Big brewers creeping into craft
Interesting piece in Friday’s Wall Street Journal detailing the growth of the craft beers affiliated with SABMiller, Molson-Coors and Anheuser-Busch. It points out that the labels on the craft beers don’t necessarily disclose that the big brewers own them.
For me the key sentences explaining the growth of these brews are these two. “In the U.S., beer generally must be sold through distributors, and the big brewers have larger distribution networks than the independent brewers do. If a mass market brewer wants to add a new brew to its lineup, it can more easily attract an audience for it.”
Is this a step toward better beer? Do we think that for example Jacob Leinenkugel, owned by Miller, is really a craft beer? Or is it posing? Perhaps these big boys, with their distribution prowess, will bring more folks into the craft fold.
Comments
I'd say it is somewhat a step in the right direction, though I'd use the Coors Sandlot Brewery as a better example. They could be argued are more of a "craft." Coors also now has a specialty beer unit that will be developing high end beers. Having access to better beers (and better marketing) may cause a major shift in the market with those people who are swayed by such things. This is a good business strategy for the big companies, as they are seeing several years of growth in the "good" beer category, as their crappy lagers are stagnant. The three-tiered system of distribution could be its own blog entry entirely...
Posted by: mike | October 29, 2007 12:17 PM