintsones vitamins or artificial lemon additive. Dieu du Ciel! Blanche de Paradis is by contrast bursting with authentic and subtle citrus and spice accents.

This is a bit of a double-edged sword though, isn't it? I think Germany is largely missing out on the craft beer revolution because of the Reinheitsgebot, which stifles creativity as much as impurities in beer.

I'd rather have clear labelling laws, which simply say that all the ingredients have to be listed along with the brewer and facility. Heck, force them to put a production date on there too while you're at it.

[Belgian]

Correct, the Reinheitsgebot comparison is imperfect and only shows how there can be a deep cultural awareness of beer quality that actually protects the good at the expense of the less than good. While not every German beer is good, I swear a lot of Germans have good taste in beer because of the tradition and exposure to it (same with food actually.)

The more lawsuits and controversy over pseudo-craft there is in our media over here, the more skeptical people will come to be of devious fake-craft beer hucksters. Let's shame them into at least making better beer if we possibly can!

[Chris]

I actually applaud the big guys trying to be more "crafty". It perhaps means that they're finally acknowledging that consumers want beer with more flavour. What I hate is the dishonesty of trying to disguise their "crafty" beers.

I'm of of mixed feelings though -- does Goose Island make any less impressive beers because they are owned by Anheuser-Busch? Is Creemore worse because it is owned by Molson-Coors? I don't think however they would be hurt to simply state their ownership on their labels. If their "crafty"-ness is honest then it won't matter -- if it is dishonest then its the same as their use of "pure mountain water" -- just a marketing gimmick.

[Belgian]

No question Chris, big companies can do better in their 'craft' line even if they mostly brew generic suds. I can't help thinking of Toyota helping to design the Porsche Boxster.

[ErkLR]

I'm of of mixed feelings though -- does Goose Island make any less impressive beers because they are owned by Anheuser-Busch? Is Creemore worse because it is owned by Molson-Coors? I don't think however they would be hurt to simply state their ownership on their labels. If their "crafty"-ness is honest then it won't matter -- if it is dishonest then its the same as their use of "pure mountain water" -- just a marketing gimmick.

The beer certainly tastes no different if they're owned by one of the big guys. But I would still go more often for a truly independent craft beer because I don't like AB Inbev et. al.'s anti-competitive practices (e.g. TBS and LCBO interference). On top of this, the only reason they're trying anything with craft is because craft brewers are forcing them to by taking away market share. They're not getting into craft for the love of beer and innovation and concern about what the customer wants, they're doing it because you're forcing them to by choosing craft options.

[Bytowner]

The beer certainly tastes no different if they're owned by one of the big guys. But I would still go more often for a truly independent craft beer because I don't like AB Inbev et. al.'s anti-competitive practices (e.g. TBS and LCBO interference). On top of this, the only reason they're trying anything with craft is because craft brewers are forcing them to by taking away market share. They're not getting into craft for the love of beer and innovation and concern about what the customer wants, they're doing it because you're forcing them to by choosing craft options.

And that's your choice, but you'd have a hard time convincing me that there are many people out there who both
a) give a fig about Inbev's anti-competitive practices; and
b) doesn't already know which brands belong to which big brewer

These companies have loads of brands, most of them decidedly un-"craft". The anger seems to mostly come from people who are angry that big brewers can and do make good beer, while a lot of the people who start brewing for "love of beer and innovation" are incapable of making a decent product.

[Chris]

At the same time, the "faux" craft can be a gateway beer into real craft... is that a bad thing? The more people that realize beer doesn't need to be tasteless swill, the better overall the beer industry will be.

[Craig]

The beer certainly tastes no different if they're owned by one of the big guys. But I would still go more often for a truly independent craft beer because I don't like AB Inbev et. al.'s anti-competitive practices (e.g. TBS and LCBO interference). On top of this, the only reason they're trying anything with craft is because craft brewers are forcing them to by taking away market share. They're not getting into craft for the love of beer and innovation and concern about what the customer wants, they're doing it because you're forcing them to by choosing craft options.

And that's your choice, but you'd have a hard time convincing me that there are many people out there who both
a) give a fig about Inbev's anti-competitive practices; and
b) doesn't already know which brands belong to which big brewer

These companies have loads of brands, most of them decidedly un-"craft". The anger seems to mostly come from people who are angry that big brewers can and do make good beer, while a lot of the people who start brewing for "love of beer and innovation" are incapable of making a decent product.

I think there are quite a few people out there who prefer to buy local/small/craft, but who aren't beer geeks.

[ErkLR]

The beer certainly tastes no different if they're owned by one of the big guys. But I would still go more often for a truly independent craft beer because I don't like AB Inbev et. al.'s anti-competitive practices (e.g. TBS and LCBO interference). On top of this, the only reason they're trying anything with craft is because craft brewers are forcing them to by taking away market share. They're not getting into craft for the love of beer and innovation and concern about what the customer wants, they're doing it because you're forcing them to by choosing craft options.

And that's your choice, but you'd have a hard time convincing me that there are many people out there who both
a) give a fig about Inbev's anti-competitive practices; and
b) doesn't already know which brands belong to which big brewer

These companies have loads of brands, most of them decidedly un-"craft". The anger seems to mostly come from people who are angry that big brewers can and do make good beer, while a lot of the people who start brewing for "love of beer and innovation" are incapable of making a decent product.

I think you're right about a), most people only care that they can't get beer in the grocery/corner store, and if they could, it would be macro.
I disagree about b): from the polls showing most people thought TBS was gov't-owned before Cohen, etc. began making an issue of it, I think there's a great deal of ignorance about who owns what. And from my own personal experience in London, talking with people who don't realize a lot of bars here carry almost only Ab InBev products on tap.
But again, I doubt most would care that Goose Island is showing up here because they were bought by InBev.
And I think Chris is right, they can be gateways. I'm not totally against macros doing craft, it increases my choices in most bars I have to go to for social reasons, but I'm much more supportive of independent brewers who make good stuff. I'm also practical about things; there's a new nano brewery 5 minutes walk from my house. If they make even half way decent stuff, their location and the fact that their retail store is open until 11 PM, 7 days a week, will probably earn them a fair amount of business from me.

[S. St. Jeb]

This story is now on the CBC website with Canadian commentary.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3074913