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Author Topic: "High End's" Message to Craft  (Read 13653 times)

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #30 on: July 01, 2017, 08:11:37 pm »
I'd argue the Trappist label says much about the expected quality of the final product but it is also applied to far less a population of beers.


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I was disappointed in Achel when it first came out. I was living in Germany at the time. It got better. So I stand by my statement. The rules say nothing about quality of the beer. The Monks take care of that. There are also good Abby beers, but not all of them are good.

Oh, I was disappointed in the first Spencer beers I had. They got better.

Can't argue with you there Jeff. Valid points.

On the topic of the Cask Marque in the U.K.: it would be nice if we had something like that governing quality in this country.
I had a lengthy conversation with a Chicago guy I know at HBC, and he is a well known Cask expert. We were setting in Brits Pub in Minneapolis. The Fullers was very nice, but not cask, from kegs through fake handpumps. His new venture is being a Cask Marque inspector in the US, and he handed me his card. US British pubs are not his target, but brewpubs and breweries that do cask beers. That is where he can improve quality of the Ales being served. Thought it was pretty cool.
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Offline dbeechum

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #31 on: July 01, 2017, 11:40:35 pm »
I had a lengthy conversation with a Chicago guy I know at HBC, and he is a well known Cask expert. We were setting in Brits Pub in Minneapolis. The Fullers was very nice, but not cask, from kegs through fake handpumps. His new venture is being a Cask Marque inspector in the US, and he handed me his card. US British pubs are not his target, but brewpubs and breweries that do cask beers. That is where he can improve quality of the Ales being served. Thought it was pretty cool.

The fuller's thing always makes me disappointed, but the beers at Brits were top notch.

Also, I kinda sorta serve as a roving second inspector for LA. (K, we only have one place so far, but you know how that goes. :) )
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Offline BrewBama

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"High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #32 on: July 02, 2017, 06:07:43 am »
Like a locally owned and operated restaurant (and especially farm to table), If given the choice where quality and taste were equal, I'd choose the beer with the BA independent mark over the big beer offering. I go to local hardware and lumber stores over Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot for the same reason. My favorite pizza is a local joint for the same reason (it just happens to be next to a local brewery). Etc. etc. I want my dollars to support the independents. This mark helps me make an informed choice.


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« Last Edit: July 02, 2017, 07:34:13 am by BrewBama »

Offline pete b

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #33 on: July 02, 2017, 06:41:57 am »
I haven't seen anyone make the point that is to me the main point: the big players who are buying these craft breweries are actively disguising the fact that these are no longer independently owned breweries. Since the BA can't force inbev etc to be truthful they can take this action. It's a smart way to fight back against predatory behavior.
On another note I'm a little sick of bashing millennials. I am not one by my son and step son and nieces and nephews are. They have it harder in all the ways that matter than any post WW2 generation. Unless you come from wealth you have practically no chance of getting a degree without a bunch of debt and the market for good jobs is tight. Add to that the fact that if you don't have a very good job that pays 100% for health insurance your health insurance is about to be replaced with declaring bankruptcy if you get in a car accident or sick. If you want to talk about a generation that had it easy try the baby boomers: cheap to free education, plentiful good jobs, even with a high school diploma or less, affordable housing, ordinary factory jobs paying good pensions, robust labor unions, and an effective safety net. Now they are sucking up social services, have good public health insurance, and getting social security all paid for by millennials.
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Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #34 on: July 02, 2017, 07:32:23 am »
A friend who did video production in his previous career commented on how much they spent on this. 2 HD Cameras, boom mics, professional lighting, and so on. All of the Brewers were in the same place, one would think. Editing still has to be done, and there was not much time between the BA announcement and the video release, more dollars. His take on this was it was something that ABInBev felt they had to spend the big dollars on to do this.

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Offline majorvices

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #35 on: July 02, 2017, 08:39:34 am »
Yeah, 81% of craft drinkers must be a skewed sample. If that many cared, macro wouldn't continue to hold 80%+ of he market.

Unfortunately people will place an expected quality bias on the label. Nothing the BA can do about that.

There should be no expectation of quality just because a label is designated as "independent". In my state we have a "Made in Alabama" logo that is obviously just there to inform people. It doesn't give any expectation of quality. But it does inform the consumer that is was locally made and, heck, I might spend an extra buck or two on a product I know was made in my state.

It is so obvious that this label will be very effective considering "High Ends" response. I just love it! I am so tickled to see their response video getting ridiculed across the internet. It's absolutely lovely.

Offline Stevie

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"High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #36 on: July 02, 2017, 08:42:16 am »
I agree, but people will. Same as is done with organic or free trade as mentioned earlier. The mark is going to mean this to some, can't stop that unless the BA changes it to read "independently owned, but could certainly be crap"

Offline majorvices

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #37 on: July 02, 2017, 09:12:48 am »
I agree, but people will. Same as is done with organic or free trade as mentioned earlier. The mark is going to mean this to some, can't stop that unless the BA changes it to read "independently owned, but could certainly be crap"

True. Organic doesn't necessarily mean better. But it still gives the consumer a little extra nugget of knowledge that may be useful to them. And if it gives the impression a beer is better, well, that's just marketing after all. Like I said, I think Wicked Weed's beers are fine. But it is their marketing that is really the impressive factor.

I used to stick up for the people who sold out but after watching that ridiculous video I have really changed my tune. Don't get me wrong, I'd still take the money. But I hope I wouldn't also compromise my integrity by making a winey-ass cry baby video the moment something doesn't go my way.

Offline denny

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #38 on: July 02, 2017, 09:17:37 am »
They are all repeating what they told themselves when they sold out!

If i am on the fence between 2 beers and one has the bottle and the other doesn't, i am going with the beer that shows the bottle.

And if the one with the bottle tastes like crap? What then?

There is a lot of bad craft beer out there. That doesn't mean I want to see good ones go down the tubes but a label isn't going to solve this issue.

The label isn't meant to solve that problem.  It has nothing to do with indicating the quality of the beer.  It's just a piece of information.  What you do with that information is up to you.

What's the point then? To identify independently made beer that is good and bad?

To identify independently made beer.  The quality judgement is up to the consumer.
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Offline denny

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #39 on: July 02, 2017, 09:19:05 am »
I hear you Jon. I'm not sticking up for macro beer here. I'm just saying that they should call it what it is. If you need to engage in psychological warfare to combat the dirty tactics of the big boys then so be it. Call it that though.

All this symbol says is that an independent brewer had the money to buy the rights to the symbol, and that's fine, but it's also a detriment to the truly unique and high quality craft beers out there.

I'm not on a side here. I drink all kinds of beer and homebrew. I'm just playing devils advocate for each point.

The right to use the symbol is free.
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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #40 on: July 02, 2017, 09:19:52 am »
I hear you Jon. I'm not sticking up for macro beer here. I'm just saying that they should call it what it is. If you need to engage in psychological warfare to combat the dirty tactics of the big boys then so be it. Call it that though.

All this symbol says is that an independent brewer had the money to buy the rights to the symbol, and that's fine, but it's also a detriment to the truly unique and high quality craft beers out there.

I'm not on a side here. I drink all kinds of beer and homebrew. I'm just playing devils advocate for each point.

The right to use the symbol is free.

You're about a day late Denny!

Offline denny

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #41 on: July 02, 2017, 09:21:09 am »
I'd argue the Trappist label says much about the expected quality of the final product but it is also applied to far less a population of beers.


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But you put that expectation there yourself.
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Offline tommymorris

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #42 on: July 02, 2017, 10:04:07 am »
I am a beer aficionado (relative to most consumers) who learned about this new label the day it was introduced and I will look for it on beer labels.

Most consumers will see this label for the first time on a bottle in a store. I expect BMC to respond with other labeling and advertising that confuses the issue and confuses the consumer. That's how they roll.

Offline Steve Ruch

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #43 on: July 02, 2017, 10:09:08 am »
Want to make sure that you're buying beer from a brewery that isn't owned by Inbev? Patronize the local brewpub that is too small for the big boys to give a second look.
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Offline Thirsty_Monk

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Re: "High End's" Message to Craft
« Reply #44 on: July 02, 2017, 10:12:33 am »
They are all repeating what they told themselves when they sold out!

If i am on the fence between 2 beers and one has the bottle and the other doesn't, i am going with the beer that shows the bottle.

And if the one with the bottle tastes like crap? What then?

There is a lot of bad craft beer out there. That doesn't mean I want to see good ones go down the tubes but a label isn't going to solve this issue.

This might be a little bit off topic but notion that because I am a small brewery = I make bad beer is offensive to me.

I have heard it first time last year by owner of Summit Brewing. He said if small brewery does not have expensive lab, then we are making bad beer.

At that time I took it as a cheap shot at us to say that bigger brewers are making better quality beers then smaller brewers.

If you like my beer or do not like my beer is matter of personal preference.

How financially successful my beers are is matter of marketing and branding offer.

Just because you do not like my beer, it does not mean my beer is bad quality. 

So bring it back home. The BA mark of independent brewery does not guarantee that you will like the beer nor it will tell you how commercially viable this brand is.




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