Sales of microbrews, or craft beers, have been steadily cannibalizing sales of megabrands over the past few years. So it’s no wonder megabrewers have been verrrry interested in getting in on the craft boom. In the latest sally, according to ad magazine Brandweek, Anheuser-Busch has decided to recast Michelob as “a member of the craft segment.” The rebranding campaign will cost $30 million:
Michelob’s ‘Crafting a better beer’ ads will even mimic Boston Beer’s Sam Adams ads. TV spots … will feature [Anheuser-Busch] employees talking about Michelob ingredients.
Earlier this year, Michelob switched back to an all-malt recipe, dropping the rice and corn additives, in an effort to appeal to craft beer drinkers who like some flavor in their beer.
Anheuser-Busch is also giving its Budweiser brand a new tag line—“the great American lager”—in an effort to emphasize its “heritage.”
Reaction from small brewers has been mixed. Brandweek quotes Gary Fish of Deschutes Brewery as saying, “If they can convert a Bud drinker into a Widmer drinker, then that person might be amenable to trying Deschutes.”
Some are worried about the ads leading to confusion, however. Joe Whitney, of Sierra Nevada, says, “On a supermarket shelf, that’s where the lines start to blur. That could hurt if the person shopping has a peripheral understanding of what is craft.”
Megabreweries are happy to foster the confusion—in fact, they seem to be awfully confused themselves about what people want in beer, and how they should market it. Oh, for the good old days.
Can you have a craft brew that isn’t also a microbrew? In other words, is craft beer defined solely by ingredient type, or is batch size key to the definition? (I don’t know enough about beer to know, so I’m curious.)
What sort of governing body might regulate labeling down the line? Anything like the wine industry has?
I’m not sure that “craft beer” is a well defined thing. it implies an “artisan” approach but how do you tell the big guys from the micros on the shelf? good question. it’s a little like cheese, you can see/taste the difference between Kraft cheddar and an artisan cheddar but it could be produced by large or small operations.
Microbrew on the other hand is dictated by the annual production of the brewery, although the term has become synonymous with craft brew.
…in my mind a microbrew is a craft brew but a craft brew is not necissarily a microbrew.
Great questions. Here’s one definition of craft beer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craft_beer#Craft_beer
From the first paragraph:
“Craft Beer is an American term which is also common in Canada and New Zealand and generally refers to all-malt beer that is brewed without adjuncts and with an eye to beer style rather than mass appeal.[19] It has gradually replaced the term microbrew as the most popular term to describe the output of micro or craft breweries.”
Thanks; the “all-malt” part helps, though what is meant by “beer style” as an antonym for “mass appeal” isn’t quite clear to me. Anyone?
beer style…e.g. IPA (india pale ale), ESB (extra special bitter), bock, pilsner, stout, etc. They all have style guidelines, hop aroma, how bitter, alcohol content, etc.