Swimming in Beer

Craft beer folks are generally good folks.  I realize the risks of making sweeping generalizations like that, but in my experience the brewers of craft beer are solid, interesting characters who appear to have a lot of integrity.  They make beer with the aim of delivering a wholesome product, using quality ingredients with the intent of providing the drinker with a good experience, not ripping them off by cheapening the beer or (allegedly) watering it down.   Most craft brewers are small business owners who take a tremendous amount of pride in their craft, & even the larger craft brewers generally run their operations with a lot of class & good citizenship.  Yes, these brewers are in the business of making & selling beer, but they also do not live & die by the bottom line.  Most also seem to abide by the belief that what’s  good for one of us is good for all, & are generally much more supportive of one another than most “competitors” in any market.  Look at the number of collaborations put out by teams of brewers every year as some evidence of this camaraderie, the attitude that “we’re all in it together”. 

One wonders, though, what the capacity of this pool is, how many more can jump into the very welcoming waters & find room to swim.  As much as American craft brew would like to remain one big, happy family, it may be finding that there’s only so much room to move.  Right now the big contention seems to be around trademark infringement, & every week or two there are headlines on the beer news sites about one brewery suing another or issuing a cease-&-desist when they think someone  is stepping on their toes.  This is not necessarily malicious - businesses are obligated to protect their territory & intellectual property, & must act accordingly – but it smells like bad blood, not in sync with the whole barley-&-hops-brotherhood vibe.  We’re beginning to hear some of the bigger kids in the pool creating ripples by talking smack on each others’ business practices, & maybe recent expansions by some of said kids could turn off those who would otherwise support them.  Not going to name names or anything, just pointing out that it’s not always high-fives & group hugs for those in this increasingly competitive business. 

Luckily, it seems that the feather-ruffled are in the minority for the time being, & the general sense of unity is still prevailing.  Hoping it continues that way, & we see more of the collaboration-not-litigation mindset.  At the end of the day, it’s still beer, & what goes on behind the scenes doesn’t/shouldn’t effect the consumer too much.  Let’s hope there’s room enough in the pool for everyone to play nice; I prefer my beer blood-free.