{"id":2357,"date":"2015-02-03T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/?p=2357"},"modified":"2015-01-31T18:41:45","modified_gmt":"2015-01-31T23:41:45","slug":"its-all-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/?p=2357","title":{"rendered":"It’s all in a name…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"map<\/a>In the early 1970s when Miller Brewing Co. was testing their new beer Miller Lite, those of us in the beer industry were not certain about the identify of this new product.\u00a0 We soon learned it was a lighter beer, but with a higher price.\u00a0 And the consumer certainly was not yet aware of the new product either.<\/p>\n

It was not until Miller began advertising their famous tag line, \u201cGreat Taste, Less Filling\u201d that the realization of exactly what this new beer was come to fruition. Miller Brewing had created an entirely new beer category.\u00a0 Light beer, which had not been in existence before, was now a new market segment. Clearly, a lower calorie beer category was now an option for the consumer.<\/p>\n

The introduction of this new market category was unlike the introduction of imported beers. Led by Heineken and Corona, imported beers became popular in the US during the 1980s.\u00a0 Consumers knew by the brand name, for example, that Heineken was imported.\u00a0 They knew that Warsteiner, too, among many others, was imported.<\/p>\n

There have recently been numerous articles questioning just what categorizes one as a craft beer.\u00a0 The Brewers Association has a definition of a craft brewer on its website.\u00a0 So the question now is does the industry need to have a craft beer designation?<\/p>\n

Consider the fact that a craft brewer has a production of less than six million bbls.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 When Pabst Brewing Co. was peaking in 1960, it did just under five million bbls. of beer.\u00a0 Does anyone consider Pabst Blue Ribbon a craft beer?\u00a0 It was not long ago that many regional brewers did over one million bbls. of beer.\u00a0 Is Lone Star a craft beer?\u00a0 Is Iron City a craft beer?\u00a0 What about Drewry\u2019s craft, or Jax craft?\u00a0 Should volume define a craft beer?<\/p>\n

The term independent means less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.\u00a0 If this is true, then many imports would fall into that segment.\u00a0 Just how does Boston Brewing fit?\u00a0 The company is public so that makes it craft?<\/p>\n

The Craft Brewing Association\u2019s definition of a craft beer is: a beer whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and the product\u2019s fermentation.\u00a0 Maybe that would include IPAs, Wheat\u2019s, Ales, Stouts and Porters?\u00a0 Again, that means many European brewers would fit the description as they have been brewing IPAs, Wheat\u2019s, Ales, Stouts, Porters and others for centuries.\u00a0 Is there a disconnect in the definition of craft beers?<\/p>\n

Another recent article on branding addressed how certain companies are able to create cults, specifically the mega tech company Apple.\u00a0 When a new IPhone is released, customers line up for blocks simply for the opportunity to purchase the latest edition of the product.\u00a0 Apple may just be the personification of a cult following.<\/p>\n

If that is the case, than perhaps the term craft equates to nothing more than a cult or following.\u00a0 By saying a beer is a craft designates it as a product which now is the hottest segment of the beer market.<\/p>\n

The definition of craft is not nearly as clear as what the definition of a light beer or even an import beer.\u00a0 If the above is true, then all the term craft means is that the product is a marketing or branding term and therefore, has no true meaning.<\/p>\n

If a beer is one of the most identifiable consumer products that one can afford, and purchasing a particular brand is highly aligned with the consumer\u2019s belief of who he\/she is, then does buying a craft beer mean the consumer is part of a cult, like Apple?<\/p>\n

This discussion will continue for years as the craft segment continues to grow.\u00a0 After all, it\u2019s all in the name….<\/p>\n

Beer Fodder; http:\/\/www.thrillist.com\/<\/span>drink\/nation\/best-american-craft-breweries-best-craft-breweries-in-america<\/a><\/p>\n

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In the early 1970s when Miller Brewing Co. was testing their new beer Miller Lite, those of us in the beer industry were not certain about the identify of this new product.\u00a0 We soon learned it was a lighter beer, but with a higher price.\u00a0 And the consumer certainly was not yet aware of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2xRTi-C1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2357"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2375,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357\/revisions\/2375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beerbusinessunplugged.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}