Not all craft beer is created equal

My most recent Planet S column focused in on one of the dirty little secrets of craft brewing. Namely, not all craft beer is good. Some is mediocre and, if we entirely honest with ourselves, some of it is just plain sub-standard. You can read the column here.

To be clear, I am referring here not to a particular craft beer that just isn’t to your fancy – we all have our favourite and not-so-favourite interpretations. You might not like Brewery X’s Blonde Ale, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a carefully crafted, well-executed blonde ale. The same might go for a particular stout, IPA, barrel-aged porter or whatever. I am not discussing the realm of preferences. Instead I am honing my sights on beer that by any somewhat objective standard doesn’t make the cut. It might have obvious flaws or, more frequently, is just too timid.

I don’t name names in the article – and won’t here either – for that is beside the point. Instead I look the state of the industry and what factors lead to sub-standard craft. The article discusses two and I want to add a third here that arises upon further reflection and when I can be less concerned for word counts.

The first reason is the perceptions of the craft brewers themselves. I believe that the sheer size of the beer industry intimidates many well-intentioned brewers. Craft remains a very small portion of beer sales in Canada, likely 2% to 4% on the prairies. That can lead to a trap. Breweries can get fixated by the thought that most beer drinkers still prefer corporate pale lager – which is true. This logic can lead many breweries to be afraid of big flavours and thus they self-censor in a way, toning down their beer to broaden its potential reach.

In a way this is fair. Breweries need to sell beer and what is the point of making a killer Russian Imperial Stout aged in oak and spiked with Brett if no one will buy it? I also acknowledge that across the prairies the leading selling beer for EVERY craft brewer is one of if not their most “accessible” beer. Their IPAs and stouts, weizens and bocks fall farther back.

However, there is a trap in that logic. It neglects two things: how quickly consumers’ tastes are changing, and that craft brewers aren’t really competing for the 90% – they are working in the 4% already persuaded and maybe another 4-10% more who are curious. Which means you don’t need to dumb your beer down.

The second reason is the sheer popularity of craft beer. It is the only segment of the market still growing, thus it attracts the attention of those only marginally interested in brewing “craft” beer and more interested in cashing i on craft beer’s higher margins of return. Here, of course, I refer to the scourge of “pseudo-craft”. I have spoken of that often, so don’t need to go into any great detail here. However, I will add that it is not just the big boys getting into that act. Increasingly consumers need to be wary of any new beer they come across of which they haven’t heard. One of the downsides of becoming the cool kid is that sometimes you get hangers-on that are more interested in your coolness than the kid you were before you were cool.

Upon reflection, I am considering a third reason. For the prairies specifically, this is more speculation than experience, but looking at other parts of Canada and the U.S. tell me it is a possible concern. Another byproduct of growth, especially in recently relaxed regulatory environments, is the proliferation of well-intentioned start-ups who, despite passion, vision and possibly extensive homebrewing experience, simply do not know enough about brewing at a commercial scale and do not understand the gamut of challenges a professional brewer faces. Infinitely more things can go wrong in a commercial brewery than a homebrewery, with much more dire consequences. Health regulations, excise regulations, schedule management, quality control, yeast health, equipment breakdowns and likely dozens more potential issues I can’t even think of can vex even experienced brewers. To the inexperienced professional brewer, these challenges can lead to bad batches, uneven quality, pre-mature expiration and so on. In short, sub-standard beer. The intentions might be there, but the ability to execute is not yet fully developed.

I know prairie brewers put out some high quality beer that can match craft beer from anywhere else on the continent. These observations are far more global – looking at craft beer generally, not in any specific geographic location. So if you think you recognize a specific brewer in my discussion above, that is just in your head, not in my words.

My purpose is simpler than that. All I am doing is trying to make sense of my experiences as a beer consumer. Why some craft beer fall short of standards of quality while some exceeds it and then some. As always, your thoughts are welcome.