Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Watch as "craft" defines itself out of existence.

There are a number of solid nuggets for thought in this article, most of which point to an inevitable day of reckoning when the word "craft" has become meaningless.

When will we get to that point? I'd say it occurred two or three years ago. Sometimes it takes a while for us to catch up.

As Craft Beer Starts Gushing, Its Essence Gets Watered Down, by Alastair Bland (NPR)

There was once a time when it was easy to throw around the term "craft beer" and know exactly what you were talking about. For decades, craft was the way to differentiate small, independently owned breweries – and the beer they make – from the brewing giants like Coors, Budweiser and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

But the line separating craft brewers from large multinational companies is growing blurrier. Small breweries are transforming into big ones, while big breweries are masquerading as small brands, selling "crafty" knockoff beers in an attempt to lure customers from the craft beer market.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Perhaps we should move to a sort of three-tiered qualification system, eliminating the "craft" definition altogether.

The New Albanian said...

I'm open to ideas.