Comments on: Make Beer, Not War: Why Macrobreweries Aren’t Worth Getting Worked Up Over

By: How to Brew Beer

How to Brew Beer — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:03:36 +0000

[...] Make Beer, Not War Most of the beer varieties sold in America are barely differentiable light lagers all brewed by the same conglomerate. We can spend all day arguing on the grounds of spirit and soul over how obviously horrible this is for the beer world… [...]

By: Craig Moore

Craig Moore — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:24:20 +0000

Hmm… interesting question, since i never actually mentioned Hitler or the Nazis, but did reference the war. I’m not up on all the subtleties of Godwin, but this definitely seems like a gray area. In my mind, Godwin applies to intent as much as content, and since my content did not specifially mention the Nazis or Hitler, nor did it intend to equate you or your thesis with them or their theories, I wouldn’t think it applies. But, I can see a good argument in favor of it, too. If it is too close to Godwin for your taste, I will happily redact the “Germany” portion of my above post. The rest holds just as true, even without those sausage eating anti-semitic homophobes.

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:03:01 +0000

Buh… Does that count towards Godwin’s Law?

By: Craig Moore

Craig Moore — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:13:09 +0000

Actually, the Allied occupations of Germany and Japan after WWII were quite successful. Though there were limited insurgencies, in the long run, the occupying armies emerged victorious. The same could be said for the US occupation of the Phillipines after the Spanish-American War, although that particular insurgency did last for quite a while and is in many ways analogous to the current situation in Iraq. One could also make similar arguments about the post-Civil War South, and most of the history of the British Isles after 1066. Never mind the successful expansion of the United States across the continent and into the Hawai’ian Islands during the 19th and early 20th centuries, in which the U.S. military, or some other American agents, successfully occupied and eventually gained total control over some 3.79 million square miles of land that was once controlled by “natives.”

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:14:33 +0000

Totally. It reminds me of every military occupation in history. The invading army keeps trying to hold the natives down, but nothing seems to be able to stop the insurgency. Has AB|InBev learned nothing from New Caprica?

By: Steph Weber

Steph Weber — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:02:02 +0000

I do agree with what your saying, though it is possibly slightly optimistic. But I’m hopeful that you’re right.

In any case, AB-InBev sure is a bunch of twats for suing DFH for the use of the words “Punkin” and “Chicory.” Like seriously, completely unnecessary. They would squash out all other brewers if they could. Ass wipes.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:36:54 +0000

That’s what I mean when I say that word of mouth is spreading, though. People who might like the Good Stuff are becoming more and more likely with each passing day to have someone in the room with them when they hear about Triple Hop Brewing on TV. The information is spreading. We will have to weather a little attrition until things hit a steady state, but it seems to me like the days of having to worry about losing customers to the macros are numbered.

Maybe I’m being too optimistic? I have been in kind of a good mood the last few days.

By: Steph Weber

Steph Weber — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:18:31 +0000

Well, I suppose that’s the difference in our arguments. You’re talking about a stereotype and I’m talking about actual people that I know. I agree that a large part of this on-the-fence group fits that stereotype, but I think there’s a large enough amount of people who don’t.

Most people in their 40s-50s watch TV. They see lots of beer ads. They see Anheuser-Busch’s brewmaster talking about the care and attention to all the beer they produce, using the highest quality ingredients, and blah blah blah. If they don’t have someone sitting next to them saying, “Pshh, yeah, maybe the highest quality rice and corn. *Real* beer doesn’t use adjuncts,” then they’re likely to believe what they see, simply because there are no small brewer ads to counter it.

One time, we went to Tim’s parents’ house, and his dad had bought a few microbrews, along with a winter ale knock-off from one of the big guys. He had no idea it was from a macro. He didn’t like it. It likely would have turned him off to any winter ale if we hadn’t been there to tell him it wasn’t a microbrew.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:46:53 +0000

Word of mouth is a powerful marketing force. Anyone who is predisposed to favoring craft beer but hasn’t yet discovered it most likely will do so eventually, probably through friends like you said. I don’t imagine it will be long before every single potential customer has heard of craft beer and made a decision on which side of the fence they prefer. The border may fluctuate a little bit between now and then, but when that point is hit, it’ll stabilize, for better or worse.

[But for someone who doesn’t personally know a brewer and gets all their information about beer from TV ads and beer labels...]

But see that’s exactly my point: The people who get their life’s information from TV ads probably weren’t going to stick around in the craft market anyway. I hate to stereotype (no I don’t), but the sorts of people who are more likely to enjoy good beer simply aren’t as vulnerable to Big Marketing.

By: Craig Moore

Craig Moore — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:18:54 +0000

Wow. Steph makes it feels like Palpatine and Yoda are fighting for my nerdy, beer drinking soul…