Contemplating Craft
The recession hasn't been kind to beer sales, but it hasn't hit the craft beer industry. It's booming (sales were up 12% in 2009 alone). Since craft beer is more expensive than the mass-produced stuff, the logical conclusion is that people will pay for quality, even if things are financially tight. The whole craft beer industry is morphing as it grows. The Brewers Association had to change its bylaws this year so Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams) could still be considered a craft brewer. Breweries that produce less than 6 million barrels a year are now considered craft brewers (used to be 2 million). My favorite craft brewer, situated in my backyard, is Bell's. Their sales rank them 12th nationwide among craft brewers and they sell only 150,000 barrels a year, so you get an idea how big Sam Adams has become. As the craft beer industry continues to grow, they might have to re-think the whole "volume based" premise. Does it really matter whether someone produces 50,000 barrels or 20,000,000 barrels? I'm sure it does, at some level, but ultimately the proof is in the bottle, not the number of bottles. Blue Moon was widely-accepted as a craft beer, until word leaked out that it was produced by Molson Coors. I'm not sure of its status now, but I suspect the beer snobs eschew it (though MC had a good 2010). Then again, Costco's Kirkland private label beers seem to have received a fairly-warm reception from the craft beer crowd. You can find most of this and more at this fine article. * * * * * * * Obama: Beer Meister. Give credit when due:
In a special turn of events in the history of White House food creations, one of the White House chefs has brewed White House Honey Ale, a White House aide exclusively tipped ObFo. It uses one pound of honey from this year's 160-pound harvest of honey from the White House Bee Hive, which sits beside Mrs. Obama's South Lawn Kitchen Garden.
The President, First Lady, and their guests will be sampling the special suds for the first time this evening. And the Obamas paid for the micro-brewing equipment, the aide noted, so there's no impact on the national debt.
Hats off to the President for getting something right.
