All About Beer Magazine

Beer Wars Live Redux

Posted April 17, 2009 by daniel 16 Comments | Post a Comment

Beer Wars Live has come and gone, with extremely mixed reviews. I have to say it wasn’t a bad way to spend an evening, but it was rife with issues.  

A half full theatre with raucous, interactive beer lovers, who cheered, applauded and laughed throughout the two hours. And the film and panel certainly captivated all, bringing out some interesting questions and ideas. All in all, Anat Baron did a nice piece of work that will, at least, inspire the conversation that she talked about in the press.

The difficulty for this movie, or any movie, about the beer industry lies in the ease in which anyone can skirt over the complexity of the issues in favor of looming, and very sexy, points of view, such as David vs. Goliath. Most of what was covered in the movie, access to market, is a 20 to 40 year old story, fought every single day by all the breweries in the industry, and is far more complex then simply a legion of heroic entrepreneurs stymied by the world’s biggest, baddest, brewery.

Anat’s portrayal skirted over too many critical issues. Three-tier system is set up as the impediment for entry? A lot of today’s defense of the three-tier system is against the onslaught of mega-retail. Were Wall-Mart to dictate the terms of beer distribution, a majority of today’s wholesalers would be gone and much of the present access to market for craft brewers would wither.  It’s a complicated issue.

The mere success of both craft brewers on the panel, Stone Brewing and Dogfish Head Brewery, pointed to improved access to market. The consumer spokesperson. Todd Alstrom of Beer Advocate, and the industry spokesperson, Charlie Papazian of the Brewers Association, both revealed the secret of craft brewer’s success. They are making great beer that more and more people like to drink.  And the distribution industry has come around to recognizing that. Those supermarket sets from the movie are far from representative now. More frequently there is a wall of light lagers and another wall of craftbrewers.

 The telling difference between the near total demise of the pre1970 American beer industry and today’s revolution could lie in the beers themselves. It’s a pity Anat can’t drink alcohol, because that might have been the pivot point of her whole narrative. Both she, and noted beer historian Maureen Ogle, might have curbed their dour predications of the fate of the small guys if they were more “immersed” in the flavor profiles and the consumers’ passion for these beers.

That certainly is the case for the speakers. Both Stone and Dogfish Head make uncompromising, off-centered beers for a unique, but expanding, market. The breweries of yesterday, made light lagers, which could only compete on branding because the flavors weren’t that distinctive. (Perhaps this is the problem with the struggling New Century Brewing, and not funding or restricted access to market.)  

Today’s craft brewers make beers of intense personality and make them with love and passion. As Greg and Sam both said, they could never become an Anheuser-Busch. Their culture is too far from that. 

This also brings up Anat’s portrayal of the political clout of the beer industry, which works on so many more levels than just defense of the three tier. Alcohol is the stock villain in any public policy debate with armies dedicated to the destruction of the supply of alcohol. Taxation, regulation, and public access are a few of the weapons of the detractors. Presenting them as well meaning people unfairly labeled as “neoprohibitionist,” skirts over their zero-tolerance agenda which unites in opposition all members of the beer industry.

Furthermore, the rise of craft brewers has lead to their own version of political clout. In fact, Charlie’s trade association’s budget may actually eclipse that of each of other two leading industry associations.  State craft brewing guilds are now valued allies with other industry associations on certain issues and can effectively counter pressure on their interests.

I am not so naïve as to think we’re all one big happy family. After all this is a capitalist economy and we are talking about business. But craft brewers kept repeating the same mantra. They are about beer, unusual and exciting beers, not about maximizing shareholder value. This gives them an edge, which as Greg pointed out, they can effectively exploit through direct contact with consumers. The present Big vs. Little crisis of faux craft beers coming out of big brewers is deflated by using the Internet to correct potentially misleading breweries of origin.

This is an industry in continued evolution. There is no end game. There is no steady state. There is only change.  Beer Wars Live freezes all of that, which is an injustice to the accomplishments of yesterday and today and the challenges of tomorrow. It is a snapshot, a point of reference, and a possibly beginning point of a discussion. After all, isn’t it time our consumers were fully apprised of our industry.  And Anat has made a good beginning.

BeerWars, an interview

Posted April 8, 2009 by daniel 2 Comments | Post a Comment

During my recent travels there has been quite a buzz about a new documentary on the beer industry.  I thought I’d get on the phone with Anat Baron, the force behind Beer Wars, the somewhat controversial movie playing April 16^{th –} and only April 16^{th –}  at 440 very select movie theaters. 

What’s the story/moment that got you attracted to the beer world?

I came to this project with a lot of knowledge and experience.  I worked in the beer industry and there haven’t been a lot of documentary films about this industry. A few years back, I was the general manager of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Mike’s is sold on the shelf right next to beer and I got to know a lot about craft beer. When I did leave the industry, it never really left me.  Around 2005, I got intrigued when I saw Ad Age run an article that beer is dead.  I did some research and saw how much the industry had changed in the year since I’d left. 

About the same time, I got a random invitation to National Beer Wholesalers Association’s convention and went.  I walked into the convention looking for a story.  I was looking for an arc, a narrative.  And all I heard from everyone was how much craft beer was on the rise and how much trouble the major brewers were having.  The GABF was next week and I went with my crew and it was like Alice in Wonderland; I couldn’t have been more out of place.  In ten days I saw two different worlds; the buttoned down corporate world and the hip craft beer world. 

What moment really meant something for you as far as capturing your story, expressing your feelings about the industry, etc. 

In making a feature film like this there were many moments.  Because it’s a documentary it is constantly crystallizing.  If there was one thing that got me thinking of about how we got here it was when I went to the National Beer Wholesalers Association/Brewers Legislative Conference in DC.  The connection between beer and politics I didn’t know about and how powerful, truly powerful the industry is.

Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Brewery, and Ronda Kallman, New Century Brewing, figure prominently in your narrative.  What caught your attention about these two individuals?

I had a crew with me recording the footage and one person touched a nerve with the whole crew: Rhonda Kallman.  I guess people call her the Queen of Beer.  She was with Jim Koch in the early days and then left to launch a new beer, not just another beer, but a brand new caffeine beer called Moonshots.  While not a craft beer story, she had a classic start-up story.  She had already been successful and she wanted to start something new on her own. 

I found Sam when I went to the GABF.  I didn’t know any craft brewers so I got 15 recommendations from the Brewers Association.  As soon as I met Sam I knew he was the star because he was very outspoken.  Most brewers aren’t so outspoken when the camera is turned on.  Sam wasn’t like that.  He would tell the truth on the camera.  He had the opposite problem of Rhonda.  He couldn’t make enough beer and was taking a $9 million loan to expand his brewery.  How do you expand and not sell your soul?

It’s been a while since you got all your footage.  Anything change in the industry from your vantage point?

I’ve been told a lot has changed and this film is dated because it’s about big vs. small. Big vs. small is never dated. These small brewers, at the end of the day, are nervous about the film.  Small brewers are stuck.  They have to sleep with the devil.  You have to get into business with people, distributors, that may not have your best interest in mind.  If you criticize the three tier system you’re screwed because these people don’t want to be criticized.  I set out to tell the truth and change can only happen if you tell the truth.  You can bury this as long as you want but change will only happen if you create more choices, greater access.

It’s like Michael Moore making “Sicko.”  If there were an easy solution to the distribution problem, I wouldn’t have made the movie.  It’s not easy to solve.  I’m trying to start the conversation about how to make it better, not get rid of it.  When I was at Mike’s Hard Lemonade, we were almost as big as Sam Adams, so I understand the problems of this system.

Why is it for one night only?

 Actually, how cool is it for three of the biggest theatrical exhibitors in the country getting behind it, trying to reach out to a new audience.  This is your moment and if you don’t embrace it the moment won’t come again.  People can either sit around and write about it and bitch about it, but they need to show up and at the very least it will start a conversation.

 For more from Anat go to the interview on Beer Wars website.

Thoughts on my time at Siebel Institute of Technology

Posted April 7, 2009 by daniel 1 Comment | Post a Comment

I intend to spend some time this week writing about the amazing four days I spent at the Seibel Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, taking their Master of Beer Styles and Evaluation Course, which is a four day intensive course and everyone, I mean everyone, who is really into craft beer should take. 

The 3 inch binder, the tip of the iceberg for the four days of content, was a fantastic road map for the lectures give by  Lynn Kruger, Randy Mosher and Ray Daniels. 

First the bad news; apparently I was still sufficiently congested as to not get the sensory experience. Keith Lemke even put some of the adultrants used to transform a simple beer into a “problem” beer right under my nose. I got nothing. Actually, I did detect more or less and, generally, where I was detecting it, but I couldn’t distinguish whatever it was. Oranges were perceived the same as rotten vegetables.  

Someone suggested taking a decongestant, which I’m sorry I didn’t try. It would have been an interesting experiment. Plus I’m still stressing with the concern that I might simply not be that sensitive. I’ve certainly heard that from the women in my life!!!

However, Siebel does have these kits for doctoring beers to learn about off flavors. I’m going to get one and organize a tasting doctored beers here at the office.

Something that came up which really captured my imagination was Randy Mosher’s take on the tongue.  

In every tasting I’ve conducted, I’ve reviewed the geography of the tongue, the four basic tastes and their distribution around different segments of the tongue. Randy’s research revealed this idea came from the same group that brought you phreonolgy. Yes, bumps on the head.

Randy’s studies have uncovered six flavors. In addition to sweet, sour, salt and bitter, Randy has added umami and fat. Umami is an amino acid type that suggests aged meat, ripe tomatoes, and oily fish. (Yes, I’m challenged too, but this one is pretty exciting.)

Not only are there six, not four, flavors, but the geography of taste is also out the window as is the timing of taste perception. Generally, the whole tongue, along with the lips, cheeks and palate, can taste all six elements. Furthermore, salt and sour are the quickest and bitterness the slowest to be perceived.  In other words, the flavor of beer has quite a wind-up.

As soon as you have a moment, get a hoppy beer and a malty beer and revisit how flavor hits your mouth, the location and the timing. Forget the idea of sweet up front, bitter in back, salt and sour to the sides. And forget the idea of a single perception. Hell, forget the idea of just the tongue and the throat.  

See how the different beer elements sort out in your mouth and over what time interval. Imagine a cascade of different flavors stimulating all the parts of your mouth as it rolls through from your lips through to your throat. 

As Randy says: “Pretty cool stuff!”