SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Two major craft breweries are merging. But is it still "craft"?
Boston Beer Company, which makes Sam Adams beer, is acquiring Dogfish Head, a Delaware craft brewery. "Not only are Dogfish Head and Boston Beer two original American breweries, but Jim Koch and I worked hard with other leading craft brewery founders and the Brewers Association to develop and champion what defines independent American brewers," the Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the Boston Beer founder and chairman. "This merger better positions Dogfish Head and our coworkers to continue growing within this definition for many years to come." [...] The merger of the publicly traded Boston Beer Company, which also produces Angry Orchard cider, with Dogfish Head, the well-known craft brewery prominently featured in the 2009 documentary "Beer Wars," is sure to shake up the brewing industry.
[...] Dogfish Head posted a photo on Facebook and Twitter of Calagione sharing a drink with Koch. Though one Facebook user tagged the pair as "shill" and "sellout," not everyone who commented on the post had such a negative reaction. "To the haters: Samuel Adams / Boston Beer may not be perfect, but few people have been as vocal a proponent of craft beer for as long as Jim Koch," one Facebook user said. "I'd much rather DFH merge with them than get bought by Constellation or (gasp!) ABInbev-SabMillerCoors. We know that BBC won't force through drastic changes and expansion into other markets that the brand can't or won't handle."
[...] Not everyone was convinced, however. "Sam Adams has been completely out of touch with actual craft beer for a decade at least," one person wrote. "I don't see how this is good." Another added that Dogfish Head was the "last brewery on earth that I thought would sell out." "Not a fan," another Facebook poster wrote. "Dogfish Head has always been fiercely independent with a focus on unique and sometimes challenging beers. I've been to the brewery 6 times, to the brewpub many times. I spent my 31st birthday there and made some incredible memories. This is the last thing that I expected from DFH. What a shame."
Related: Playing Small is Okay, Says Judge in "Craft Beer" Case
Congress May Lower Beer Taxes, Sam Adams Could Cease to be "Craft Beer"
Craft Brewing Industry Saved Small Hop Growers
Craft Hard Cider Booming in the U.S.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bradley13 on Sunday May 12 2019, @11:49AM (10 children)
I never heard of Dogfish Head before today, but: any brewery worth $300 million isn't a "craft brewery" any more, at least, not by my definition. They're producing on an industrial scale, and sell throughout the USA. That's not to say their products are bad, but they certainly aren't small. They also run a massive distilling operation, with "more than 50 stills" at just one of their locations. All-in-all they remind me of BrewDog in the UK: a one-time craft brewery that has grown into a massive operation, but wants to pretend it's still tiny.
If you're a beer lover, support your local microbrewery. Even better, learn to brew yourself - it's not hard, it's fun, and you can make exactly the kind of beer you like. If you like it's generally easy to find a like-minded friend to share the work. After an initial investment in equipment (I use a 20 liter Braumeister), it's also cheap: a 50cl bottle costs about $0.50 to make.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 12 2019, @01:44PM
Oh yes, getting royally rat-arsed on your first five gallon brew used to be a rite of passage. I'll bet it's no longer the same, but a hell of a lot of people started down this path back in the day when they were students, needs must, when funds were tight and the thirst was mighty....
I got started early on (8-9 years old), by watching and helping my uncles out when they were brewing, and then passed the skills on to fellow students when at college, stouts, brown ales, lagers, pale ales... you name it, someone, somewhere in the halls of residence or the student digs was producing gallons of the stuff. My student days were 'merry' days indeed...
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday May 12 2019, @01:50PM
Even $10M breweries have lost touch with some of the "craft" of beer making, IMHO (and it's an informed opinion, as I part-own one) - the difficult part is quite literally mostly button pressing on a PC now.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Whoever on Sunday May 12 2019, @03:58PM (4 children)
I struggle with the idea of "craft beer" that comes in a bottle.
But then, my idea of craft beer is beer that is delivered in a barrel, unfiltered and unpasteurized to a a pub, so that the beer cannot be served until the sediment has dropped to the bottom of the barrel. It has to be served cool, not cold with no added CO2 or (even worse) nitrogen.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Sunday May 12 2019, @04:05PM
Bottled/canned beer can be unfiltered and contain sediment.
Let's face it. No definition of "craft beer" really makes sense. It's a marketing term.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday May 12 2019, @09:48PM
I would love it if I could buy any unfiltered and unpasteurized beer, delivered to my local in a barrel, but as far as I am aware that is completely unheard of where I live.
One of the many pleasures of Britain is finding a pub that serves real ale. The next time I go I must remember to get a copy of CAMERA's book.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday May 12 2019, @10:54PM
Oh - send them here!
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 13 2019, @07:59PM
If you narrow your definition of craft beer way down to be specifically English cask ale, than yes, you are correct. But the beer universe is MUCH bigger than your little slice of the pie.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday May 13 2019, @01:12PM
My general definition of a "craft" brewery: The brewmaster is personally involved in testing and adjusting each batch of a brew, and creating new brews.
If you're big enough that one person can't do that anymore, you're not a "craft" brewery.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 13 2019, @07:57PM
If you are brewing for more than your local consumption (i.e., brewpub), then you are brewing on an industrial scale. At that point you are making a product, not much different than making widgets or anything else. You have production schedules to keep, quality control, etc. I take that back, I would argue that is also true if you are a brewpub.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 13 2019, @08:03PM
Is that Braumeister just a mash tun, or is it a boil pot as well? I can't tell from the description. It looks pretty sweet though.