Macrobrewers & the Craft Beer Market Part 1 - Craft vs. Crafty

Macrobrewers & the Craft Beer Market Part 1 - Craft vs. Crafty

A couple weeks ago, a man by the name of Evan Parent, filed a lawsuit again MillerCoors. The reason? Because he alleges that Blue Moon's marketing, pricing & placement amongst other craft beers lead him to believe that Blue Moon was a craft beer. He also says that it violates California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and how it's misleading and a bunch of other legalese I'm not even going to bother with.

Point is that this whole lawsuit has motivated me to write a couple of pieces regarding the whole Craft Beer vs. Crafty Beer argument. I feel that I have enough experience and know-how to throw in my two cents about this topic. Plus I feel that this is an issue that will really start to take off over the next couple of years.

While the whole argument of Craft vs. Crafty has been on the minds of beers drinkers for quite a while, it was never really bought to the forefront and was, until recently, mostly commentary of a not-so-serious nature. That all changed when this commercial debuted during this year's Super Bowl.....

When this commercial was released, the responses were all over the place. Some took an analytical approach to it, other breweries decided to put together their own response and others took this as a declaration of war on craft beer industry. It's no secret that there are breweries out there that may seemingly appear as a craft brewery to the uninformed consumer but are, in fact, owned by a macro-brewer like MillerCoors or AB In-Bev.

Who is a craft brewer?

According to the Brewer's Association, they define a craft brewery as the following:

Small

Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships.

Independent

Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.

Traditional

A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.

These guidelines were created with good intentions as a means of helping beer drinkers tell the difference between an independent brewer and someone who was, well...............not. It seemed all clean-cut and such, but there was a problem.

A couple of years ago, there was a bit of controversy with what defined a craft brewer. One brewery in particular, August Schell Brewing, was "blacklisted" because the ingredients used their long-standing Grain Belt lager used adjuncts in the brewing process, which started out of necessity when the brewery first opened up and has been used still out of tradition. Even many thought they fulfilled the requirements of all three guidelines.

I remember when I first saw this news, I was shocked. I always have considered them to be the original Minnesota craft brewery, who will be celebrating their 165th Anniversary this year. Sure they make Grain Belt, which is their flagship beer, but they also make a ton of other styles and they aren't owned by any major corporations. In fact, I would even argue that Sam Adams is more along the lines of being big beer than Schell's is. Thankfully, a little over a year afterwards in early 2014, the BA changed their definition as to who was a craft brewer and August Schell's was finally considered to be a craft brewer again.

Compare that to the likes of Goose Island & Blue Moon, both of which are owned 100% by Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors respectively. Though Goose Island was considered craft prior to its buyout to Anheuser-Busch, Blue Moon was created specifically by MillerCoors about 20 years ago so they were never considered craft at any point of their existence.

Now here is where I become a Devil's advocate of sorts because while I do think companies like Goose Island and Blue Moon are trying to pass themselves off as crafty, isn't that really the point? If there is anything I have learned from marketing, it's that the whole idea behind marketing is so that a company can draw in and retain business long term. In fact, it's safe to assume that the vast majority of craft breweries on the market today owe their very existence, directly or indirectly, to Big Beer.

I've already explained in my review of Bud Light that the newer generation of beer drinkers, namely Millennials, are less likely to drink a Budweiser product because of lack of brand loyalty and a wider selection of beers to choose from than 20-30 years ago. One thing we can all agree upon is that macro-brewers are trying their hardest to appeal to a wider demographic and retain their share of the beer industry. Which is why Anheuser-Busch recently acquired well-known craft breweries like Elysiun Brewing & 10 Barrel Brewing.

This is, of course, something I will touch upon more in the next post.

Blue Moon White IPA Review

Name: Blue Moon White IPA
Style: White IPA
ABV: 5.9%

Last week I was putting together a mix-a-six for myself when I noticed this beer sitting on the shelf. Upon seeing this, my reaction was: A macro-brewer released an IPA? This I've got to see! So here we are with Blue Moon's White IPA. Blue Moon, as I have pointed out earilier, was founded by MillerCoors but acts as a separate entity by producing beer that are along the lines of what is considered to be "craft beer."

I'm very curious to see how this turned out. My findings on the internet haven't revealed much, aside from that this is a very recent release and it's brewed with Cascade, Citra, and Huell Melon hops. Let's see how this turned out!

Appearance - A very hazy yellow color with no visible carbonation to speak of. The head is quite foamy and has some good retention though the lacing is surprisingly abundant and sticky

Aroma - Well this is interesting, the nose starts off with some rich citra hop/orange peel notes & honeydew melon sweetness, followed by some malted wheat and pale maltiness. There's even a hint of corinader in here as well, just like the label promised. The best way to describe the aroma is that it smells like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

Taste - Strong malted wheat & moderate citrus hop notes dominate the front of the palate, with the latter lingering throughout the flavor. The second half of the flavor consists of berry sweetness
and some potent bitter hoppiness. As for the aftertaste, it's all bitter hops with just a hint of orange peel.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Blue Moon White IPA is quite good. Marco-brewers, take note: If you really are serious about enticing craft beer drinkers, make more beers like this. Now is this the best White IPA I've ever had? Of course not, but I would most certainly have it again should I be given the opportunity.

Blue Moon White IPA - 8/10

Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale Review

**No Picture, Sorry!!**

Name: Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale
Style: Spiced Beer
ABV: 5.5%

Next up on my Blue Moon Winter Seasonal Pack is their Cinnamon Horchata. A horchata is a beverage that originates from Mexico and Central America that is made with milk, cinnamon, almonds and occasionally rice.

Now I've had horchata before and it is really tasty and I have to admit I'm a bit excited to actually review a horchata-based beer. However the previous beer I had in the sampler pack was a bit lacking so lets see how this is.

The beer pours a hazy orange color with some mild carbonation. The head takes on a thin white appearance and there's no lacing to speak of.

The nose is a mix of cinnamon, eggnog, some lactose, and a bit of pale maltiness. I'm also getting some light malted barley notes in here as well.

The first half of the flavor reminds me of a cinnamon roll. You've got your cinnamon spiciness, a bit of yeastiness, and some pale malts. The second half of the flavor still has a lingering cinnamon sweetness but it's paired with some malted barley. Other than that, the aftertaste is fairly dry with only a light cinnamon spiciness.

While it didn't quite hit the expectations I had for, it still manages to please and proves that a horchata based beer can work under the right circumstances. Your best bet would be to have a bottle and decide for yourself.

Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale - 8/10

Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale Review

Name: Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale
Style: Spiced Beer
ABV: 5.9%

Another beer from the Blue Moon Winter Sampler Pack, which I got on sale last week. For this review, I have their Gingerbread Spiced Ale which brings back memories of Christmas....except during Christmas, I was drinking Reindeer Games from Clown Shoes; A fantastic beer if you haven't had it yet.

As I recall, the last Gingerbread based beer I had was from Sam Adams and I frankly wasn't too impressed with that beer. So let's see if this beer will change my mind about gingerbread-based beers.

The beer pours a clear dark brown color with some light carbonation. The head itself is quite thin & translucent and the lacing is pretty much non-existent.

So far, it's living up to the name as a gingerbread beer because it hits you right away in the aroma. I'm also getting some mild roastiness & a hint of chocolate malts. There's also some very mild hoppiness but it's covered up by the strong gingerbread scent.

As for the flavor, at the very front of the palate is where the gingerbread is quite strong but it fades away on the backend of the palate; Which consists mostly of roasted barley, some mild chocolate notes and some moderately bitter hoppiness.

Had the gingerbread flavor lingered throughout, I would've enjoyed this more. Perhaps it's better enjoyed sooner than later. However as it is, it's still a decent beer and there's nothing I would really consider terribly wrong with it.

Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale - 7.5/10

Blue Moon Belgian White Review

Name: Blue Moon Belgian White
Style: Witbier
ABV: 5.4%

It's taken me this long to review Blue Moon Belgian White? Yeah, I still don't quite understand it myself but when I see a Blue Moon Seasonal Sampler on sale, I cannot pass up that offer. This'll be the first beer in my Blue Moon series and I've decided to start off with the original Belgian White.

What can be said about Belgian White? Well next to Coors, Budweiser & Miller, it is one of the most widely recognized beers in America and can be found everywhere in the country. I've also had this beer at Olive Garden a few times because it's usually the only thing I consider to be decent on tap.

Belgian White pours a cloudy yellow color with a foamy white head. The lacing is on the sparse side and I'm not getting any visible carbonation.

In the aroma, I'm getting potent orange peel notes, some malted wheat, a bit of berry sweetness, along with some pale malts to round things off.

Flavor-wise, the orange peel & berry sweetness up front are fairly mild compared to the malted wheat and pale malt in the back, which are also relatively tame. The aftertaste is a light mix of malted wheat and orange peel sweetness.

Even though the flavor leaves something more to be desired, this is not a bad beer. When you take into consideration that this is a Miller-Coors Product, it's actually quite good plus there is none of that grainy adjunct flavor in here either which is a plus in my book. The best way to describe this beer is that it's not perfect, but even a broken clock is wrong twice a day.

Blue Moon Belgian White - 7.75/10