Craft brewing backlash?

[verysupple]

The thing is, IPAs are what you get because IPAs are what is selling, if consumers wanted craft beers which were session beers, then that is what would be made and sold...

There are sessionable craft beers, and they do sell.

There are a lot of craft breweries, and the mega craft brews are quite sessionable, and do sell

Fat Yak, Lashes etc

Just don't drink a Hopinator if you don't want to be hop socked, and if competition is working, then you will get what the general craft drinking public wants...

Tap contracts might be hurting competition though.

I pretty much agree. I basically said that restaurants buy what they know sells. My issue is that I don't think the average drinker is adequately exposed to the full range of styles that could be available.

I also agree that a lot of craft beers are sessionable. But even the sessionable ones tend to be hot forward. I mean, how many Australian non- homebrewers/beer geeks would know that things like altbier and southern English brown exist? (Yes, I know style guidelines aren't all that relevant in the commercial beer world, but beers of those styles are quite hard to find here)

 

[Goatfish]

As a bloke in his early 20s I can relate to the feeling of too much flavour, but I still enjoy a decent 'craft beer'. The biggest problem is price and availability. I struggle to justify going out and spending $10+ on a pint when I can get a mass produced one for around $7-$8

 

[MartinOC]

As a bloke in his early 20s I can relate to the feeling of too much flavour, but I still enjoy a decent 'craft beer'. The biggest problem is price and availability. I struggle to justify going out and spending $10+ on a pint when I can get a mass produced one for around $7-$8

How much more enjoyment do you get & how much longer does your pint last for that extra $2-$3???

 

[michaeld16]

As a bloke in his early 20s I can relate to the feeling of too much flavour, but I still enjoy a decent 'craft beer'. The biggest problem is price and availability. I struggle to justify going out and spending $10+ on a pint when I can get a mass produced one for around $7-$8

Its all personal preference i suppose but for 2-3 dollars more i would rather enjoy my pint,

 

[manticle]

I have had cheap pints I've loved and expensive ones I've hated. The pretend war is a marketing shitpile.

 

[jc64]

"Not everything has to be overly thought out," he says. "Sometimes beer is just there for when you knock off. As long as it's well made, balanced and enjoyable, and made with love, that's a beautiful beer."

That last line is all the article needed to say in my opinion.

 

[yum beer]

It doesn't matter what its called, craft beer is here to stay, it may get a new name or lose its current one but we will always have a larger and larger range of brews to enjoy,
Current market share is 3%, piddly.
You will always have the blind eyed, pig headed boof that will drink his delicious Carlton Dry and skoff at the hipster freak drinking the weird beer that smells like his daughters perfume....
Then you will always have those that look for, find, buy and try something different and then discovering a new taste they wil go occasionally and buy a carton of that 'crafty stuff' to take to a mates party or put in the esky at Xmas or the missuses birthday. He will still drink swill most of the time but 4% of his beer purchases become craft. As this continues the share of craft beer goes up, 4%...4.5% and upwards.
As long as there are people trying and buying then the market will get bigger and craft will become more readily available. There is nothing better at forcing change than consumers buying habits.
Will it one day become comparable price wise, not likely, supply and demand and cost of production will always ensure that and that will always constrain just how big a chunk of the market craft beer will gain.
At the end of the day a large chunk of drinkers are driven and blinded by price and **** all else.

*Craft Beer Disclaimer: Tried today,a bottle of John Boston Guard House(Golden Ale)...I seriously doubt there was a hop in the brewery when they made it, another 'fine' attempt by the big players to downplay Craft Beer 'see it costs 50% more and doesn't taste any better'

 

[Moad]

People still eat maccas...people will drink mega beers even though they know what is out there. Some either can't afford it (like those drinking goon) or genuinely just want a bland refreshment with no thought or complexity.

Don't snicker at the hipster or frown upon the hop bomb IPA lover, be happy there is choice and those choices are only increasing.

 

[danestead]

Gees this thread took off quick! And with a few different views.

So what does everyone consider the meaning of 'craft beer' or 'craft brewery'?

I had this conversation with a good mate of mine who happens to own and run a couple of boutique bars in perth. He also owns and runs his own brewing operation of which they put their brown ale on tap at a few places in lerth and are in the development and testing stage of their next style.

My response to his question 'what does craft beer or brewery mean to you?' Went along the lines of this- A brewery where the brewers/owners etc are passionate about the beer they brew and brew the beer to be how they want it to taste, cost aside. He disagreed with the cost aside part because cost always plays a part so I took onboard what he was saying and would probably sum it up as a brewery where the brewers and owners etc are passionate about beer in general and the beer they brew, and brew beer to how they want it to taste rather than what they know will sell in mass quantities, with generally less concentration on cost than the mega brands such as lion etc.

This definition of mine doesnt restrict a 'craft' brewery to brewing pale ales etc, they can brew a lager, but lets make it a bloody good one with all the love it and the other styles deserve.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

There's no consumer backlash, last week there was an article about CUB blocking 'craft beers' from having taps at certain pubs. Why would they need to do that?

If there is a backlash, it's coming from the mega dishwater brewers who can see their market share being eroded.

As for it being called 'craft beer', I think that one's been settled. If it's owned by a mega, it isn't craft.

 

[Adam Howard]

Smashable craft beers on the market in Australia.......hmm.......

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale

Eminently drinkable and refreshing in our climate. Actually easier to drink in quantity than macro lagers.

 

[Goatfish]

Its all personal preference i suppose but for 2-3 dollars more i would rather enjoy my pint,

I don't mind enjoying a decent beer, and I agree the price difference isn't much after 1 or 2, but after 10 it is! Especially when you are tight for cash. I just think for many people, beer is only a small part of socialising. Though this is a home brewers forum so we all probably analyse and criticise the beer we drink more than the average Joe.

All I'm saying is that if the micro's didn't face such ridiculous input costs and undercutting from big companies wasn't happening, making all beers more equal in price, I would absolutely buy more 'good' beer.

 

[Camo6]

With two threads in the latest posts:

False bottom Gap
Craft Brewing Backlash

not to mention "Burn me Nose"

I wonder if I've stumbled into a BDSM site. Hmm, yesssssss

This wasn't you by any chance BribieG?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34zlmoj3TvA

 

[klangers]

I agree with Manticle et al that the term "craft" is marketing ****. There are so many styles of beer that have been around for hundreds of years that are being "rediscovered" now and labelled "craft", as if they're something new and amazing. If anything, the revolution is more of a renaissance and returning to viewing beer as more than a cheap, pale, cold glass of watery stuff to get you boozed and cooled off after work. Cultures like Belgium haven't had the same impact of the megabrewery dark ages like Australia has. Beer became uncouth and those who were looking for flavour sophistication moved to wine. Excise taxes were eased to improve the wine industry and look at it now - industrial players are on the shelf with the little guys and the flavours do the talking.

The beer doesn't care if it's "made by hand" or with automated systems - if the process parameters are identical then the beer will be identical. I do a lot of work for Tooheys and I can tell you if they decided tomorrow to start making triple-fermented Belgians or a 100 IBU barleywine then they would do so at qualities that would far exceed the capabilities of any craft brewery I've seen. They have world-class quality control labs and extremely talented and knowledgeable people who would love nothing else than to brew something more interesting than what marketing tells them to.

 

[yankinoz]

Actually.... he makes some good points -


A large percentage of the craft beers out are are APA or IPA type, big, hoppy ales. We are going the US route of bigger=better which is just plain wrong. We have lost balance.

I'd love to be able to drink some really good, locally made, craft lagers or sessionable ales, but they are hard to find (outside of my serving fridge anyway). Its all IPA all the way. If I'm out with mates I want something I can down a few of without feeling like I've sucked on the hop bag or gettign that overly sweet thing you get with big beers.

Actually 4 pines Koelch is pretty good. Its my go to when I'm out for a night. But other than that, I'm struggling to think of something my usual haunts have that is sessionable.

Cheers
Dave

Don't lose hope, if the US is any indication. Big and balanced beers can coexist.

My nearest brewpub here in Gippsland brews a very good and quite authentic English bitter, an APA at about 30-35 IBUs, a lager for VB drinkers, an overclovey hefe, and some dark but not "Imperial" beers.

If you look at actual sales in the US, rather than home brew forums and hophead sites like Beer Advocate and Ratebeer, you'll find some of the largest selling craft brews have the balance you mention: Anchor Steam Beer, Red Hook ESB, Sam Adams Boston Lager, New Belgium Fat Tire and Goose Island Honkers Ale. Of course SN Pale, the protype high-IBU APA, is also a big seller. On the local level Milwaukee drinks almost as much Lakefront Steinbeer, a craft Vienna lager, as Budscheisser. New Glarus's big seller is a cream ale. Bell's Oberon, Brooklyn's lagers, etc.

Led by craft breweries like Mendocino, Rogue, Dogfish Head and the U.K.'s Brewdog, there is an arms race to produce bigger and bigger beers, and on the US west coast those tend to dominate choices. But even those breweries generally offer milder products. The latter get knocked on rating sites where high abv and ibus win, but are often among the best sellers.

 

[GalBrew]

I think the emergence of the Australian "summer ale" such as MG Summer Ale, Feral Sly Fox etc. is our answer to the need for more balanced sessional beers. The recent emergence of mid-strength (~3.5%) English and American pales are also a great win for craft beer.

Baby steps........

 

[mosto]

With regards to more sessionable beers from 'craft' breweries, I'm surprised you don't see more Saisons. I looked for Saisons at a lot of different bottlos to try one to no avail, in the end I brewed one myself going off the style guidelines. It wasn't fantastic, but quite easy drinking. I'll refine it and have another crack in the near future. A light flavoured, dry, refreshing beer with enough character to be interesting, brewed to around 4.5% is perfect for the Australian climate IMO.

 

[TimT]

A light flavoured, dry, refreshing beer with enough character to be interesting, brewed to around 4.5% is perfect for the Australian climate IMO.

Yes, and good for brewing in the Australian climate too.

 

[BrewedCrudeandBitter]

The massive success of La Sirene has seen a lot of local brewers putting out a saison now. I reckon it'll continue into next summer too.

 

[Major Arcana]

With regards to more sessionable beers from 'craft' breweries, I'm surprised you don't see more Saisons. I looked for Saisons at a lot of different bottlos to try one to no avail, in the end I brewed one myself going off the style guidelines. It wasn't fantastic, but quite easy drinking. I'll refine it and have another crack in the near future. A light flavoured, dry, refreshing beer with enough character to be interesting, brewed to around 4.5% is perfect for the Australian climate IMO.

I think the Saison is going to be the next IPA trend to happen.

 

[danestead]

I agree with Manticle et al that the term "craft" is marketing ****. There are so many styles of beer that have been around for hundreds of years that are being "rediscovered" now and labelled "craft", as if they're something new and amazing. If anything, the revolution is more of a renaissance and returning to viewing beer as more than a cheap, pale, cold glass of watery stuff to get you boozed and cooled off after work. Cultures like Belgium haven't had the same impact of the megabrewery dark ages like Australia has. Beer became uncouth and those who were looking for flavour sophistication moved to wine. Excise taxes were eased to improve the wine industry and look at it now - industrial players are on the shelf with the little guys and the flavours do the talking.

The beer doesn't care if it's "made by hand" or with automated systems - if the process parameters are identical then the beer will be identical. I do a lot of work for Tooheys and I can tell you if they decided tomorrow to start making triple-fermented Belgians or a 100 IBU barleywine then they would do so at qualities that would far exceed the capabilities of any craft brewery I've seen. They have world-class quality control labs and extremely talented and knowledgeable people who would love nothing else than to brew something more interesting than what marketing tells them to.

Thats great and i agree that the mega breweries will most likely out perform a smaller 'craft' brewery and they need to because joe megaswill blogs doesnt like his beer to change in any way whatsoever, and yes im sterotyping. As for 'craft' breweries, im not after the same beer everytime. I find it interesting and acceptable that their brews change brew to brew due to possibly less controlled methods of brewing like using real hops rather than extract or isohop and not having their own yeast lab and also season to season due to availability of hops. After all, beer is made from natural ingredients and every season of hops or batch of grain is going to be different.

 

[MartinOC]

I think the Saison is going to be the next IPA trend to happen.

Yep! I've seen the changes in trend over the years in Comps. too.

Years ago, English-style Pale Ales & IPA's were all the rage Then Wheat beers were huge, now it's American Pale Ales, "Specialties" are growing in numbers, are the Baltic Porters. I see Saison (particularly in our climate) as being the next "Big-thing".

 

[Liam_snorkel]

I think the Saison is going to be the next IPA trend to happen.

yes, but hopped out saisons. I don't think people are sick of hops yet.

 

[mosto]

yes, but hopped out saisons. I don't think people are sick of hops yet.

That's the beauty, scope for interpretation inside the style. And if it's slightly outside the style, but is a ripper of a beer, than who gives a rats!