I'm always surprised to find people are surprised by this revelation. But apparently it's still news to some. There has been quite a lot of comment over Anheuser-Busch's faux craft push lately but this is something that Coors figured out quite a while ago. Not only do they produce the wildly popular Blue Moon but they also brew Killians Irish Red, something of a faux import.
Many shun these and any other brews that they know is in some way connected to the megabreweries. But good beer is good beer, right? And if the big boys want to make good beer alongside their swill, we should have no problem with it. In fact, it should be celebrated because they have the capital to keep such a thing going.
The problem is, they rarely make really good beer. I used to be a fan of Blue Moon (hold the orange) but lately it just doesn't appeal to me. The recipe seems to be getting thinner which it the fate of every beer brewed by the megabreweries. And that shouldn't be a big surprise. As they try to push their product into more markets, which is the goal of every corporation, they have to shave off all of the bits that might be offensive to one segment or another. The result is a gradual but undeniable thinning over time of every beer they brew.
This is the catch-22 of the beer industry. I eagerly await the time when Avery Brewing's beers are distributed in my area and to do so, they simply need to make more money so they can make more beer. But, the more money a brewery makes, the more it has to think like a business. Eventually growing breweries start to do market research and look for ways to give their product wider appeal and the thinning begins. The bigger they are, the less interesting is their beer.
You're making a list in your mind of the beers that are both big and interesting, aren't you? I'm not saying that this is always going to happen and there are certainly examples of breweries that manage to stay true to their original vision. But in doing so they had to make a choice between 100% good beer and less money or 90% good beer and more money. It would be hard not to make that compromise. A beer can grow to monolithic proportions and still be very good, it just takes longer and requires the owners to say no to the temptation of a quicker buck.
Many shun these and any other brews that they know is in some way connected to the megabreweries. But good beer is good beer, right? And if the big boys want to make good beer alongside their swill, we should have no problem with it. In fact, it should be celebrated because they have the capital to keep such a thing going.
The problem is, they rarely make really good beer. I used to be a fan of Blue Moon (hold the orange) but lately it just doesn't appeal to me. The recipe seems to be getting thinner which it the fate of every beer brewed by the megabreweries. And that shouldn't be a big surprise. As they try to push their product into more markets, which is the goal of every corporation, they have to shave off all of the bits that might be offensive to one segment or another. The result is a gradual but undeniable thinning over time of every beer they brew.
This is the catch-22 of the beer industry. I eagerly await the time when Avery Brewing's beers are distributed in my area and to do so, they simply need to make more money so they can make more beer. But, the more money a brewery makes, the more it has to think like a business. Eventually growing breweries start to do market research and look for ways to give their product wider appeal and the thinning begins. The bigger they are, the less interesting is their beer.
You're making a list in your mind of the beers that are both big and interesting, aren't you? I'm not saying that this is always going to happen and there are certainly examples of breweries that manage to stay true to their original vision. But in doing so they had to make a choice between 100% good beer and less money or 90% good beer and more money. It would be hard not to make that compromise. A beer can grow to monolithic proportions and still be very good, it just takes longer and requires the owners to say no to the temptation of a quicker buck.
Comments
Blue Moon was one of the first craft beers that I have ever tasted and, after recently buying a case, I have to agree that this beer has gotten much thinner over the past 6 years. Perhaps it is just a result of my exposure to more and better (e.g. Brewery Ommegang) craft brews, but it just doesn’t have that distinct doughy/orange flavor that most witbiers have. Blue Moon is still better than any “megabrew”, but I believe that many people that are familiar with the witbier style would be disappointed with Blue Moon….