I try to keep it positive for the most part but this shit just pisses me off.
A small percentage of you are probably aware (like .01% but I’m working on that) that I like to Tweet interesting and/or useful tidbits of San Diego craft beer news I stumble across while skulking about the dank corners of the internets. I don’t have time to do it on a daily basis, but I like to do what I can in spreading the Gospel According to Craft when time permits.
Normally, this activity presents a pleasant opportunity to ingest (ocularly) some of my favorite craft brews without caloric consequence or the threat of undermining my ability to safely operate heavy machinery, but then sometimes I see something like this, and in that split instant not unlike the realization you just had one too many, things go spinning out of control.
Maybe I’m making a bigger deal about this than anyone else cares about but as a longtime multimedia producer, I’m all too aware of the subtle nuances put forth by carefully considered editorial decisions. The above image was culled from an article celebrating the praises of the “eight[h] annual Pechanga Microbrew [emphasis mine] Festival and Chili Cook-Off” at The Pechanga Resort and Casino. Is it me, or is there something a bit unclean about this little display?
Again, perhaps I’m over reacting but at an event featuring “close to 50 breweries and more than 100 beers”, is it mere coincidence that the lede image and caption feature not one but TWO AB InBev products at an event touted as a “Microbrew” festival???
I’m calling bullshit.
I wouldn’t be so uppity about these things but I guess I’m a little hypersensitive of the kind of shenanigans our Belgian friends over at “America’s Beer” are perpetually trying to pull in an effort to horn in on a culture they openly mock in their fucking commercials. Classy.
Maybe I’m just being paranoid and need a drink, and maybe the subtle attempt to passively associate Elysian and Goose Island with the “microbrew” designation doesn’t work on you or I, but there are still plenty of folks who don’t know the difference. The fact is that someone over at Valley News made a conscious decision to use these two brands to represent their festival at the top of the page and I can’t help but be curious (and more than a little skeptical) of the sequence of events behind that decision.
I’m all for competition and I understand “Big Beer” is collectively shitting their tanks over the fact craft beer has handed them a considerable loss in market share, but I don’t like them getting all slimy about trying to take it back. If they’re so big and have all that money, why not spend a few bucks on making a better fucking beer instead of mocking people with commercials while simultaneously masquerading as the folks they’re trying to run out of business?
Maybe this Bud’s for you, but it sure as shit ain’t for me.
Na zdrowie!
It’s not just you, Big Beer’s tactics are known to be dirty and disgusting.
What I’d love to see is an article summarizing the reasons why we should oppose big beer. Although a lot of people agree that acquisitions are a negative force, there are many who are on the fense or even pro-Big Beer.
Hi Daniel, thanks for your thoughts…
You make a totally valid observation and per your request, I’ll get to work on that. There are a lot of us who have a beef with Big Beer but just to give you one example of what could almost be construed as a “pro” argument, I had a conversation with Cosimo Sorrentino of Monkey Paw/South Park fame and asked him about his thoughts on Ab/InBev owned 10-Barrel’s plans to put in a brew pub right around the corner from Monkey Paw. One of his observations was basically that given the lack of density (I’m paraphrasing here) of breweries in East Village as compared to places like Miramar, Vista and North Park, there’s a real possibility that the 10-Barrel presence will actually help Monkey Paw by bringing more beer traffic to the area. Obviously 10-Barrel will have deep pockets and any marketing and advertising they do could benefit them because like most of us, if you’re going for the craft beer experience at a given location and see another opportunity within walking distance… I mean, why stop at one and not the other if you don’t even have to move your car?
I’ve had this conversation with quite a few brewers, most during interviews for upcoming episodes of Inside The Craft which will be officially launching soon. In the meantime I’ll review some of the footage and put together an article expressing opinions I’ve been exposed to on the way. Will it definitively answer the question as to whether or not Big Beer is inherently good or bad? Probably not, but hopefully it will shed enough light on the situation for folks to make their own decisions on the matter.
Na zdrowie!