How much influence can a label have? A lot, apparently, if you’ve followed the “craft versus crafty” debate of the past few years. Remember when we called new beers from anyone other than Big Beer microbrews? Those were the days of a few new six-packs from places unknown hitting the grocery shelves. Something unusual with…
You may recall my recent mini-rant about a photo I saw in our local Safeway grocery store depicting “a better beer aisle” coming soon as part of a store-wide refreshing. If not, read up here. The photo depicted a sign I’d hoped was for illustration purposes only. I also pondered what “categories” Safeway intended to…
Anybody know what we’re supposed to call “beer” these days? I ask not because I want to dive back into the craft versus crafty debate. No, it’s because I came across this sign while picking up a few items at my local Safeway one evening last week: According to the sign, we should be looking…
Brewbound.com ran a story today about a “powerful” speech delivered by Craft Brew Alliances’ CEO, Andy Thomas, at the 2014 Beer Industry Summit being held in Scottsdale, AZ. Check out the full story at the link above. It will provide better context for what follows. In his 45 minute speech, Thomas reportedly took shots at…
A story appearing in the Chicago Tribune yesterday pointed to an interesting study detailing the influence a simple label had on coffee drinkers’ perception of flavor. By telling study volunteers one of two identical cups of coffee was “eco-friendly,” volunteers who cared about the environment said they preferred the taste of the faux eco-friendly coffee…
For Valentine’s Day, I thought it worthwhile to make a steamy confession: I am a beer ticker. Yes, I am one of those beer geeks who likes to try a new beer and check it off. But I don’t think this an unpardonable sin. Instead, I see it as a service to craft beer, a…
The Brewers Association (that’s the big, national one, not the Montana one) recently stirred up a major backlash when its op-ed piece appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 13, 2012. The piece was written by Charlie Papazian and Bob Pease, President and COO of the Brewer’s Association, and Dan Kopman, CEO of Schlafly…
When we look back on 2012, no story will better define the year-in-beer from a big picture perspective better than the “craft versus crafty” debate. Though it reached a full boil in December, the story has been bubbling steadily throughout the year. In a nutshell, it is a story about distinctions. About distinguishing between craft…
It’s one of the biggest stories in the beer world these days and it’s not going away any time soon. Big Beer can’t ignore craft beer anymore and is getting into the game. Last week we pointed to two articles, both from craft beer with – in some ways – opposite messages about related issues. …
Craft beer has finally hit the big time. The great keepers of the English language, Merriam-Webster, have added “craft beer” to the 2012 version of their Collegiate Dictionary. Man cave, gastropub, and f-bomb were also added. So now, thanks to Merriam-Webster, we know that craft beer is: noun: a specialty beer produced in limited quantities:…