Just one of the pseudo-craft culprits
A few weeks ago, as I mentioned here,I took aim in my CBC column at what I call pseudo-craft breweries. After doing the piece, I realized that I needed to keep talking about this trend, because no one else was. So, I decided to write up similar pieces for Planet S and Vue Weekly. They ran in the last couple of weeks, thus giving me an excuse to mention it here once again.
The articles themselves parallel the CBC piece – defining craft beer, examining the actions of the big boys and then highlighting the disingenuous actions of Minhas Brewing. You can read the Planet S version here and the Vue Weekly version here.
While their publication doesn’t break any new ground, it does give me an opportunity to clarify a few things. Some discussion, both here on onbeer.org and privately, challenged my framing that producing kind-of flavourful beer and selling it as craft was bad. The core of the disagreement, I believe, comes from conflating the product and the marketing of the product. So allow me to clarify.
I am totally fine with breweries that make crappy beer. I know that most beer consumers are looking for cold, yellow, crisp and not much else. I know why: for three generations this was basically the only option. Producing a beer like that doesn’t make you a bad guy. A case in point is Drummond Brewing out of Red Deer. I like the guys at Drummond and have a lot of time for them. I am glad they are successful (and are now Alberta’s second largest brewery not named Labatt). But their beer is definitely not for me. That is because it is discount beer – corn-laden pale lager.
The reason I am okay with them is because they are honest about what they are doing. They tell everyone they are in the business of making cheap beer. Personally I would rather the cheap beer consumer buys their beer than a multi-national’s.
In contrast, my problem with Minhas is not the quality of the beer they make, but their pretense to be brewing “craft beer”. Once you use that label, you invoke a range of expectations. Not meeting those expectations is bad, but having no intention of even trying to reach them in the first place is dishonest. And thus my dander rises.
And THAT is the point of my columns. I think consumers need to know that not every beer on the shelf is telling them the truth, and that they need to be discerning. I realize we live in a capitalist system with “buyer beware” and all that. Consumers need to take responsibility too.
But there is a power imbalance in the system. The seller has more information than the buyer. And whenever there is a power imbalance, someone needs to intercede. So, my friends, consider me a Phil Edmonston (the Lemon-Aid car guide guy) for the beer world. My job is to help balance the scales by giving consumers more information about what is going on.
On the flipside, since my CBC piece some have said I am being too soft on Minhas. They are unhappy my columns offer their side of the story and I don’t urge a boycott of their product (which others have). If I am to respect the intelligence of my readers/listeners (if I have any), I need to refrain from such editorializing. It is clear from my tone that I disapprove of Minhas’ tactics. But my job is to provide the information and let people decide for themselves. I use that principle in my beer reviews and I believe I need to extend it to my discussions of the industry. I leave it to consumers themselves to give Minhas a spanking.
One final response. In my definition of craft beer I mention no use of adjuncts. I am well aware that some styles, such as Classic American Pilsner and Cream Ale, call for some corn adjunct. While I could (and maybe should) have said “craft brewers use adjuncts only in style-appropriate or experimental ways”, I argue the couple of exceptions does not dilute the distinction between the use of adjuncts between craft and non-craft. I am writing for a wide audience, and to cut the point too fine may cause it to be lost entirely. So sometimes I choose for over-simplification. But I appreciate those with a keen eye pointing out those times – if nothing else it proves you are reading carefully. So keep correcting me.
I hope to continue offering analytical observations about the beer industry. I enjoy it and I would like to think it is useful to those who read it. Regardless, I think I point out a real problem when I discuss pseudo-craft beer.
October 18, 2011 at 2:59 PM
At least Minhas was more or less forthcoming with you – when I asked them many years ago about the actual provenance of their beer, they just clammed up and ignored me. Thanks for following up on this.
October 18, 2011 at 7:33 PM
I don’t understand the value you put on the label “craft”. The label “Scotch Whisky”, for example, is useful because it has a precise meaning. If “craft” can be that easily co-opted by an advertisment, a company name, and snazzy packaging, it is simply not a useful term. You say that (and I’m paraphrasing) by using this label they need to try to meet expectations. Your hackles are only raised because of an arbitrary standard you place on those expectations. You can discount the value in the word, and still respect brewers that have an eye for tradition and use quality ingredients, and at the same time take Minhas beer for what it is.
How many people, do you think, are both: 1) Attracted to advertising (sensu lato) that projects tradition, care and quality; and 2) After drinking an inferior product, would ever buy it again? That’s a pretty small slice of the Venn diagram, and IMO not worth getting fussed about. If they have a quality product, on the other hand, what is the problem? Who cares if they use corn and rice and don’t have an eye for tradition if they brew good beer?
Fundamentally, it seems to me that what you call a pseudo-craft brewery is something that is trying to convince people that it brews good beer by telling them that it brews good beer. That doesn’t bother me, and really, shouldn’t suprise anyone. That they try and go about trying to convince people that they brew a good beer in a slightly round-about way doesn’t make it any worse.
(I’ll agree, though,that misleading someone into thinking they are buying an Alberta beer that is brewed in Wisconsin is underhanded and that deliberately misnaming a beer is silly)
October 18, 2011 at 9:26 PM
Craft beer should be crafted. To me it’s as simple as the definition of the word: Crafted: “To make or manufacture with skill and careful attention to detail.”
October 18, 2011 at 9:58 PM
@Chad, yes, of course, though that’s different from how it was defined in the column(s). You’re still left with a rather arbitrary judgement about how to fit that definition to a brewery. For example, one could quite reasonably infer that a beer that tastes good or is interesting qualfies as having been “manufactured with skill and careful attention to detail” (unless you want to argue that brewing a good/favourful/interesting beer is easy).
@Brady, I took a look at the Minhas website, and while a little bit silly, it seemed rather clear that the beer is brewed in Wisconsin. In fact they seem rather proud of that. Presumably this is a recent addition? Or do they make separate claims for Alberta?
October 18, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Isotopic,
The first thing I want to say is that I really appreciate your contribution to these discussions. They are thoughtful and challenging. You make me stop and think for a bit before responding – which is a good sign.
On one level I must agree with you. If a brewery makes good beer, who are we to label it or say it should be such and such? And you are also correct that the label “craft” is constructed – although I would disagree that it is not useful.
Most pseudo-craft beer make bad beer. I have not seen anyone defend Minhas or Alexander Keith’s by saying their beer is superior. Yet they try to sell it as good beer. I am well aware of the subjective nature of “good” and “bad”, but as an experienced beer consumer I do believe I – and most of the readers of this website – have some grounds to argue what good and bad are.
If I try to figure out the core of our disagreement, I think it comes down to two things. First, I think I am more willing than you are to place a judgment on the overall quality of a beer. Even if it sells well and many people like it, I am prepared to say it is a sub-standard beer. I don’t judge the people who drink it (or quite frankly the people who brew it), but that doesn’t change my opinion. And people are welcome to take my opinion however they please.
Second – and this may be the more important point – I see my role as an educational one. My job is to give consumers more information for their choices. My approach to “craft” is, in part, framing. By clarifying and spotlighting the difference between an Alley Kat and a Drummond, I can help re-frame how consumers approach beer. Marketing is all about framing. I both understand that and actively engage that process. By establishing high credentials for real craft beer, I help elevate consumer expectations – expectations that pseudo-craft brewers can’t meet.
The other piece of the puzzle for me is that I truly appreciate well-made beer. And I want to promote beer that meets that standard. That is the other part of what I do.
I am not one to passively accept the will of the market. I know it is often flawed and that it is not a measure of quality. So, I don’t really care that some consumers buy pseudo-craft and like it. My job is to give them enough information that they don’t feel the need to buy it in the first place.
I respect that is not where you are at. And I want you to keep challenging me – as it keeps my brain moving. But that is my take.
Cheers.
Jason
October 18, 2011 at 10:39 PM
I should have also added that, yes, Minhas has different marketing for each market it sells in. While on the surface this is legitimate, it does extend itself to “where” the brew the beer. In Alberta it is all “we are an Alberta company”, while in the U.S. it is their historic Wisconsin roots.
It is up to you to decide what that means.
October 18, 2011 at 10:20 PM
When I last checked there were at least 3 different Minhas websites, maybe more, all slightly different, yet all incredibly bizarre and confusing.
DAMN GOOD BEER.
October 19, 2011 at 8:17 AM
Maybe getting off topic here, but what do you think about “craft” breweries that put their product in clear/green bottles? Seems to also go against the ethos of care and quality that we associate with craft.
I was at a Calgary Coop this weekend, and a craft brewery had a sample booth setup right inside the sunny entrance. Sample #1 was packaged in a brown bottle, it was delicious, and I ended up buying some. Sample #2 was packaged in a clear bottle, I took one whiff, set it back down, and said “this is skunky, no thanks.” The fellow running the booth seemed quite concerned, but also couldn’t understand why there was a problem. I tried explaining it, but he was embarrassed and fumbling around disposing of that bottle and grabbing another, while other customers overheard our exchange and wouldn’t try the beer either.
Then in the walk-in beer cooler, one of these customers approached me and said, “I won’t drink skunky beer either, thanks for the heads up.” I then explained to him how beer in clear and green bottles will easily skunk when exposed to sunlight. Then he got angry with me, “yeah I don’t think so buddy, as if Heineken and Corona and all these other great imports would use those bottles if that was the case.” He then grabbed a 6-pack of Dos Equis in green bottles and left.
Anyways, I left feeling like a total heel… I tried my best to educate and not be a snob about it, but it didn’t seem to work out in this case.
October 19, 2011 at 8:46 AM
I have always been troubled by any brewery that puts its beer in clear or green bottles, whether a big boy or a small craft brewery. And I will admit that complicates the discussion of “what is craft”. Clearly (no pun intended) clear/green packaging is marketing winning out over quality. I criticize the big boys when they do it, so consistency demands I be critical of a craft brewer who does it – although I try to be nicer when doing it :-).
As for your experience, I have had similar moments. It is a hard road to walk without hitting a few potholes. The depth of the misinformation about beer out there is boggling. All we can do is take it one step at a time.
Cheers.
October 19, 2011 at 3:34 PM
@Isotopic – Yeah, this was around ’04 or ’05, and their website was just all about ‘Damn Good Beer’, and ‘pure Canadian Shield water’, or something to that effect. I tried to talk to the (co-)owner at a food and beverage show, and she looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about where they made their beer.
October 21, 2011 at 8:06 PM
When the entire focus of a brewery is making money: it’s not craft brewing. There must be a clear distinction between non craft beer and craft beer, even if its only to recognize those people who are not solely concerned with the bottom line; to recognize those people for their creativity and their passion.
December 5, 2014 at 5:41 PM
Minhas isn’t craft-brewed beer. It’s not even beer. It’s sick-up in bottles and cans with various labels and names, and I will proclaim this to the nations from the mountaintops until the siblings do the honorable thing and self-immolate in penance.