A few thoughts on the brewing industry...

Allow me to be blunt - I really dislike the major corporate brewers in the United States. I hesitate to use a word like 'hate', but my feelings about them come pretty close. It isn't just the fact that they make terrible beer, or that they've given American beer a bad name for decades (ok, a REALLY bad name), but the way they market themselves to the general public. These products are still seen by many as 'cool' and appealing not becasue they actually are so, but becasue superbowl commercials say they are. Plus, they're cheap. And when I say cheap, I mean it in every sense of the word.

In what other industry can an obviously inferior product still sell so well? Is it purely pricing point? For some, sure. But I've heard people say, "I'm a Bud man" or "I'm a Coors man" far too many times for it to be as simple as that. Why even declare for one particular bad product over another? The answer is marketing. These firms spend more on advertising in a week than most people ever dream of earning in a lifetime. Another question that begs answering, is why are these companies able to sell their product so cheaply? Think it's scale economies? You're half right - but the other half of the equation is ingredients. Our corporate friends had a brilliant idea - use cheap ingredients and increase margins! They now add piles of corn and rice to their beers, cutting out the flavor barley gives beer, but keeping the same level of fermentable sugar. Very good gentlemen, so very clever. Let's cheat beer consumers so we can divert more cash into marketing budgets with insulting commercials.

Hope comes in the form of craft brewers bucking this trend and striving to create beers that are brewed with quality ingredients, devoid of any trendy pretenses. So, the next time you find yourself standing in the grocery aisle looking for beer, remember who you're supporting and what they're really selling you.

Jmac
Beach Brewing Co.
Virginia Beach, VA