Amid an explosion in popularity, craft brewers in the U.S., through their Boulder, Colo.-based trade association, have kicked off a PR offensive to counter “crafty” marketing by “large, non-craft breweries.”
The Brewers Association, working with Rosen Group PR, outlined a series of production and ownership benchmarks and called out companies like Anheuser-Bush and MillerCoors on Dec. 13 to counter what its members see as an increase in “production and promotion” of “craft-like beers” by large brewers.
“The large, multinational brewers appear to be deliberately attempting to blur the lines between their crafty, craft-like beers and true craft beers from today’s small and independent brewers,” the BA said in a statement. “We call for transparency in brand ownership and for information to be clearly presented in a way that allows beer drinkers to make an informed choice about who brewed the beer they are drinking.
The BA says American craft brewers are “small and independent” with production of less than six million barrels and no more than 25% ownership from a non-craft brewer.
The group has published a list of “non-craft” beers sometimes confused for craft beers, including brands of MillerCoors (Blue Moon), Anheuser-Busch (Goose Island) and India’s United Brewery Holdings (OldeSaratoga/Kingfisher Brewing).
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in October that Anheuser-Busch was unveiling a new line of dark beer brands as it “lost market share in recent years to more flavorful craft beers and is beginning to swing back.” A-B InBev VP Dave Almeida said at a trade event earlier this year, "Craft is a real threat, but it's also an opportunity," according to Mother Jones.
The BA, which has created an online directory of its members’ beer brands, added: “So when someone is drinking a Blue Moon Belgian Wheat Beer, they often believe that it’s from a craft brewer, since there is no clear indication that it’s made by SABMiller.”