I’ve been a Consumer Reports reader for decades. I remember having the magazine around as a kid and regularly picked it up for a thorough reading each month. It has long served me well with its mostly objective testing on a host of products from vacuums to detergents to electronics and vehicles. Its consumer tips and warnings are usually worth a read, too.

With its August 2013 issue, however, Consumer Reports found itself in the midst of a dust up with craft beer fans over its “Best Bets in Beers” article.  CR conducted a blind tasting of 23 ales and lagers and picked its favorites. CR judged thirteen as excellent or very good. Had they stopped there, no one would have given a second thought.

However, as is common for CR, they like to educate.  While usually a good trait, their over-generalizations about beer proved hard to swallow.

First, CR noted all 23 of the tested beers were “members of the growing craft beer movement.”  To CR’s credit, it acknowledged the definition of “craft beer” is “somewhat squishy.” It mentioned the Brewers Association’s definition of “small, independent, and traditional” – even noting that “[s]ome beers that call themselves craft don’t actually adhere to that description” – but nevertheless included Shock Top Wheat IPA in the group.*  Shock Top (judged by CR as a very good and a best buy) is made by AB InBev, a decidedly un-craft brewer.**

CR is not bound to adopt the Brewers Association’s definition of craft beer.  However, having repeated it and having noted there are beers claiming to be craft that don’t meet the definition, CR should have noted which ones in their lineup fit that bill.  Shock Top wasn’t the only one.  Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat, Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale, Blue Moon Belgian White, Widmer Hefeweizen, Widmer Drifter Pale Ale, Kona Longboard Lager, Kirkland Signature German, and Kirkland Signature Pale also are not “craft” under the Brewers Association’s definition.  That’s 39% of the tested beers.

Next, CR announced that “the best ales have intense, complex and balanced flavors,” a statement followed by “the best lagers are very tasty, but not quite complex or intense enough to be excellent.”

What?

This isn’t education. Its a complete failure to appreciate what various styles of beer are attempting to accomplish.  Sure, you might prefer an American IPA specifically because it’s complex and intense, but that has nothing to do with determining whether a pilsner is excellent, for example.

Perhaps CR’s worst failure, however, was it’s “Close-Up” sidebar entitled “How did home brew do?”  To answer the question, CR asked three staffers to brew Classic American Light beer using the Mr. Beer Premium Edition Home Brewing Kit.  The kit includes some basic equipment, pre-hopped malt extract and yeast.

CR’s conclusion? “The process wasn’t bad, but the beer wasn’t good. It had a yeasty, cidery character and would have been at the bottom of the Ratings.”  That’s the sum total of their dive into “how did home brew do?”  No broader explanation of home brewing. No acknowledgement that they picked an ingredient kit designed essentially to mimic bud light (yet, brewed at ale temperatures; does that make it a steam light?).  No acknowledgment that none of the 23 ales and lagers they blind tested was a “classic American light beer.”***

In short,**** CR’s article did far more of a disservice to readers wanting to explore craft beer than it did to point them in the direction of a few good beers.

By the way, it’s not the first time CR has rated beer.  In 2011, Coors blew away the competition which included Bud and Bud Light.*****

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* Most of the craft beer world’s reaction to this article focused on the “craft beer” inclusion of Shock Top.  That’s not my big beef because I’m already conflicted enough about the craft beer definition.
** It’s hard to deny that many people think Shock Top tastes pretty good. For example, Shock Top Lemon Shandy won best fruit beer at the 2012 Garden City Brewfest, beating out several local favorites in blind judging.
*** CR did judge Stone IPA, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, and Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA as excellent, so they’re not entirely out to lunch on the matter.
****  Ha! When have my posts ever been short?
*****Shooting for a record in the most footnotes in a Growler Fills post.