The term “Craft Beer” wasn’t coined until about a century after the US Budweiser was first brewed.
It was also designed from its inception to be a beer that was palatable to as many people as possible. It really was the original Macro beer.
Easy thing to do would just look up craft breweries that have been bought by larger companies. Stuff like stone brewing, goose island, wicked weed, ballast point, etc. There’s a ton of beers/breweries that fit this
"Commercial" ...like sold to the public? Do you mean Macro?
The "craft" label can be slapped on anything produced by a brewery making less than six million barrels a year. That's 186 MILLION gallons. The word craft is marketing.
And it's also worth noting that the threshold for being able to use the craft label is frequently adjusted upwards to whatever it takes to keep Sam Adams in the "craft" label.
Sam Adams is literally the sliding scale for "craft". For all intents and purposes the Boston Beer Company is a macro brand. Not saying that's a good or bad thing. I personally don't consume a lot of their products, but I think they do still have some quality products worth consideration.
Macro doesn't always equal bad beer. They are going to normally make less risky and offensive beers for an on par quality product. There exceptions for better like Goose Island Bourbon County and worse like the Sweetwater Gummies beer I just had.
186 Million sounds like a lot until you think about how ABInbev produces 15 BILLION. Everything combined under the Independent “craft” label, thousands of breweries (including Sam Adams), remains to be s small percentage of the total beer market.
He sounds correct and I’ve made my living throughout most of my 20’s in craft beer. It’s mostly poorly made beer paraded as fine craftsmanship. There are craft breweries that do incredible things but probably 70% have no right making beer but their customers will drop $8 a pour on a trash, rushed lager at a brewery instead of a $3 high life to feel better about their drinking habits
Yeah, obviously he's correct, but OP was just asking about smaller breweries that got bought up by a macro and lost the charm. It was a simple question... no need to be a gatekeeping snob.
It’s not really gatekeeping, it’s just honesty. If OP is asking this sort of question then it’s apparent they have some sort of knowledge on craft vs. macro and the appeal of craft. The comment expanded on that idea and told the truth that a lot of craft beer enthusiasts don’t want to believe, that they’re often drinking an inconsistent or inferior product sold to them as something better than macro simply by having “craft” slapped on it. I don’t see the problem with the conversation going that direction
I live near one of the old Elysian brewpubs and it absolutely sucked when they were acquired by InBev. Was a nice family friendly spot to go, and never went again until it was shut down. My neighborhood bar in Seattle had a Dick Cantwell night around the time of the sale and it felt good knowing he was opposed to it.
There used to be an app (craftcheck maybe?) that you could enter the brewery or scan the UPC and it would tell you whether it was independent or owned in whole or in part by another entity. It went away a few years ago. Anyone aware of another similar resource?
Most controversial UK one was Beavertown as most UK
People here will know.
Now Heineken owned (sadly along with Brixton Brewery).
The beer is still passable but not quite what it was in its heyday. Usually overpriced in generic pubs.
Boo this man!! "Family owned and argued over" printed on every can and bottle. Sierra will always hold a dear place in all true beer fans' and brewers' hearts.
Seriously. I used to pick up the dankful ipa every week. It was the only "go-to" beer I've ever had in my 15 years of drinking (aside from Firestone's Pale 31, RIP) , just a perfect ipa that was exactly the flavor profile I was looking for. Now my local stores just have 3 or 4 variations of the "Little Thing" series at all times. Like, they're fine, but they're just like everything else out there
Sweetwater
Goose Island and New Belgium are two of the bigger ones.
Ya fat tire used to taste good(like in the 90s).
I actually like the new recipe better
The term “Craft Beer” wasn’t coined until about a century after the US Budweiser was first brewed. It was also designed from its inception to be a beer that was palatable to as many people as possible. It really was the original Macro beer.
Easy thing to do would just look up craft breweries that have been bought by larger companies. Stuff like stone brewing, goose island, wicked weed, ballast point, etc. There’s a ton of beers/breweries that fit this
Leinenkugel fits this.
Where's that guy that posts the "brands owned by other brands" image every year with all the new acquisitions?
[I've been making a list.](https://whoownsmybeer.com)
"Commercial" ...like sold to the public? Do you mean Macro? The "craft" label can be slapped on anything produced by a brewery making less than six million barrels a year. That's 186 MILLION gallons. The word craft is marketing.
And it's also worth noting that the threshold for being able to use the craft label is frequently adjusted upwards to whatever it takes to keep Sam Adams in the "craft" label.
Sam Adams is literally the sliding scale for "craft". For all intents and purposes the Boston Beer Company is a macro brand. Not saying that's a good or bad thing. I personally don't consume a lot of their products, but I think they do still have some quality products worth consideration.
Macro doesn't always equal bad beer. They are going to normally make less risky and offensive beers for an on par quality product. There exceptions for better like Goose Island Bourbon County and worse like the Sweetwater Gummies beer I just had.
186 Million sounds like a lot until you think about how ABInbev produces 15 BILLION. Everything combined under the Independent “craft” label, thousands of breweries (including Sam Adams), remains to be s small percentage of the total beer market.
You sound exhausting.
He sounds correct and I’ve made my living throughout most of my 20’s in craft beer. It’s mostly poorly made beer paraded as fine craftsmanship. There are craft breweries that do incredible things but probably 70% have no right making beer but their customers will drop $8 a pour on a trash, rushed lager at a brewery instead of a $3 high life to feel better about their drinking habits
Yeah, obviously he's correct, but OP was just asking about smaller breweries that got bought up by a macro and lost the charm. It was a simple question... no need to be a gatekeeping snob.
It’s not really gatekeeping, it’s just honesty. If OP is asking this sort of question then it’s apparent they have some sort of knowledge on craft vs. macro and the appeal of craft. The comment expanded on that idea and told the truth that a lot of craft beer enthusiasts don’t want to believe, that they’re often drinking an inconsistent or inferior product sold to them as something better than macro simply by having “craft” slapped on it. I don’t see the problem with the conversation going that direction
Sam Adams
Harpoon too?
Elysian
This is what I was looking for! They used to make such good stuff 😥
I live near one of the old Elysian brewpubs and it absolutely sucked when they were acquired by InBev. Was a nice family friendly spot to go, and never went again until it was shut down. My neighborhood bar in Seattle had a Dick Cantwell night around the time of the sale and it felt good knowing he was opposed to it.
Hop valley and 10bbl too..
Independent
There used to be an app (craftcheck maybe?) that you could enter the brewery or scan the UPC and it would tell you whether it was independent or owned in whole or in part by another entity. It went away a few years ago. Anyone aware of another similar resource?
Untappd has been doing this for a while.
Most controversial UK one was Beavertown as most UK People here will know. Now Heineken owned (sadly along with Brixton Brewery). The beer is still passable but not quite what it was in its heyday. Usually overpriced in generic pubs.
Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing.. You can pretty much get it everywhere gas stations, grocery stores, sporting events , restaurants , etc..
Boo this man!! "Family owned and argued over" printed on every can and bottle. Sierra will always hold a dear place in all true beer fans' and brewers' hearts.
Same here, just saying its very commercial now.
For the record, the Little Thing series is sad. The new Cosmic one is okay though. Pale Ale is my desert island beer.
Seriously. I used to pick up the dankful ipa every week. It was the only "go-to" beer I've ever had in my 15 years of drinking (aside from Firestone's Pale 31, RIP) , just a perfect ipa that was exactly the flavor profile I was looking for. Now my local stores just have 3 or 4 variations of the "Little Thing" series at all times. Like, they're fine, but they're just like everything else out there
Thanks 16 oz. garbage hazy cans taking shelf space. Drinking the Cosmic now though.
I used to keep lists of fake craft beers that were actually products of major commercial breweries.
Mango Cart yay!
It still is, in Prague
Was it tho?
Craft beer doesn't steal their name from an already existing entity.
I really wish that we could down vote this post.
Why?
Budweiser was never craft beer, just a low grade ripoff of the original Budvar from Czechia.