5 Things We Know (And Don’t Know) About the Craft Beer BIz

We’ve been covering the American craft beer scene for some time now and we’ve picked up a thing or two. We’re not trying to say that we’re now geniuses – because everyone knows that’s not true –we’re just saying that we now know more about the industry than we did two years ago and that our takes on craft beer and the biz may no longer be completely off the wall.

So, with that in mind, here are some things that we know and a couple of things that we’re still not all that sure about…

Things We Know

1) A Beer’s Freshness Trumps A Lot Of Things
What was probably obvious to many of you (especially those of you who brew professionally or at home) took a while to sink in at our end. We knew that a beer’s freshness was sort of important. But after two years of touring America’s breweries and covering all kinds of craft beer events, we finally get that freshness is critically important to how good a beer can taste. A good, fresh beer from a local brewery can blow away the most acclaimed brew that’s been transported across the country or been sitting on shelves.

2) A Brewery’s Imaging and Identity Matter
Whether you think it’s fair or not, people are affected by how a brewery chooses to image itself. A brewery’s vibe, its artistic positioning, its attitude, colors, everything matters – including how you feel about the beer that you’re drinking. If you’re into how a brewery presents itself, you’re going to be more receptive to what they do. We know we’ll be hearing from some of you sommelier-types out there, who like to think that beer presents itself in a vacuum. And maybe at a blind tasting it does, but in the real world, it doesn’t. Ever fall for a song only to be turned off when you’re confronted by an un-cool image of the band that made it? Nuff said…

3) Effective Distribution Is Important
If a brewery is making brilliant beer but you can’t find their products in the marketplace, they might as well not exist. Yes, positive word-of mouth can create some buzz and awareness. But without some plan to move your product well beyond where you brew it – you’re a brewpub – and you’ll stay one.

Things We’re Not Sure About

4) Can A Craft Brewery Become Too Big For Its Own Good?
Craft beer’s success and popularity has spurred many breweries to expand far beyond their original stomping grounds. Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Green Flash, and Oskar Blues have all either opened, or will soon be opening, new breweries in the East. Lagunitas is now in Chicago and Stone remains in the hunt for a brewery location somewhere on the East Coast. Is there a point when a brewery’s wider availability or its ubiquity can lead to it being perceived less favorably? Can you become so big that you somehow lose your “craftiness” in the eyes of your fans (see #2)? Or will all this expansion lead to a broadening of the brewery’s brand, generating more fans that are now able to sample their products as readily (see #3) and allowing the consumer an even fresher product (see #1)?

5) Is A Craft Beer Bubble Brewing? 
No one wants to be a “buzzkill” in these frothy times, but if you’re a regular reader of ours, you know we’ve some very real considerations about this. We’re not saying that some sort of collapse is inevitable. We’re just saying that something that can’t go on forever – won’t (see #4).