Craft Beer is a "phase" we are going through

OldMrBrennan83

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BeerNut

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Somebody's never heard of PBR

Geuze

Tigger wrote: »

i live in sligo
i live 5 miles from the white hag
the pubs in sligo sell very little good beer (swagman tries foleys try better)
this makes me sad

Furey's on Bridge street have made great efforts with new beers - UK beer, two Donegal beers on tap, lots of bottles, etc.

The Swagman has a cask engine.

Foley's will sell you anything from the off-licence to drink in the pub.

sarkozy

They're right though, it's just one of those notions things. It's got to the stage where it's just obscurity people are looking to talk about and no matter what it actually tastes like, if someone else has had it before then it's of no interest. Not that they should have denied the licence though.

I don't understand this viewpoint. There's too much glib dismissal of trends like this by writing it off as a 'hipster' thing. First of all, that term itself is nearly meaningless, or at least people don't know and can't agree on what 'hipster' means beyond it being some abstract category in their heads for things they don't like about people. Secondly, craft brewing in Ireland started long before it was taken up internationally as a trend.

More than that, if we're to take the term 'hipster' a little more seriously then we need to distinguish between people who are 'trendy' (whose preferences can be more superficial and change more regularly) and to take a single common characteristic (though there are others) of the so-called 'hipster' phenomenon which is the notion of 'connoiseurship'.

In a broader context, we can consider this a reaction by certain groups of consumers against bland, poor quality mass produced and mass marketed beers (and any other number of products) by choosing where possible to drink beers of higher quality and better taste, and in a way that tends to necessarily resist mass production methods. It's also tied in with the notion that quality of life is linked to the quality of products, and people are beginning to realise that consuming less (i.e. not drinking your face off on swill) of better stuff is better all-round.

But this realisation isn't linked to 'hipsters', it's across the board as people wake up to the fact that we've been fed and watered crap for too long and it's just not good for anyone. That the Gen-Y/Millennial generations are making food much more part of culture is an important step towards the day when all this 'craft beer' and artisinal food is unremarkable - it just becomes normal - because that's how things are in countries (e.g. France, Spain, Italy) where food is an essential part of the culture.

If you're saying: youngsters/pretentious types will drink anything if it's 'cool', well, I'm not so sure. There are often reasons. Pabst Blue Ribbon is a horrid beer, but it became popular with 'hipsters', many of whom have been poor, creative types living on the margins (but many not) because it was cheap and because another common element of 'hipsterism' is that it has tended to act as a consumerist counter-culture - in other words, previous counter cultures rejected capitalism, popular culture and consumption as a form of resistance against the system; but in a post-cold war world where there is no easily identifiable alternative system, hipsterdom is a form of counter-cultural resistance that takes place within the logic of consumption (though not necessarily capitalist, as some concerns are run as co-operatives, for example).

This said, I'm actually quite pessimistic about the future of a craft brewing industry in Ireland. Big business is fighting back. They don't want to lose market share. They want to force pubs into signing exclusive agreements. Hell, they may even begin running their own pubs like breweries have historically tended to do in the UK. But mostly, it'll come down to economics and whether breweries can stay in business without targeted tax relief. I think the market for craft beer in Ireland is widening, and in my experience, the product is improving every year, but at the same time, I'm just wondering how much strongly-hopped, robustly flavoured American-style ales can a market take before people seek out the relief of a bland tasteless Heineken or Guinness?

symbolic

Yeah the whole, Ah its just hipster rubbish is annoying.

I drink craft beer cause I think it's delicious.

I feel for something to appeal to the masses it has to be diluted to an extent, as I imagine it's difficult to appeal to a massive amount of varying tastes with one product, so the product has to be a little bit inoffensive (not sure of right word) to do so. And a lot more profitable to knock out one product and sell lots of it.

I find its the same with Food, Music and Film. The further you dig the better it gets. I don't seek out obscure things for the sake of it, I do it because of past rewards in doing so.

Saruman

I should have a response published on thejournal.ie in a few days. I'll let people know when it's up.

Hidden Cyclone

The one thing that will definifely stunt growth IMO are prices, not so much in pubs but definitely in off licences. People who like craft don't mind paying €3+ for a bottle but even some of the more curious will pick up the case of 15 bottles of trash for €20 instead.

Obviously smaller batches, more ingredients etc mean prices will have to be higher but a lot of drinkers I know have cut back their craft purchases to the likes of Dunnes 4 for €9 as they think off licence prices are reaching piss take proportions (justified or not)

evolving_doors

Hidden Cyclone wrote: »

The one thing that will definifely stunt growth IMO are prices, not so much in pubs but definitely in off licences. People who like craft don't mind paying €3+ for a bottle but even some of the more curious will pick up the case of 15 bottles of trash for €20 instead.

Obviously smaller batches, more ingredients etc mean prices will have to be higher but a lot of drinkers I know have cut back their craft purchases to the likes of Dunnes 4 for €9 as they think off licence prices are reaching piss take proportions (justified or not)

In a way thats the crux of the craft brewers paradox.. The product has to be so unique and complicatef to sell, but at the same time if its priced accordingly (by whoever...brewer/supplier etc) then they've shot themselves in the foot.
Also if they want to sell decent volume at a competitive price then they have to upscale production to larger premises so the trick is getting the same taste at a larger level of production. Are they stil artisan brewers?

I think any brewer should forget about delivering to markets first and foremost. Get the pints flowing in the pubs and build up a lot of loyalty, then very slowly consider selling to offies. Just thinking of The Well in Cork, its being going for what 20years, but im only seeing the flagship brews hitting the shelves now.

Ipso

It's good to know they're trying to protect customers from some fad instead of being some sh1te hawk gombeens.

BaZmO*

Probably the same group of people that thought serving food in a pub was "just a fad"

oblivious

BaZmO* wrote: »

Probably the same group of people that thought serving food in a pub was "just a fad"

And ladies toilets too :pac:

Saruman

Here's the article now. Seems to be getting a great response.
http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/craft-beer-ireland-1610831-Aug2014/

zoobizoo

We had a food and craft beer market as part of the Bray Summerfest.

The local pubs were the ones who were involved in running it and there were also some craft brewers along as well. These pubs have great craft beer selections though.

The whole thing worked well and people (me) were delighted to get the chance to taste beers that they hadn't tried before.

As for it being a "phase" - well, I think that it has changed the way that certain people buy and drink beer. I saw the light 20 years ago and I'm delighted to have way more choice now.

It's not a phase but it's also not mainstream. Friends of mine would still order a Heineken automatically prior to checking what craft beers were available.

If the Govt brought in minimum pricing, and the **** beers were more in line price wise with craft beers, I think you'd see an interest in uptake.

I've never seen a on street drunk drinking a craft beer. Although I guess their aim is quantity over quality.

Saruman

zoobizoo wrote: »

I've never seen a on street drunk drinking a craft beer. Although I guess their aim is quantity over quality.

Well, there was this time....

Lucena

zoobizoo wrote: »

If the Govt brought in minimum pricing, and the **** beers were more in line price wise with craft beers, I think you'd see an interest in uptake.

Can we not have it the other way round? Strangely enough in England the craft beers (ok real ale) are cheaper than the macrolagers!

oblivious

Lucena wrote: »

Can we not have it the other way round? Strangely enough in England the craft beers (ok real ale) are cheaper than the macrolagers!

The uk appears to be dived that real ale is not or not always craft beer.