I was perusing my litany of beer podcasts the other day when the latest Brewbound Podcast popped up on my feed. It was featuring Lester Jones, a longtime beer industry vet and chief economist for the National Beer Wholesaler’s Association, or NBWA. Lester strikes me as a reasonable and highly insightful person, and has always done a great job of painting an accurate and realistic picture of the beer business for plebeians like me over the years. Lester presented a concept, something he coined “Cognitive Beer Dissonance”, and it’s something that I’ve been stewing on for a number of years now as a beer industry professional and beer fan. It gave me the opening I needed to help clarify my thoughts further on the state of the industry and the “health” of the beer category in general. This post is incredibly TL;DR, so brace yourself for a full frontal here.

There’s a concept called “Cognitive Beer Dissonance.” It’s coming to terms with what we hear about the beer industry and what we actually see when we go out and look

COGNITIVE BEER DISSONANCE

I LOVE this concept, as it perfectly embodies how I feel about beer these days. 2019 represents the apex of beer in world history in many appreciable and measurable ways:

• The ubiquity of locally produced, high quality products is at an all-time high here in the United States.
• The general awareness of beer in the cultural zeitgeist is also at an all-time high.
• There are more production breweries, globally, than at any other point in human history.
• We consume beer regularly with purpose, zeal, and unwavering interest…we talk about it, and blog about it, and make movies about it.
• We have leading global certifications on beer to help codify expertise and encourage intellectual discourse.
• Beer is now the center point of a road trip (or at least a day trip), versus a quick aside on the way to the actual destination.
• Beer is legitimately, really cool.

We’re living, unequivocally, in a time when beer sits at the vanguard of culture and consumption. Right?

Yes, but…and this is certainly because beer is both my business and a rather dedicated hobby, it doesn’t feel like that when I read the beer news, listen to my podcasts, interact with my fellow beer professionals, and have discussions at my own brewery on consumer behavior and annual depletion numbers. I’m an avid subscriber to Beer Business Daily, and were I of weaker constitution, I would think we were all completely f$%ked (No Harry…beer doesn’t just have a Tito’s Vodka problem).

• Mass consumption of adjunct light lager is down significantly (barring a few special cases…Mexican Imports and Mich Ultra basically).
• Craft isn’t growing anywhere near the historical pace it was in the past 10 years (+4% in 2018 across regional and micro breweries and brewpubs).
• Spirits and wine are stealing our market share and our slice of the beverage alcohol pie.
• Flavored malt beverages and spiked seltzers are seeing meteoric category gains (which aren’t beer, strictly speaking).
• Craft breweries are closing at an increasing rate, and yes, opening at even faster rate.
• The on-premise (bars and restaurants) are getting tired of competing with taprooms and own-premise sales, and they feel betrayed by the very brewers they’ve been supporting all these years. Why would I carry your beer if the taproom you opened three blocks away is stealing my business?

Beer is old news, its business model is toxic to the industry at large, and the bubble has burst. Long live gin and tonics. Right?

HEADWINDS, TAILWINDS, CATEGORY CONSIDERATIONS

The beer industry as a whole is currently, and arguably, in the throes of its most dramatic period of evolution since it became a real industry in the United States. Very briefly, here’s what’s going on:

1. We have over 7,450 breweries in the country according to to the latest BA numbers. This is regional breweries, local small-production breweries, and brewpubs. 7,450. If you’re wondering whether that’s a lot of places that make beer…that’s A LOT of place that make beer. It’s not more than we can handle, however, as we have a highly populated and geographically enormous country.
2. Hyper-local consumption will continue to grow — At this point, roughly (at least) 80% of the people in the country live within 10 miles of a local brewery. You would have a hard time making that claim about most business categories (like…a post office) in this country. Breweries are fast becoming the de-facto community anchor and local public house that they used to be 250 years ago, and the people seem to be demanding it. Furthermore, they love drinking beer from just down the road. What’s more appealing than well made, fresh, local beer?
3. Large, multi-national breweries are, on balance, selling less beer in the U.S — There are many, many reasons for this. Some of these multi-nationals are selling significantly more beer, and some of the multi-national’s specific brands are doing really well, but the numbers in most of their books aren’t getting noticeably less red as time progresses. These companies are dealing with their own identity crisis in an age of authentic, purposeful brewing.
4. Consumers are drinking less beer, overall — Whether we like to admit it or not, wine and spirits are taking up a larger and larger portion of the overall alcoholic beverage pie, so to speak. In 2006, 65 percent of males listed beer as their go-to drink in the beverage alcohol category. Fast forward to 2016 and that figure has dropped all the way to 43 percent. Headwinds are popping up across all demographics, ages, and geographies.
5. If we’re honest, craft beer has a bit of an identity issue — Craft beer grew on the back of, and directly in opposition of, flavorless light lager. They took the basic business model of brewing beer and added story, context, flavor, and purpose to the market positioning. They also reintroduced the United States to the majesty (yes…beer is that amazing) and variety of beer styles that are available around the world. You can have your pale ales and goses and dunkels and milds and…all of it! They eschewed using girls in bikinis and instead created a brand based on an approachable lifestyle, quality, and innovation. Their message resonated loudly in the face of corporate corn lager, and it was brilliant to watch them take a few swipes at the big guy. But now….they’re running into demographic and social headwinds. The consumer they found success targeting 10 years ago thinks they’re old news, and now they have to latch onto hot industry trends (gluten-reduced, fruity, low-alc spritzer-type “beer”, for starters) in order to fill the production hopper and keep the balance sheet…balanced properly. This isn’t every brewery, and many large breweries are still seeing healthy, sustainable growth, but it’s a lot of them. What is “craft beer” now if it can’t be the thing we thought it was? Is it ok that it’s shifting to away from the heady days of double digit annual growth and moving toward a more mature, tighter, highly competitive market? What should a craft brewery stand for anymore?
6. Legislation is inexorably moving toward more lenient distribution and taproom laws — More and more states are amending and updating their beer laws to make it more comfortable for local breweries to open up, and more importantly, grow. Taproom laws, direct-to-consumer sales at said taprooms, and self-distribution (forgoing the requirement to use a distributor to sell to their customers) are all becoming more ubiquitous.
7. Beer, and craft beer, generally speaking, is still awful at appealing to minorities, women…you know, 80% of the U.S population basically — The Brewer’s Association has a fantastic new diversity ambassador to help shine a little light on the issue here, and it was a laudable step in the right direction. Women, on balance, still don’t drink anywhere near the same amount of beer as men (calories, image, choose your reason). I’m speaking quite broadly here, but the diversity of my local taproom just isn’t diverse…it’s white washed and homogenous. I’m one of those white, bearded guys, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. Why the heck don’t more women drink beer? Seriously…it doesn’t make sense to me. And it’s not just the calories thing.
8. The zeitgeist around beer is strong — Awareness of beer, and its subsequent trial rate, is at an all-time high. We’re drinking less beer, but we are at least willing to try whatever’s in front of us more consistently. More people are more emotionally connected to the product of beer than ever before.

These aren’t all the factors, but they highlight some of the factors that play into the state of the business these days, both positive and negative… and something about the state of the business has been bothering me, and I think we need to address it sooner than later.

Given all this change, and given the incredible level of competition and dynamism present in the modern day beer business, I think the dissonance I’m feeling has to do with the way we’re measuring the health of the category, empirically and anecdotally, and I think it’s high time we put together a new formula for the modern age of brewing.

MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

The general barometer for the “health” of the beer category has almost always been a 10,000 view on large, domestic beer producers like ABI, MillerCoors, Pabst, etc. They make the lion’s share of beer in this country and as such, they swing the biggest statistical hammer when we look at the “amount of beer” being consumed in the United States. That’s not to say that we have discounted or ignored the incredible rise of locally produced beer over the past 10 years (sales of craft beer now account for 24% of all beer spending in the United States!) , but domestic producers like ABI still make the vast majority of beer, so a marginal gain or loss on their balance sheet makes a much larger dent in national consumption numbers than a handful of breweries making less a thousand barrels of beer a year. They’re a statistical drop in the bucket, or more appropriate to the scale of this metaphor, the ocean. Companies like IRI, VIP, and Nielsen are the keepers of the scan data at major grocery stores and the depletion data at our country’s beer distributors, and they track this growth and decline on a daily basis. The basic problem here is simple, however — Scan data and depletion numbers alone miss a LOT of what can be defined as success factors for beer in the U.S.

Furthermore, strictly using purchasing behavior of light lager and macro brewer’s beers as our yardstick in 2019 is analogous to looking at the closure of most big box stores (Macy’s, JC Penney, Toys R us, etc) and saying “People just don’t like clothes, or toys, or kitchen appliances, as much as anymore”. That’s patently untrue, as we all know, and it doesn’t reflect the reality of the modern consumer accurately. People love clothes, and toys, and kitchen appliances…they just love them in different ways and buy them from different sources and at different frequency. Their brand affinity it still very high.

“We say that Millenials will never be brand loyal, but the reality is that if you’re faced with thousands and thousands of choices, it takes a long time to work your way through those choices”— Lester Jones on the Brewbound Podcast

We’re, of course, not just using light lager as our barometer these days. We’re measuring local consumption, and wine consumption, and spirits consumption closely, and the truth is that we are actually drinking less beer than we used to as a country. It’s this shift in the consumer dynamic that we are forced to reckon with as an industry. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

So…where does that leave us? How do we figure out “what’s working” in beer, and more importantly, what metrics do we use in order to determine how “healthy” beer is in the United States? If we take the basic assumptions I’ve laid out so far, and introduce a slightly new paradigm, we can start to shift our perspective on how we should be viewing this fascinating business.

Allagash has an enviable innovation pipeline. I love everything about this brand, including their focus on long term success. They know what pays the bills, but they never stop doing the things that made them successful in the first place…incredibly high quality, creative beer that keep their brand top of mind in a noisy market.

NORMALIZATION AND MATURATION

Changes and disruptions to any industry’s purchasing behavior come with the expected quantity of bumps and bruises. The media reacts, and beer fans react, and people shout and holler, but there will always be winners and losers in a capitalist market, and more relevantly to beer, there will never be a day when the consumer set becomes static and predictable. I rue the day personally, as I’d be out of a job ;-p.

I was chatting with Patrick Emerson, co-host of the Beervana Podcast and professor of economics at Oregon State University, on this very topic (somewhat) recently and he, as most professional economists do, provided a few enlightening anecdotes and real-world examples of what the beer business could be morphing into in the modern age.

I’ll roughly paraphrase his take, as this post is already long enough. Essentially, a “healthy” market in economics is one with the right proportion of entries and exits…that is, businesses being created and businesses closing up shop. This churn rate is the result of increased competition, changes in purchasing behavior, access to market, changing demograhics, technology…literally hundreds of factors. The end result, consequently, is quite beneficial to consumers. They get high quality products, variety, and easy access to said products. Sound familiar?

The restaurant industry is the obvious analog here. Major chains are struggling (to put it lightly) right now because their consumers aren’t compelled to eat there anymore. Why would I go to Ruby Tuesday if I can go to a local shop that serves me better food for the same price? If major chain restaurants aren’t doing well, does that mean that America doesn’t like eating out as much as we used to?

Not at all…in fact, quite the contrary. We like eating good food more than ever, and America LOVES going out to eat. It’s the pastime of my generation, and it’s a huge business. Patrick’s assertion, which is starting to really hit home nowadays, is this concept. Beer is fragmenting, evolving, and in many ways, improving as new breweries open, older breweries struggle to cope with this change, and consumers look for new and “better” experiences. Beer is turning into the restaurant business, with more entries and exits, shorter half-lives on the business model itself, and a step change in the entire experience.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF BEER

Lester sums up the whole paradigm perfectly in this quote

“How are we gonna take this new marketplace for beer and figure out how to analyze it and talk about it and come up with strategies that will make individual businesses successful and [to] grow.”

I’m going to leave you in this article with more questions than answers, but I’ll stake my reputation to this claim: Beer is still, and always will be, the beverage of the people. Consumption of beer cuts across age groups, demographics, and socioeconomic strata with ease, and more people really do enjoy drinking beer now more than ever.

The evolution of the beer business means that the yardsticks that we’re accustomed to using have to evolve, and our perspective on what success looks like must evolve with it. Beer is getting more diverse, and yes, fragmented. Folks are drinking at their local brewery more frequently, and the beer at these breweries continues to improve. Locality has emerged as the #1 brand driver in most markets, and on top of all that, younger people just don’t drink as much booze as we didn. Hard seltzer, kombucha, gluten reduced beer, N/A beer…it’s all up for grabs in this brave new world of bev alc consumption.

I’ve been in this business over a decade now as a marketer and educator, and yes, I try to take the long view whenever I can. I’m old school is many definable ways too…I like my IPAs with pine character and malt backbone. I like my german lagers with a lovely rounded malt profile and squeeky clean yeast character. I like the regional breweries I cut my teeth on 15 years, and I’m a big fan of the authentic storytelling that made these regional players so successful in the first place.

I’m confident that we live in a wonderful time to be a beer fan. It’s most certainly changing, and our job isn’t to fight the change, but embrace a new perspective on how we can help move with the tide and keep people coming back for more.

Chris McClellan

I’ve been thinking a lot about IBUs. It all started quite innocently. I was recently bellied up to the bar at my local pub, as I’m known to do, and I couldn’t help but overhear a group of young men perusing the admittedly impressive list of libations scrawled onto the chalkboard in front of them, discussing their options and the various characteristics of each beer. Style. ABV. Locality. Rarity — a litany of qualifiers and descriptors that would make a NASA scientist blush.

“Oh nice, that’s the new one from Vermont.”

“I had a great version of a doppelbock the other night. I want to try this one too.”

“I have to get back to the kids by 5 p.m. I need to keep the ABV down.”

I’m clearly paraphrasing here, but it’s a conversation that I have, with my friends or by myself, quite frequently. A healthy and vigorous discourse about your beer choices is encouraged, and this author won’t hear another word about it.

But this would be a very boring article if I hadn’t skipped one major detail about their conversation that, honestly, irked me a bit.

They finished almost every one of those sentences I just mentioned with a withering and patronizing assessment of each beer’s “pitiful” number of IBUs. The red ale didn’t have enough IBUs. The stout didn’t have enough IBUs. The IPAs — THE IPAs for heaven’s sake — didn’t have enough IBUs.

I will tell you as someone who works as an educator and (amateur) writer in the beer industry, it wasn’t easy for me to listen to this conversation without butting in with a few well-chosen, and polite remarks. I kept my silence, and instead took the time to do a little more research into everyone’s favorite acronym. International Bitterness (or bittering) Units, or IBUs, are undeniably interesting, and as we’ll find out here, often misunderstood in the cacophony of conversation around the modern beer industry in 2017.

IBUs are Everywhere

We’ve all seen it by now, but it pays to mention how often you see IBUs sitting on beer labels, bar menus, and across the various media we all absorb as self-obsessed beer fanatics. They are everywhere. In fact, most modern craft breweries describe the style, ABV, and IBUs on their label artwork and designs, along with a few select mouth-wateringly delicious adjectives to wet your whistle. Juicy. Hazy. Dank. Fresh. Thirsty yet? I am.

I’m picking on IPAs here, which I like quite a bit in all fairness. Their dominance in the craft category has been well documented at this point, but they really embody a lot of the misconceptions around how and why brewers invented the IBU in the first place, and its actual use in today’s brewing process.

Beer, in its modern form, is a beverage meant to satisfy almost all your senses. It’s visually stimulating. The aromas are fresh and evocative. The taste is often complex when you break it down. The carbonation, the temperature, the viscosity…all factors that contribute to a wonderful experience and perception around the product in your hand.

The key to that last paragraph was “perception” because that’s really all the matters to me as a beer drinker. Ostensibly, the heuristic assessment of a given experience is almost completely dominant when you think back on it one, two, or three days/weeks/months later. Did you enjoy it? Did you like it? Would you want to do it again? These are the questions that really matter. It’s sort of like a great wedding — you may not remember the color of the napkins or the way the asparagus was cooked, but you do know you had really great time, and that perception will stick with you forever.

I’m generalizing here, so let’s wind it back for a minute.

Origin Story of IBUs

I wrote a separate article on this very subject for my site a few years ago, which inspired me to get a few industry experts on the record to hear their take in 2017. But before we can go any further, I should quickly define what an IBU actually is.

Actually, let’s have Dr. Tom Shellhammer, one of the world’s leading hop researchers and the Professor of Fermentation Science at Oregon State University, define what an IBU actually is. I was able to catch up with him briefly to get the most accurate definition. Full disclosure — this gets really science-y.

“International Bitterness Units are a chemical/instrumental measurement of the number of bittering compounds, specifically isomerized and oxidized alpha acids, polyphenols, and a few other select bittering chemicals, that make your beer taste bitter. The IBU correlates well, in most cases, with the sensory bitterness of beer, and this is why brewers use it. Almost all the beer you’ll ever drink will have a measured IBU between five (which is a very low measured bitterness) up to 120 (which is a very high measured bitterness). Most beer falls in a narrower range within these parameters (between 15–80ish), but that’s the gist of it.”

The Craft Beer Industry

You can’t talk about IBUs without asking some of the American breweries that pioneered great quality control techniques in craft beer over the past 30 years, and their subsequent use of IBUs to determine consistency and bitterness batch over batch.

Meghan Peltz, sensory manager at Sierra Nevada, exploded my brain a little bit when I asked her about the calculation methods used to determine IBUs and Sierra’s use of them during their brewing process.

“There are a few ways to measure IBUs,” said Peltz, “But it’s not a strictly regulated statistic in brewing.”

Peltz continued, “You can make a fairly good educated guess on the number of IBUs based on the alpha acid content of the hops used in the brewing process. It’s a quick calculation based on the volume of hops and the conversion rate of the alpha acids in the kettle.”

So what does Sierra Nevada, with its robust quality lab and expert staff, use to measure IBU counts?

“We use the Spectrophotometric method,” said Peltz. “This measures all of the bittering compounds in the beer quite accurately.” This includes those oxidized acids and polyphenols we mentioned earlier. It was a method invented in 1950’s, and here’s how it works in a nutshell: You take a sample of beer, which is full of bittering compounds. The bittering compounds are “hydrophobic,” which means that they are not necessarily happy to integrate into the surrounding liquid, which is mainly water.

Peltz goes on: “You add some acid to the beer sample, which really makes them not want to stay in the beer. On top of that, when you add a non-polar solvent to the mix, it causes all of the bittering compounds to move from the water/beer phase into the non-polar solvent phase. You shake it for 15–30 minutes to ensure good mixing and make sure the bitter components are in the non-polar phase, take a sample of the nonpolar phase (which now has the bitter compounds in it) and then put it in the spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometer shines a specific wavelength of light through the sample, in this case, 275 nanometers (which is in the UV range), and measures how much light was absorbed. That absorbance value multiplied times the factor ’50’ is the IBU.”

Badabing, badaboom — you’ve got the measure of IBUs in your beer, using industrial grade acids, polar solvents, and a spectrophotometer.

Another west coast brewing stalwart, Stone, has a similar take on their use of IBUs in the brewing process. I spoke with Steve Gonzalez, senior manager of Small Batch Brewing & Innovation at Stone Brewing Company.

“IBUs are really interesting, but for the most part, we try not to emphasize them too much in anything consumer-facing,” said Gonzalez. “It’s not really relevant to your enjoyment of the product, and we’re constantly hearing about IBUs across the industry being used an important stat when describing beer. Stone uses IBUs as an important quality control too, like most breweries, and while the consumer certainly wants to see it, we’re not making new beers to hit a certain IBU threshold.”

Perception vs. Reality

So why does this all matter anyway? IBUs, which started as a quality control tool, have evolved into a stalwart of consumer statistics over the past 10 years, and what would seem to be a vital marketing tool in the arsenal of numbers plastered on the outside of any new beer entering the market.

Remember when I mentioned perception? The actual enjoyment of the beer in your hand?

The jury’s still out on my opinion here, and I’ve heard a lot of valid arguments against this idea from very notable figures in the beer industry, but the main issue with touting IBUs as a marker of a “good beer” according to that group of guys I mentioned at the beginning of this article, is a very basic one: IBU counts do not a great beer make, and what’s more, your perception of these IBU counts are often completely at odds with the actual measurement of the beer.

(MORE: What is the Three-Tier System in Beer?)

Since I spoke with Sierra Nevada, I’ll use their style-defining American Pale Ale and their stout as a perfect illustration of my point. My perception of Sierra Nevada Stout is that of a rich, roasty liquid with bitter and sweet balanced out relatively well. My perception of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is that of bold, bright pale ale, with a great balance of its own, but obviously hop-forward.

I wouldn’t personally describe Sierra Nevada Stout as “hoppier” or “more bitter” tasting than Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And therein lies the rub:

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: 38 IBUs
• Sierra Nevada Stout: 50 IBUs

Their stout has more bittering compounds, and is empirically “more bitter,” but I don’t personally perceive it that way. Certainly, the stout has a notable bitterness, but I would say that the bitterness of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, according to my palette, is more apparent, and the beer was obviously designed to be that way in the first place.

I can point to many, many examples of how IBUs would mislead your initial conception of how a beer should taste, at least according to the general population’s common misconception of what they mean and how they’re used.

Meghan Peltz and the team at Sierra Nevada use them as a very important factor in checking consistency at the brewery.

“IBUs are important for us to check against the recipe that had been planned. Our brewers will target an IBU count and target a certain alcohol, malt bill, and flavor to really deliver on what the aim was when we started. It’s good for quality, and by checking multiple batches, we can check the deviation in the batch itself,” she explains.

For a brewery like Sierra Nevada or Stone, and their national distribution footprint, this makes perfect sense.

Why it (doesn’t) Really Matter

Beer drinkers’ fascination with IBUs, in all their glory, seem like they’re here to stay, but that might miss the point.

The point of great beer, any great beer, is that you enjoy the liquid in your hand and understand the true vision of the brewer with every sip, along with the story behind the brewery and their motivations for making the product in the first place. Beer, in its science and its art, is the composition and combination of balance and intention. Water, malt, hops, and yeast in perfect unity. Poetic stuff.

To that end, great beer is about your perception, and on the topic of bitterness and hoppiness (which are, by themselves, very different), perceived bitterness is very different from actual, measured IBU counts in a lot of cases. I don’t hate IBUs by any means, and I do think they can be generally indicative of how “hoppy” or “bitter” a beer will be in a lot of cases, but I think a more judicious use of them on our beer labels and in our conversations will help us truly appreciate what we’re consuming, and why it even matters in the first place. At the end of the day, IBUs do not indicate flavor, aroma, perceived bitterness, or really any other factor that allows you to actually enjoy the beer your drinking, but they are part of the industry, and it’s worth knowing a little more about them.

Hopefully, this piece helped you understand a little bit more about why they’re used, what they mean, and how they impact your enjoyment of all the great craft beer available right now.

And to the guys at the bar who wouldn’t drink anything under 70 IBUs: drop the pretense, ask the bartender for a quick sample, and call me in the morning.

Enough chatter. Here’s a short list of my predictions for what will certainly be another monumental year in beer:

1. The rhetoric around “craft beer” will change. Instead, the industry will move the conversation to “great beer”.

I really love craft beer. It’s definitive and relatively explicit in its intention. Or rather…it provides a distinctly different approach to the “craft” of good beer in comparison to the large international producers of yellow lager. It’s a beautiful thing. But as we continue to globalize our beer culture, the idea that a “craft beer” is the only lens through which we define a well-made product will change. Great beer is well made, by people who love great beer, and are willing to invest in the liquid itself with as many resources as they invest in the rest of the business to support that liquid in the market. We will start to live in a society of well-crafted great beer, instead of simply “craft beer” for the sake of a few pre-defined, and marginally tired, bullet points focused on local, small, etc.

Local and small is a great approach, don’t get me wrong, but it just doesn’t cut the mustard when we talk about the modern “great beer” industry in 2016.

2. This is a softball, but AB/Inbev/SAB/Miller/Allthebeerintheworldpractically is purposefully muddling the waters, blurring the perception of what makes something a corporate beer or a great local beer or whatever.

Mark my words, Global Beer Inc. (aka this new mega-corp mentioned above) is going to buy a craft brewery in every state in our great nation (at the very least), and they’ve got enough money to do that 10 times over. They will never get their market share back on core brands like Budweiser Light, and they know it, so they’re taking a different tact. Pretty soon, the conversation amongst the masses will grow weary of getting nitpicky about a company that’s “independently owned” and “local” and whatever else you use can to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of beer quality. This dovetails with my point above, and their strategy is somewhat brilliant in that regard. Beer festivals will soon be full of beer companies owned by the same mega-brewer, but you won’t care. As long as they present themselves as a differentiated, storied, tried and true craft brewery, you’ll drink it and that will be that. I have nothing personal against AB/Inbev/SAB/Whateverthey’recall, and I admire they’re tenacity, but I rue the day when we won’t be able to draw a clear distinction between those that brew for a purpose (and profits, obviously), and those that brew for the sole purpose of shareholder value. There are shades of gray all over the place, but it’s going to happen.

3. In complete contradiction to point #2, local beer will obviously continue to gain momentum as well. Educated palates will flourish, and we will have so much great beer in this country that I could just squeal with excitement. In fact, I just did. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

My girlfriend just let me buy a new beer fridge, as I had monopolized the space in our regular fridge, and it’s so full of fun bottles of fresh stout, IPA, pils, and shwartzbier that I’m slightly giddy thinking about it. We have over 4200 breweries in this country now, and 97% of them independently run by people who really f#$king love great beer. All that being said, the outlet for creative, quality, innovative, and delicious is getting wider by the day, and I’m so proud to be apart of an industry that can embrace this sort of approach to business, community, and storytelling. I have more intelligent conversations every day with folks in the local pub when I ask them about why they like beer. They like it for flavor, and locality, and maybe because they know the owner, or maybe because they grew up drinking it. People are now growing up drinking craft beer. What a fascinating modern age we live in.

4. Technology is going to make a big leap forward, for the brewing industry and even more for the consumer.

Digitized beer lists, the ubiquity of quality beer websites and podcasts, fun phone apps that provide more than a rating system, and genuine fascination in the story behind the product will spur on a new wave of tech focused around the experience. I’m being purposefully vague here, as I have some thoughts as to what will happen, but beer companies will look to these avenues to modernize their business and bring fresh eyes to their liquid.

5. Beer events will predominately have a culinary angle to them. Which is a very good thing.

I’m not talking about beer festivals with a couple food trucks loitering in the background. I’m talking events focused around the combination of beer and good, treating beer like the quintessential culinary product that it is. We bring food to the table, we bring wine to the table, and like never before, we will bring beer to the table. You’ll more breweries participating in third wave, unique, and people focused food events (beer dinners, tours, and the like) that will help to elevate beer’s already revered status to the point of complete global drinks domination. It’s artistic, delicious, and completely the coolest thing ever.

We love Alan Rickman. RIP.

A short list, but worthy of a quick perusal. Look for upcoming features from Renegade Brewing Company in Buffalo, NY, along with a few guest posts and (hopefully) our first beer event hosted by The Brew Enthusiast!

If you haven’t yet, please sign up for our email list to get the updates, and check us out on Instagram and Twitter. We say funny stuff sometimes, and we drink great beer all the time.

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com.

In the interest of full journalistic disclosure, this feature is a little outside of what I would normally consider my professional wheelhouse. The Brew Enthusiast’s branding work and partnership activity with local US breweries is always going to be our priority, but when Guinness invites you to Ireland for a week of discovery at one of the world’s oldest brewing operations, you have a hard time turning them down. This is TBE Special folks, pictures and all, and I’m proud to offer a photographic and literary journey on our thoughts, opinions, and marketing insights regarding Guinness, their brand, and the future of this global institution. A special thanks to Guinness for the amazing week, one which I hope to experience again sooner than later. Good Craic!

What are you supposed to tell a beer company that’s been brewing beer for 256 years that they haven’t heard before? They rode the curve before the curve even existed, and they’ve built a global empire on an inherently black liquid that is, and I stress this for the nonbelievers out there, not a heavy beer. No one knows everything, and we can always use an extra few ounces of insight, but after my whirlwind visit to Dublin, they certainly had one or two things to tell me. And have me drink as well.

On Branding…

Your brand is more than your visual mark on the world. It’s the invisible mindshare that you maintain when the conversation gets quiet. It’s a perception of why you’re doing what you’re doing, and while a strict definition is an exercise in futility, it remains to be one of the most crucial parts of anything resembling a successful enterprise. Guinness, in my professional opinion, has an amazing brand. I’ll geek out hard on it all day. They have the most iconic and widely distributed alcoholic product on earth, and astoundingly, they’ve spent the entirety of their company’s history completely defying what I would consider to be a product categorization. For good or bad, there’s no stout, no porter, no beer. It’s just called Guinness, and that brand has become an all-powerful thing to this company in the modern age.

On Ireland…

My latest adventure through Dublin taught me a significant amount about the history of the city, jogging my brain into remembering a few things I’d (thought I had) long since forgotten since my last visit to Ireland. Luckily, it’s still a country of absolutely lovely people. The dry, warm wit seems to flow through the cities and townships as easily as the rain, and that famous Irish empathy, the unspoken love for your countryman, is a simple and powerful recognition of someone else’s humanity, and it’s as ubiquitous as the sheep that dot the verdant glens and valleys across the isle. The unnecessary hubris that can consistently plague the American ethos seems to have faded, even marginally, from their shores, and this distinct lack of ego makes for a peaceful life. No one is perfect, but the Irish have come to epitomize much of what we should all strive to be, as great citizens and good neighbors.

On Guinness…

Arthur Guinness, the namesake founder of the company, had 21 children, all to the same woman, Olivia Whitmore, his wife. 21 children. That’s mildly indicative of the time period, but incredible nonetheless.

Our adventure through Guinness’ past and present was a in-depth look at where the company started, it’s significance to the history and development of Dublin, and their role in today’s global brewing industry. Ostensibly, the United States represents one of their largest markets outside of Ireland, and while Guinness will always hold a special place on the American cultural landscape, this hasn’t translated to a positive growth trajectory for their products in the past few years. Local consumption, educated consumer palates, and the sheer number of American craft breweries is taking its toll on their bottom line. Guinness is pushing to innovate into new consumer segments, finding the happy place between their flagship products and their perceived thought leadership in brewing.

On Storytelling…

To understand Guinness, you have to understand the way their people approach great beer. From what I saw, and spoke about, Guinness takes a long view on what it means to be a brewer. Their brewers, like Peter Simpson (above left) work their way up the chain through hard work and a thoroughly exhaustive knowledge of beer. Having spoken to their team over a few days, I got the distinct impression that these people really knew what they were doing. I mean…really knew it. Got it. Fundamentally understood the past, present, and envisioned future of what beer should be. It was an impressive vision and an inspiring energy that came through with each conversation.

But…while Americans come from the land that essentially invented the homebrewer-to-probrewer career path, the brewers at Guinness saw great beer through a definitively different, possibly more European lens, highlighting an ingrained reverence for classic beer styles and pushing the creative envelope on a slower and more measured timeline. The promo video below, featuring Peter, puts a bow on my point. From a marketing standpoint, I didn’t see the attitude and messaging of this video reflected in their general communication to us during the week. If Guinness truly wants to position themselves as the creative, do-anything brewer with a rich heritage, they would do well to make this sort of messaging more prevalent in the States.

So what does a 256 year learning curve look like? It looks like Ireland’s #1 tourist attraction. The Guinness Storehouse, built to impress, is a nice tribute to the company’s place in history. The lovely staff, educated beer specialists, and possibly the most delicious pints of Guinness available anywhere in the world all contribute to well-hyped good vibes. The brewery’s history is as much about making stout as it is their hilariously irreverent marketing and messaging. The original artist at Guinness, the famous John Gilroy, came up with all the crazy toucans, ostriches, turtles, and all manner of completely random creatures that you see all over their iconic ads and posters. What does a toucan have to do with a Irish stout? Nothing. Nothing at all. But you’ll remember it.

On Innovation and the Future…

Turning a ship as big as Guinness is not as easy task, and this is where we come back to the idea of their storytelling and positioning in the U.S. Initiatives around innovation are necessary for their brand these days…but how does that play out? What are the considerations that should go into huge strategic decisions like that?

One of their best tools, it would seem, is the new Open Gate Brewery. It’s a center of innovation at St. James Gate that stands alone from their normal brewing operation. This pilot brewery, opened only a few days when we arrived there, is a corporate commitment to the new evolution and approach to great beer. This was the draught list the day we got there.

And guys…this beer was like…pretty darn good. The Hophouse 13 is a hop-forward lager (sort of…I believe it’s a “lager” that uses their proprietary ale yeast strain, so call it what you want) that would proudly stand next to almost any modern American craft offering. The Imperial Dunkel was fantastic as well, slightly sweet, smooth, with a lingering grassy finish that never gets unpleasant. Milk Stouts, Red Ales…the list goes on.

And then the mildly controversial Guinness Nitro IPA. I had it at a launch event here in New York City a few months ago, and I had it again at the brewery in Ireland. I say it’s “mildly controversial” because of the current rehtoric I’ve heard about it’s launch here in the States. Yes…they brewed it only for the American market and our love of hoppy beer. Yes…it’s poured using same nitrogen system that the stout is poured through. Yes…it’s pretty good. It’s just not “Guinness” as folks know it, so naturally they’re pushing back. I’ve worked with breweries who don’t understand the feedback loop associated with innovation, and Guinness is probably not surprised by the initial feedback they’ve received since the launch. It’s not my favorite IPA, and it should probably just be called “Guinness Pale”, but it’s not a bad beer. Like everything, it’s all about lens you’d like to view it through.

This isn’t their first foray into additional product lines and craft-style beers, but it seems to be the right place at the right time. The Brewer’s Project, which is what they’re calling this entire program (the pilot brewery, the new beers, the product launches, etc), is a sincere attempt at showing, not just telling, their expertise in beer. They don’t have the modern conception of crafty credentials that we might be used to, and they’ll always have to fight the image of being a corporate goliath in a growing sea of small-batch craft producers. But given the right set of circumstances, the right messaging, and the best storytelling they can muster, they might be able to put out a product that resonates with the demographic driving the trends in beer today. They don’t want to fade quietly into the background as that beer you see in every Irish pub. They’re not just a foamy glass of Irish yesteryear. They want a slice of the action, and this is definitively viable attempt at building that narrative inclusively, tying in a rich heritage with an astute awareness of what it means to continue building a brand 256 years in the making.

I had a great time in Ireland, at Guinness, and I can see that it’s an exciting time ahead for their crew. This is the sort of branding challenge that industry professionals like me get a kick out of, and it’s fun to think about how the execution would go down. I have always loved Guinness Stout, and I probably always will. I also love local beer here in the states. Unlike a lot of newfound craft fans, I can see the both sides, and I don’t have blinders on when it comes to the way a business works. Let’s see what Guinness can do with this new strategy, and let’s hope we get back to Ireland again soon…I’m thirsty.

-Chris McClellan

Does everyone actually have a price in the beer industry?

It’s worth mentioning that today’s beer economy is absolutely bonkers. In one corner, you find our favorite beer giants going blow for blow in the beer version of a household Monopoly game. Buy as much as you can, as fast as you can, and then leverage the system to maximize ROI and crush your competition into the dirt. As you probably saw, AB/Inbev is going to purchase SABMiller for over 100 billion dollars. Regulatory, anti-trust, and other legal and geopolitical hurdles aside, this is going to consolidate around 50% of the world’s beer production under one roof. 50% of global beer production will be made by one company. The world is a huge place, and this is the sort of nightmarish business environment that one reads about in your business school case studies, highlighting Standard Oil’s monopolistic overtures and explaining why it shouldn’t be allowed to happen again. The free-market should be free, but not that free. Less is more and all.

In the other corner, you find a burgeoning craft beer scene that’s slowly spreading to the furthest corners of the earth. It’s an understatement to say that local beer is booming here in the US. Breweries are opening up at a breathtaking pace, consumers are flocking for great beer, and we’re seeing sustainable demand for their products. It’s a win-win if you’re making great beer right now and you’re in the game for the right reasons.

Dan Selis, founder and owner of Mission Brewery in San Diego, is quoted in the Tribune article as saying that he probably wouldn’t sell to a massive domestic producer like Miller. But…he states that “everyone has his price”. I won’t comment on whether this is good or bad, but I’ll say that this attitude, along with the rapid global consolidation of beer, outlines a dynamic landscape littered with unseen market forces and an emerging attitude on what it means to be a stakeholder in the craft beer business.

Golden Road, Lagunitas, Saint Archer’s, Elysian, Blue Point, Magic Hat, Goose Island…the list goes on and on, and all these brands have succumbed to the domestic takeover in some capacity, whether they wanted to or not. The complexity of business decisions like this are enormous, and I don’t want you to think that I’m minimizing the level of thought that went into them. In reality, and in most cases, I’m ambivalent to the actions of domestic brewers. I just don’t care what they choose to do with their money or their time. I don’t care if Budweiser makes another crappy-a-rita malt drink that actually tastes like you mixed Listerine with Hi-C. I don’t care if Coors continues to market their beer on how chilly it is. They can do whatever they want, as is their prerogative. And on balance, they’re not evil people at AB/Inbev. Honestly they’re not. They just see beer as a means to an end, in this case…increasing shareholder value.

What I do care about is the implication that you can buy whatever you want. It’s a frightening idea when you think about it. No matter what you say, and how firmly you espouse your beliefs, you will sell out given the right set of circumstances and the right financial incentive. Is Dan Selis right?

I don’t know the answer to this one. Craft beer is made, marketed, and sold on the intention behind the liquid as much as the liquid itself. It’s sold as a package deal. It’s a great experience and a delicious beer. It’s an ideal, and a representation of an alternative way of doing business in the consumer economy. We love local because it resonates with us. It’s important that we find relevance in our communities, and we like businesses that do the same thing. We love the human story, and the warm feeling that comes along with that story. It’s addictive, outrageously fun, and in my own opinion…better. It’s a better a way of doing beer and a more interesting take on what it means to live in that world. Whatever…I can get romantic on this stuff.

But money talks. It’s the loudest talker in the room actually. The best, and worst, things in the world are done for the sake of money. Craft beer is a business. It operates on cash flow like the rest of us do. The only difference, as I see it, is the intention behind the cash flow, and the reason to be in the business at all. Great breweries make great beer, and sell it for a price, so that they can make more great beer. They don’t sell it to make as much money as possible and build huge, soulless efficiencies in their business. They evolve, and change, and grow, and do all the things a successful business should do, but the right intention is always there.

I know the world is changing, and we’re going to see that pace of change accelerate. I hope Dan Selis is wrong. I hope we don’t have a nation of entrepreneurs willing to give it all up for the sake of a paycheck. I’m not judging them if they do, because I know what it means to grow something, be proud of it, and reap the rewards of your hard work.

I just hope that hard work doesn’t always come to down to the price. I could be wrong, but I think you’ll sacrifice a lot more than your brewery if it does.

- Chris

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com on October 14, 2015.

I was at Dock Street Brewing last weekend with some friends, enjoying a local Philadelphia, small batch Rye IPA. The topic came up of craft brew mergers and acquisitions, more specifically, the giants of the beer world gobbling up revered craft brew brands like peanuts at a baseball game.

The big news in the last few weeks was Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, offering over $100 billion for the purchase of SABMiller Plc, the world’s second largest brewer. Pending a regulatory approval of the deal, it would leave us with one massive beer company controlling essentially a third of the world beer market.

Adding to the fear and confusion, this past week we learned that Constellation Brands Inc., the owner of Mexico’s Corona and Modelo brands, is set to buy San Diego-based craft beer titan Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for nearly $1 billion!

Where does it end? What does it all mean? It’s simpler than you might think.

Consumers, in general, care about the quality, consistency, and availability of the products we love. Ballast Point drinkers are worried that with this acquisition, these three consumer comforts might go away. But I’m here to tell you that it’s probably not going to happen.

Constellation Brands Inc. is a publicly traded company. And yes, above all else, they’re in the business of making money. Their brands have been performing well above industry norms over the past few years, and they’re set to fortify their position in the market with anything in their toolkit, including corporate M&A activity. But guess what makes them money — people drinking their beers. That sounds cold (and it is), but as the craft beer market expands like never before, larger beer makers are looking for any way possible to get some skin in the game. Easier, and perhaps cheaper, than building a quality, respected beer brand from the ground up, Constellation Brands did what countless-a-corporation has done before to enter into an established market — purchase a major player with solid market position and a similar growth strategy, both for mindshare and geographic location. As Matt Allyn at Men’s Journal points out, while the $20 billion craft beer market keeps attracting major corporate players, this is probably not the last of these giant craft acquisitions we’ll see in the near future, which still represent less than 1% of the total number of craft breweries in the U.S right now.

That said, it’s in Constellation’s (and any other craft beer acquirer’s) best interest to keep things as they are. If they don’t, and quality suffers, consumers will notice. It’s a simple formula really. When consumer’s notice that their favorite beer now sucks, they’ll stop drinking it, and the brewer will lose money. Shareholders don’t like losing money. Capitalism at it’s finest, and while it doesn’t paint the passionate and local picture of craft beer that we love so much at The Brew Enthusiast, it highlights what happens in the real world, with real companies that have real quarterly statements, and a big vision of what it means to conquer the craft universe.

- Jake

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com on November 15, 2015.

I’m not saying you get all teary-eyed when you approach the beer cooler at your local package store. I’m talking about the impetus that got you there in the first place, and the factors that go into the 6-pack or pint you end up purchasing. It’s a much bigger question than you might think, and there’s more happening in your head than you’ll ever consider at the moment of purchase.

My work as a writer, strategist, and consultant to my clients (in the beer industry and beyond) has taken me down an incredibly interesting path, assessing the factors that predict and/or significantly affect consumer behavior. Your behavior. My behavior. The reason we do what we do. By the way, this is “marketing” in its most pure definition. Identifying those factors and aligning what’s important to you with the brand, product, or service that you’re being shown. Finding the most effective tenor and resonance with the consumer, and leveraging that connection toward a specific goal. This is all very high level, but bear with me.

I’ve said it before, but beer is important. It’s not, in any circumstance, a means to an end. In some of the most important ways, great beer is a journey that folks embark upon for the sake of it, eschewing the idea that there’s even a need for a destination. It’s experiential. You generally drive in your car to get from point A to point B. You might drink a beer to catch a buzz, and I feel you on that, but generally you drink a beer because engaging in the drinking process is the most important part, and catching a buzz (which could be crudely equated to arriving at your destination in the car analogy I just made) is just a side-effect. It’s a modern cultural pillar and an important part of many communities, as much a social cornerstone as anything else. Most importantly though? It’s fun. This is the key factor and the stickiness that I like to leverage when assessing brand strategy. What’s great about beer? It’s full of great stories and it’s a relatable, important topic to a lot of consumers out there.

I don’t want to sound too robotic here though, because I really f$%king love beer too.

Meta-session on marketing has now concluded, but it roughly segues back to my original question. Is beer an emotional purchase? Or rather, do we engage ourselves in the beer world based on emotional motivators?

I don’t have a massive database of empirical evidence backing up my point here, but based on my perspective and my work, the answer is yes. Beer is actually incredibly motivated by emotion, if I’m honest. Everyone who works in the beer industry knows this too. I don’t think there are a lot of breweries out there are currently losing sleep over this idea, but it’s an important consideration, and you can find obvious examples all over the place once you take a minute to define them.

They’ve recently painted a outrageously large target on their back, so I’m going to pick on Budweiser for a minute. I’ve got nothing against them, for the record, mostly based on total apathy for their brand. In their infinite wisdom, they’re using the time-tested strategy of “throw it all at the wall and let’s see what sticks”, all in order to identify the emotions they can leverage that will drive purchasing behavior. They’re losing market share. They’re losing customers. They’re sales are dropping. Abandon ship right!? Maybe. But I can see why folks are confused. They spend an unbelievable amount of money on television ads, promotions, and sponsorships to keep their brand in your face at all times. Go to a baseball game and their with you. Watch your favorite Sunday night football game and there they are. While this definitely works, the ROI on the particular strategy isn’t what it used to be, and it’s only going to get worse. Why? Because they are, in short, trying to be all things to all beer drinkers, and their totally confusing their customer base. In one video, they’re taking a hacksaw to the entire idea of “craft beer”, but on the other side, they’re buying craft breweries faster than anyone else. They’ve got heart-wrenching ads that appeal to their American roots, but then completely backhand the idea of progress in the american beer industry through their various PR activities. They’re not helping themselves. Their brand has the emotional self-control of a 16 year old teenager and frankly, it’s only gotten worse in the past few years.

The Harvard Business Review, which is one of my favorite publications, recently did an exhaustive study to help identify and develop the lexicon for marketers looking to emotionally connect brands with their consumers. They knew that companies were aware of the importance behind an emotional connection, they just didn’t have the vocabulary to define it properly. The sparknotes version of the results is simple. Emotional drivers were present and accounted for in every purchase and every industry. We bought nice cars because we wanted to “feel a sense of belonging”. We chose to bank with certain financial institutions because we wanted to appear “socially responsible”. The study uncovered obvious and not-so-obvious information about consumer motivators behind purchases we all make every day.

Beer is the same way, whether we choose to define the vocabulary or not. We drink craft beer because its delicious, to be sure. But even more than than, we participate in craft beer. We love the idea of it, and the story behind it, and the evolving process that got it to this point. We go to brew fests to try beer, but we also spend $75 on an afternoon of drinking because we want to be emotionally satisfied by the experience.

Craft breweries and the industries participating in craft beer will try to find ways to connect their brand with your emotions. They do it because it works, and they do it because you crave it. I crave it. I feel good about. I want more of it. So do you. They know that forging that emotional connection with customers adds infinitely more brand value than short-term sales, promotions, or cheap shots at your competition. It’ll make for a helluva show in the next 10 years, and I plan to be front and center for all of it.

- Chris

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com.

I took a few coffee-fueled moments on Sunday to peruse the blogs and news media, and I’ve come to the conclusion that, similar to most industries out there, no one really has any idea what American beer will look like in 10 years time. It’ll probably still be delicious, and for that I’m thankful, but the business itself might be operating under a significantly different paradigm. Perspectives on craft, the evolution of the beer consumer, and an obtuse number of other factors (environmental, regulatory, economic, demographic) will all chip in to stir the the collective pot in such a way that few can accurately predict what will happen. I have compiled a list of factors (and a few predictions) that I think will contribute to major changes. Some of these are obvious, and some may come as a surprise to you.

1. It’s been said too many times at this point, but ABInbev/SABMiller are combining their collective market shares and bank accounts, and that’s a big deal. They have a LOT of money folks (This cannot be emphasized enough), and they’ve got hundreds of years of growth under their belt. While they’ve been losing market share in the U.S, you cannot remotely count them out. They’ve got a fresh batch of craft breweries in their portfolio now, and you can bet they’re going to ride that learning curve as fast as possible, putting together a huge team of craft experts from across the country to help them strategize, visualize, and build a future where they’re relevant and profitable. 2025 AB/Inbev/SABMiller could look significantly different than the current version, but they’ll be there.
2. Beer is getting more authentic in its approach. Like food, it’s now artisanal, creative, and increasingly focused on the local scene. We had less than 2000 breweries in the country in 2011. We now have something close to 4300 breweries. Economic realities dictate that we probably cannot handle 4300 craft breweries that are all the size of Sierra Nevada (unless AB/Inbev totally vanishes), so more likely is the idea that we’re going to increase our support for the small brewery down the road from our house. I’ve discussed this before, and it holds true that our natural inclination to “buy local” and support community businesses has only gotten stronger in the past 10 years. Coffee, once a commodity product dominated by Maxwell House and Folgers, has been experiencing an extreme evolution for quite a while now, positioning itself as a third-wave product with gourmet roots and local roasters. Beer is the same way, and we’ll see smaller footprints, and more of them, as we continue down the road.
3. Environmental factors are going to clamp down on production. Breweries access to resources will change, and our consumption patterns will be affected. Don’t worry, because there will be plenty of beer in the future. The end-consumer will feel the effects less, but the people in the beer business will have to cope with a different environment. Brewing is a resource-heavy industry (very resource heavy, from raw ingredients, to production, to distribution), and as such they’ll need to be cognizant of their impact. Large breweries like Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, etc are doing a great job implementing sustainable practices into their business model (renewable energy using solar/wind power, efficient use of water, local purchasing when possible) because they can afford it, and smaller breweries will need to start incorporating these practices now in order to sustain themselves in the future.
4. The last 10 years have shined a significant spotlight on the regulatory environment around beer, both nationally and at the state level. You could literally teach a college course (or two) on the ridiculously complex and just plain ridiculous evolution of beer laws, regulations, distribution models, and governmental oversight. As consumers, it’s easy to take it all for granted. For the most part, we just walk into a local package store or bar and there’s the beer. But breweries have to deal with a laundry list of restrictions and legal battles around distribution, taxes, and pretty much everything else they do. In Mississippi, breweries can’t sell beer from their brewery. Same thing in Georgia, where you also can’t sell beer on Sundays, and you can’t sell anything above 14% ABV, and you have to use a distributor…the list goes on. It’s a battle fought on a conspicuously silent front, but lawmakers can make significantly beneficial changes to help support the growth of great beer in many states as we continue to see industry growth.
5. Imported beer brands, once seen as the authentic alternative to domestic producers like Budweiser, are going to have an uphill battle in the states. I don’t mean all imported beer brands. Import variety has, on balance, gone up in the past few years. More of Europe’s best Belgian, German, British, and Czech styles (to name a few) have made it to our shores, and for this I’m grateful. We’re seeing massive influence cross the Atlantic in both directions, with American beer producers going to school on traditional European brewing tactics, and Europeans doing the same thing on our pioneering craft beer industry. I’m more referring to the idea that significant market share can be had here in the states by foreign brands looking to grab a larger chunk of the pie. Entrenched brands like Guinness, Stella Artois, Corona, etc have massive mindshare amongst their consumer base, but they are already fully aware that their not really gaining ground on our shores. Craft beer hasn’t just slammed the door on domestic producers, and as a result of this, you’ll see more innovation from these import brands, trying to remain relevant amongst a changing demographic.
6. Technology will have a noticeable impact on our consumption habits. The changing consumer landscape is mostly due to education and access to information. As more people drink great beer, more folks start to talk about it. Blogs, news media, and the like have exploded in the past 5 years, fueling the fire to be a more informed drinker.

There are more things happening, but this rounds out a short list.

- Chris

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com.

By Janet Milliman

GABF fever is finally coming down in Denver. The brewers, for the most part, have gone home, touting fresh hardware from their award-winning beer and sporting the kind of hangover that only shows up when you’ve really earned it.

The best part about American craft beer is that the story is never quite finished, and it’s this complete lack of anything resembling a dull moment that has kept me coming back over the years. Even though Colorado isn’t hosting thousands of brewers this week, we can still claim to have at least one or two breweries that keep the torch of great beer going for the other 362 days of the year.

Grist Brewing Company is nestled 20-ish miles south of downtown Denver, in the comfortable suburb of Highlands Ranch. Rob Kevwitch, PhD (that’s right..he’s a doctor) is the mad scientist of a 6500 square foot brewing laboratory. An athlete, perpetual student, and self-described nerd, Dr. Rob has built a truly gorgeous brewery that’s been churning out practically flawless brews to an enthusiastic audience since it opened in 2013.

Rob always thought he would be a high school chemistry teacher. I support that dream, but I’m pretty happy he didn’t end up doing that. He was nearly there when he scrapped his teaching program and decided to go on to earn a PhD in organic chemistry. The degree led him to a unique gig setting up laboratories for the oil and gas industry, which inevitably landed him in Texas for a stint. While life was good in the Lonestar State, craft beer wasn’t quite where he wanted it to be. That’s when he decided that he could use his degree to quench his thirst, a noble path by anyone’s standard. He lured some friends into joining the experiment with the promise of relief from the relentless Texas sun by way of regular gatherings that included a swimming pool and barbecue. The nerd inside of him ensured that protocols were tight and the resulting beers were clean and refreshing. As you might imagine, there were only winners in this scenario.

As Rob’s beer game escalated, his passion for laboratory management waned. Job transfers had landed him in Colorado where the brewer’s dream took hold. He wanted to start a brewery, and when he mentioned it to his colleagues, they jumped at the chance to partner with the guy who always put the science first, nailed the numbers, and had been sharing increasingly delicious beer with them over the years. They brought the skills necessary to keep the business side in check while he pieced together his dream lab. Brewing commenced in October, 2013 and the doors officially opened November 2nd of the same year.

It’s clear from the screaming Broncos fans I saw at the brewery that Grist is equal parts craft brew sanctuary and local watering hole. Highlands Ranch is just far enough from Denver that the locals lack regular access to the copious craft breweries that can barely be contained within Denver’s city limits. Kevwitch describes a sense of great responsibility in introducing craft beer to the folks who just want “a beer” while they watch the game. After all, if they don’t take to his brews, he may also forever turn them off to craft beer in general. This, combined with his dream of a world where science and numbers always reign supreme, led him to ensure that only the best beers are released to the public. If you have any question about the painstaking lengths they will go to in order to preserve integrity at Grist, check out the video on their website where they dump 20 barrels down the drain due to a bad batch. It’s heartbreaking.

Suffice it to say, Grist has not disappointed its clientele. They have experienced 50% growth year over year and project similar growth in the future. They are also in talks about a second location. Not one to ignore the package game, a canning line has been purchased that will be up and running in time for their second birthday in just a few short weeks. With only 10 employees, I asked if he would need to bring on more staff to keep the line running. With a shrug, Kevwitch indicated that regulars and staff alike have already volunteered to work the line in their spare time. Whether or not Grist grants the people’s request to labor for free, there’s no question that this brewery has spawned some passionate enthusiasts in the neighborhood.

Although Rob admits that he gave up his dream of teaching chemistry in order to go in another direction, I think he has incorporated his passion for chemistry into every facet of his business at Grist. He purchases sensory kits that are regularly utilized to educate staff, local brewers, and other interested parties about common off-flavors that can occur in beer. He teaches his staff how to pitch the yeast, mash the malt, and add the hops, all in the right proportions, to produce flavor profiles that could be otherwise achieved by adding flavor extracts or unnecessary additives. He consistently preaches the gospel of firm quality control and a measured approach to brewing. “Stick to the protocol; hit the numbers every time.”

The need for precision has also aroused a playful dissent from the staff, resulting in a more balanced atmosphere where strictly regulated flagships are complimented by creative seasonal beers formulated by inspiration rather than exactitude. This balance of science and creativity has brought Grist into the limelight as an out-of-the-way brewery that is well worth a trip.

Most importantly, Grist Brewing Company represents a stunning endorsement for the economic and social force behind great local beer. For anyone curious about the culture and energy that’s so pervasive in this industry, you only need to look as far as a small business like this for your answer. It’s true that we’re seeing a record number of breweries open, and this is certainly increasing competition, but it’s building momentum as well. Former domestic beer drinkers who never drank craft beer regularly are now turning to their local breweries for great beer with real community impact…and I’ve never heard of a “former craft beer drinker”. Whether Denver is a barometer for this country’s craft scene or not, we’re seeing incredible success, and support, in a brewery-rich urban area willing to support the business.

In the words of Dr. Kevwitch himself, “the south suburban brewery scene has arrived, is in full force, and we’re here to stay.”

Published October 2016

Vermont has, and will continue, to inspire these moments. I formed my most important relationships here and spent almost all of my formative years wandering through its mountains, lakes, and townships. I went to college here, and I worked for great breweries here, and realized that’s it’s an existentially lovely place to exist in the world. It’s a state full of entrepreneurs and environmentalists with a native and fundamental understanding of how to live a sustainable and moderate lifestyle. It’s indescribably pretty. It’s quiet. It’s unapologetically rural. It just has that thing. I now live in Manhattan, which is the opposite of Vermont (and not a bad thing), and I hear people talk about Vermont like it’s Narnia. I’m fine with that. If they think little gnomes and great magical beasts roam through the trees up north, then I think that’s a myth worth propagating.

And Vermont, as you know, is absolutely stuffed full of great breweries. Breweries I’ve known from my childhood are now sharing the state’s footprint with a veritable landslide of new players, and I can confidently say that it’s only gotten better over the years. Those now-famous cats over at Hill Farmstead and The Alchemist have continued to innovate stylistically, while “old” hats like Long Trail, Otter Creak, Rock Art, and Switchback are continuing to see growth, both in sales and distribution. I wanted to highlight a few of the latest breweries in the Burlington area, which has quietly been pioneering great beer in the U.S for almost 30 years.

(Quickly — Michael Kiser, the Chicago-based writer/photographer who founded Good Beer Hunting, did a Kickass Podcast on his trip through Vermont. You should definitely follow him and his crew over there as they capture the ethos, energy, and story behind great beer in a unique, beautiful, and fundamentally relevant way. Truly great work there).

Unwind the clock just five years in Chittenden county (Burlington’s county, and home to well over a quarter of the population of the state) and you’ll see a remarkably different brewing scene as compared with the present day. In those heady days, you could find 7 breweries/brewpubs in the entire county making their own beer. You’ll now find 17 breweries/brewpubs in that same geographic area, with more to come in the next few years. With a population of roughly 160,000 souls, and some really rough math…that’s…uhhh…nevermind. I’m not gonna do the math, but it’s an admirable number of breweries is the point.

I stopped into almost four breweries (Four Quarters Brewing should have been open, but they weren’t, so I was left pressing my face up against the dark glass, parched and desperate for a cold pint) during a recent afternoon the Burlington area. I’ve heard great stuff about Four Quarters Brewing, located in Winooski, which is small town attached the northern arm of Burlington; I’ll be happy to try their beer in the near future. I did get to stop in Burlington Beer Company, which is a bit of a misnomer because of its location, but they’ve got a great space in the neighboring business park area of Williston, VT. They set up shop in what I consider to be the best kind of space for a brewery; a totally urban warehouse space surrounded by similarly sized small businesses. They’ve also got a sweet little tap room sectioned off from the rest of the brewery, with a nice variety of cleverly-named brews on tap (after all…It IS complicated being a wizard) and a turntable pumping out the raddest variety of music this side of the Connecticut river. I heard the Grateful Dead, Naughty-by-Nature, and A Tribe Called Quest all before I finished my sample paddle. Swing by for a pint of Quixotic and get a growler of Sancho for the road.

The perfectly Vermonty day continued and I ventured down to Pine Street in Burlington. Standing directly across from one another (literally) are Queen City Brewery and Zero Gravity Craft Brewery’s new location. Zero Gravity has been brewing their beer in partnership with American Flatbread for over a decade now, conveniently located in their restaurant space in Burlington. With this separate brewing location located a short walk down the road from their original spot they’ll be able to really bump up the production of their famously delicious beer. Their new taproom was simply and sublimely decorated. This is my sort of style, with rock-solid and beautifully finished wooden tables inside and a ton of outdoor real estate to soak up the beautiful afternoon summer sunshine. They also just started canning the Green State Lager and Conehead IPA, so if you’re kicking around the area you can always stop in and grab a case for the road.

Queen City Brewery had my favorite beer(s) of the afternoon, and I rarely play favorites with beer. On tap was an incredibly flavorful and summery hefeweizen and a smoky, smooth Rauchbier that blew my socks (sandals) off. Paul Hale and the founding team at QCB have a fantastic story to tell when you stop in, and the tap room space is a terribly interesting place to be (there is a full blown 50's style pick up truck parked on the roof of their coldbox…you should ask how they got it there). They’re also not your typical young guns starting a new brewery, and they bring years of brewing experience to bear on their English-inspired taproom offerings. Get some.

That was the afternoon, and it was as sober as it needed to be. It’s an exciting time for Vermont beer, and the best part is that they all come with a great story. Take a trip up through Vermont this summer and let me know if you have any questions…I’ll be happy to point you in the direction of a great pint.

- Chris

Originally published at www.thebrewenthusiast.com.