Brew your own microbreweries and their place in the craft beer scene

[MichaelM]

A question that came to mind after visiting a few microbreweries in the Brisbane/ Gold Coast area is how are microbreweries that were formerly brew your own businesses or using brew your own type equipment and ingredients perceived by the craft beer market.

To put my question into context : they have a lower capital investment i.e. they don't buy costly brew houses but use brew your own type kettles, they don't invest in stainless steel fermenters and cooling systems but rather use coldrooms.

They also don't use malt grain to make their beers, or at least for the majority of their grain bill but use malt extracts.

Obviously this is done for economic benefit - lower repayment on capital equipment and they don't have the hassle of disposing of spent grain and able to push through the same or more volume of beer through their systems in the same time it takes to mash, lauter, sparge, boil, chill using the all grain method on brew house.

Can this business model be considered to be a brewery producing craft beer - when others have invested significant capital and incur additional costs to produce beer where the majority of the processing takes place on premises.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using extracts for home brewing but when you are a manufacturer in this industry you should be making it from scratch. An artisanal baker would not use a cake mix to bake a cake so why should a microbrewery.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

A question that came to mind after visiting a few microbreweries in the Brisbane/ Gold Coast area is how are microbreweries that were formerly brew your own businesses or using brew your own type equipment and ingredients perceived by the craft beer market.

To put my question into context : they have a lower capital investment i.e. they don't buy costly brew houses but use brew your own type kettles, they don't invest in stainless steel fermenters and cooling systems but rather use coldrooms.

They also don't use malt grain to make their beers, or at least for the majority of their grain bill but use malt extracts.

Obviously this is done for economic benefit - lower repayment on capital equipment and they don't have the hassle of disposing of spent grain and able to push through the same or more volume of beer through their systems in the same time it takes to mash, lauter, sparge, boil, chill using the all grain method on brew house.

Can this business model be considered to be a brewery producing craft beer - when others have invested significant capital and incur additional costs to produce beer where the majority of the processing takes place on premises.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using extracts for home brewing but when you are a manufacturer in this industry you should be making it from scratch. An artisanal baker would not use a cake mix to bake a cake so why should a microbrewery.

What are your thoughts on this?

I have noticed the same thing here in Victoria, 2 micro's I know of use no grain, the average punter would not realise, that they are not drinking a fair dinkum all grain brew.

 

[MichaelM]

I would guess that as the craft beer market becomes more educated that some consumers will be inclined towards one product over the other based on the value they place on the various qualities and process involved, much like some people might choose apple juice made from concentrate over Tasmanian apple juice made from apples grown and processed there.

 

[petesbrew]

Honestly if someone can make an epic beer out of malt extract, hats off to them.

 

[Wobbly74]

Can this business model be considered to be a brewery producing craft beer - when others have invested significant capital and incur additional costs to produce beer where the majority of the processing takes place on premises.

I don't personally subscribe to this line of thought. There has been this investment, but it has occurred further up the value chain, and the price to acquire such extract should necessarily reflect that (eg it's been outsourced). So effectively their capital outlay is lower, but their operational costs are possibly higher.

If we think this is an issue then how far up the value chain do you go? Micro breweries don't typically malt their own grain. Should that be a prerequisite? We say no...because of convention? Or is coopers one of the only 'real' craft breweries? Ah, but they don't grow their own grain...

In all reality - personally, I don't think it matters. Judge the end product based on what gets served in the glass I say. Only my 2c.

 

[scomet]

Brewers Delight in Mandurah make an Excellent beer out of ‘goop’ I top up the fridges every Christmas and have friends who say its ‘my’ best beer (Fatter Yak) ignorance is bliss.. Like our beer a lot is down to process and hygiene, Cheers.