Thanks to an alert reader, Susan G., who noticed this video about a Monster.com job posting for an “Import & Craft Trade Brewer” position in the Bay Area advertised by MillerCoors. Actually, the person hired will work for 10th & Blake, which is their craft and import division. The company is looking for “a beer ambassador and homebrewing coach in the western U.S. [to] Teach sales teams and consult on new beer recipes.” They want someone who “knows all things beer.”
interesting… searching on Monster for the jorb listing reveals nothing.
With a new CEO for SABMiller on the horizon and this, it’s looking more like they may be gearing up for a big craft beer blitz. Whether it will be openly done or under the disguise is another question.
I also wonder if they (to include the other mega brewers) will bust the craft brewery boom at some point if they start producing more full-flavored beers (under disguise or not) for less? I guess it all hinges upon whether or not more people will start caring again about where what they buy comes from and how it’s made, than marketing and upfront cost savings.
Mr Keele makes excellent points, but I think it’ll be more interesting to find out the “cred” of whom they hire (& who “sold out”), & what the job pays. Craft brewing isn’t, with a few exceptions, a high-paying job, so wouldn’t it be nice if they got ZERO apps for the job from anyone in the industry?
Further, since Mr Foster found no listing, either the job’s filled already & Blomberg was late, or Blomberg’s credibility has now become suspicious.
My guess is that they hired/will hire some marketing type who’s into home brewing, & who has worked for one of the bigger craft-brewing brands for awhile.
There are undoubtedly some who will attempt to characterize this as a negative thing, but to me, it sounds like a great and a smart move on MillerCoors’ part. If they focus on _real_ quality in whatever products they’re developing and hire someone with some real skills for the position, I think it’s great for beer in general. IF a person were hired out of the “craft” industry, they wouldn’t be a sellout at all. They would be advancing the cause of good beer. If beer is good, it shouldn’t matter who makes it. There are already some big-brewer products that sit quite comfortably next to the efforts of the smaller brewers and my guess is that in the coming years we’ll be seeing _quite_ a few more of their specialty lines rolled out.
People complained for years about the lack of flavor in the big brewery products…so the way I see it, no one should complain if the big brewers finally “get it” and respond with better, more flavorful and robust offerings.
Brewing itself is a “craft” and it will eventually just come down to “good” beer and “mediocre” beer. And there will always be an audience for both, even as the scales are tipping ever so slowly towards the “good” stuff. The megas probably see that, and are responding. And I welcome it. It may shake out some of the less worthy players, but still, the little guys will survive and even flourish…at least the ones with real skill will, especially if they market themselves properly (and, of course, continue to make great beer).