Boston Beer will soon ‘outgrow’ craft beer definition
Beer writer Greg Kitsock wrote an interesting story for the Washington Post this week pointing out what many saw coming; that Boston Beer Company will soon outgrow the industry definition of “craft brewer.”
Boston Beer could surpass the 2 million annual production mark perhaps as early as this year and most likely by the end of the next. Boston Beer will be allowed to remain in the Brewers Association, of which he has been a strong supporter of, but the membership status will change to an associate member and the barrelage will be expunged from “craft” category statistics.
The BA defines a “craft brewery” as one that’s small, independent and traditional, and “small” specifically means “annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels.” Boston Beer shipped 1.992 million barrels last year.
When the Brewers Association directors codified the new definition in 2006, they might not have expected the maker of Samuel Adams to graduate so quickly into the ranks of the large national brewers. Boston Beer reported an 8 percent spurt in volume last year, higher than the craft category as a whole. (The second-largest craft brewer, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., turned out fewer than 700,000 barrels last year.)
Inasmuch as Boston Beer’s output accounted for 23 percent of total U.S. craft volume in 2008, it’s going to leave an awfully big hole when it gets booted. “When that day comes, you’re going to see a lot of asterisks in our statistics,” acknowledges Gatza.
This is kind of silly. Why not adjust the volume qualification upwards to keep including Sam Adams? What point is made by eliminating them from our category? Why is there a volume qualification anyway? There’s as much difference in volume between Sam and a 500 bbl/ yr micro, as there is between BMC and Sam! Is it craft or is it not?
Good points, Linus. I think the volume “limit” in the definition is a legacy from the days when there were only 2 kinds of brewers (as defined by the AOB): Macro-Brewers and “Microbrewers,” a microbrewery being defined solely as a brewery making less than 15K BBLs per year.
Seems the volume was changed when the definitions were changed, SPECIFICALLY to keep the likes of SA, Sierra Nevada and Anchor within our ranks.
It is all silliness. What does total production have to do with “craft”? Or ownership structure? I’m more offended that Bridgeport is no longer a “craft” brewery than Sam Adams. Sam Adams has always been a marginal case considering how much of their beer has been brewed at “non-craft” venues. But Bridgeport gets bought out by Gambrinus and now they aren’t “craft”? The definitions are absurd.
Hey.
I am more interested in the beer a company makes than how much beer they make. Don’t worry about political labels etc. just buy and drink the best beer you can find. Any brewer that respects the art of brewing can share a beer with me.;)
Graydon Brown
Golden Hills Brewing Co.
BridePort’s listed as “craft” on the PR from the B.A. (#33 [Craft] and #44 [All])- what’s even more interesting is that another Gambrinus-owned brewery, Spoetzl, is also on the craft list, even tho’ their flagship, Shiner Bock, is an adjunct beer (thus seemingly contrary to the “traditional” definition “A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer’s brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.” I was told by one person that Gambrinus convincing the B.A. that the corn in Shiner Bock “enhanced” the flavor. :confused:
Maybe you’re thinking of the confused situation re: A-B, Redhook, Widmer, Goose Island and Kona?
According to a recent cover article in “Beverage Industry” (November 2008), AB-Inbev owns 36% the merged Redhook and Widmer company, the Craft Brewers Alliance.
CBA in turn, owns 40% of GI but only 20% of Kona.
Still, 36% of 40% would equal only 14% of Goose Island owned by AB-I, right? Still under the “magic” 25% of the BA. Yet Goose Island doesn’t make the list (Kona does).