Beervana, the Blog: My “Craft Brewing” Manifesto.
I can’t help but notice there is a growing rift in the beer world. There are several different players in this. It is certainly not a case of good vs. evil. I want to think about this more before I expound, but here is my initial thoughts. First and foremost, the link above is not the only example I want to shed light on, there will be more.
I have noticed that there are two main things dividing the beer world: the big breweries and the craft breweries. These “craft” breweries include giants like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Stone and Dogfish Head. There are some in the craft segment that are growing resentment to the bigger of the craft breweries, dissing them for being in “Beer Wars” and saying they are out of touch with the small, “real” craft brewers. They also are getting at the established beer aristocracy, as the above post pokes at Charlie Papazian’s AHA. I’m getting kind of sick of it. To me, it all boils down to one fact. You either make good beer, or you don’t. You’re either “extreme” or you’re not. I’m having trouble with that final valid point, but I think what I want to say is that let’s stop only liking things “before they were popular.” That’s like saying you only liked the Beatles when they were called The Quarrymen and playing in Liverpool pubs. The biggest breweries have their product and they make it and sell it well. The bigger craft breweries make good beer and so do the small ones. Let’s bring back “we’re all in this together.” We all like beer.
