This ran in The Street a couple of weeks ago, and I meant to post it before but it kept getting pushed down in the queue. Portland writer Jason Notte does an interesting job dissecting the industry and the recent kerfuffles over taxes in Why Success Is Killing the Craft Brew Industry. If you follow the business side of the beer industry, it’s worth a read.
What a curious bit of writing. The author obviously has a problem with Boston Beer being lumped together with Joe’s Brewery Down the Street, but leaves quite unclear: a) How this affects the consumer; b) How it is manifesting itself beyond the Beer Institute (big guys) vs. Brewers Association (smaller guys) disagreement; and c) Exactly how it is going to “kill” craft beer.
The mistake I think he makes is in assuming that “craft beer” as a term is sacrosanct to a wide audience of consumers. I do not believe it is, but rather is a neat umbrella term used to describe beers other than those with simplicity as their principle characteristic. How does the industry’s success “kill” that?
(Mind you, I was a bit tickled to read the second to last paragraph, echoing a sentiment I’ve been putting forth for years now!)
I think the current excise tax discussion/legislation is inside baseball that will not see the light of day in its current state, nor will it appear on the radar of 99% of craft beer drinkers.
The war over craft matters a bit, if only because it (the term) is being co-opted; however, this is all marketing jargon for the moment as far as the big guys are concerned, and this moment, like all, will pass.