12 Craft Beers that Aren’t Really Craft Beers
12. Olde Saratoga Brewing Company
We start of the list the Olde Saratoga Brewery from Saratoga Springs, New York. Don’t let that the unnecessary e appended to the “Old” in the name, these guys really aren’t that old. They were only founded in 1997, and pretty much right away, they were bought up by the next brewery on our list…
11. Mendocino Brewing Company
The Mendecino Brewing Company of Ukiah, California, was founded in 1983. They were supposedly the first brew pub in the state of California and only the second in the entire United States. These guys bought Saratoga to spread to the east coast, which was a reasonable move. But in 2001 they in turn were bought by United Brewery Holdings, the Indian conglomerate Kingfisher beer. So how UBH owned at least 70% of both Mendocino and Saratoga.
10. Leinenkugel's
Anyone from the Wisconsin or northern Illinois area (i.e., Leinenkugel’s traditional market) knows that the brewery founded by Jacob Leinenkugel in 1867 was purchased by Miller (now SABMiller) in 1988. And they really don’t have a big problem with that, since for them the beer pretty much stayed what it was. However, now SABMiller is using Leinenkugel’s as their “craft” brand, bringing it to regions that have never had it before. So people are seeing it on the shelves and thinking, “oh, Leinenkugel’s Imperial IPA, a new craft brew! Let’s try it!” And of course, it’s not a craft brew, but instead owned by one of the major beer conglomerates.
9. Widmer Brothers Brewing
This has to be a crafter brewery, right? There’s the word “brothers” in the title, and look—there’s a picture of brothers right there on the website! Well, first of all, Widmer merged with the next two breweries on the list to form the Craft Brew Alliance. That probably wouldn’t have been enough to bump them from the “craft brewers” list. But what is enough to bump them from the “craft brewers” list is the fact that AB-Inbev owns 35% of Craft Brewers Alliance.
8. Kona Brewing Company
Kona was founded in 1994 and is supposedly the top-selling craft brew in the state of Hawaii. Of course, they aren’t really a craft brew, since they merged into the Craft Brew Alliance and are now 35% owned by AB.
Now, you may say, only 35%? That doesn’t give AB full control over the company, so why aren’t they still considered a craft brew? Well, the answer is that this 35% is enough to buy Kona into AB-Inbev’s powerful distribution network, and also enough to get favorable treatment in the marketplace—treatment that independent craft breweries don’t get.
So it’s not so much that Kona doesn’t still make good beer, or that they aren’t also still “local.” It’s just that, with the world’s largest beer company backing you, you can’t call yourself a craft brewery anymore.
7. Redhook Ale Brewery
Redhook, founded in Seattle in 1981, merged with Widmer and Kona in 2008 to form a new company called the Craft Brewers Alliance. Then AB-Inbev bought a 35% stake in that company. So even though Redhook is a local favorite in Washington that only produced 360,000 barrels a year, it’s not really a craft beer anymore.
6. Pyramid Breweries
At #6 we have another former craft brewery based in Seattle. First this little brew pub was bought by another craft brewery. That was okay. But then they were both bought by a company called North American Breweries, which imports a bunch of stuff to the U.S. (like Canada’s Labatt Blue). Then North American Breweries was bought by Cerveceria Costa Rica, a subsidiary of the Florida Ice & Farm Company, or FIFCO for short.
Did you follow that? No? Well, the point is, this brewer is just a small piece of an international beverage conglomerate. So you can’t call that “craft”…no matter how tasty it might be.
5. Goose Island Brewery
Goose Island began with a Chicago brew pub in 1988. Then came a larger brewery in 1995, and then a second brew pub in 1999. By the 2000s, Goose Island was the craft beer of Chicago, and they made some very highly regarded beverages…then they sold 100% of the company to AB-Inbev.
That was a huge get for AB, since it gives them a legit “craft beer label.” But of course, in reality, Goose Island is no longera craft beer.
(It still tastes good, though.)
4. Unibroue
Quebec’s Unibroue just might be the best brewery in the world. There, I said it. They’re beers aren’t just good. They are exceptional. However, they are not longer “craft” beers. In 2004, Unibroue was bought by Canadian giant SLeeman. Then Sleeman was bought by Japanese giant Sapporo in 2006.
So there you go. La Fin du Monde: still incredible, but not craft.
3. Shock Top
Who makes Shock Top? Oh, it’s the Shock Top Brewing Company of St. Louis, Missouri. That’s cool…except that the Shock Top Brewing Company is just a brand created by Anheuser-Busch. When SABMiller bought the next beer on our list, AB had to do something to compete. So they came up with Shock Top.
Of course, you should have been suspicious about Shock Top right from the beginning. Real craft brews don’t typically get major marketing campaigns and store displays the way Shock Top does.
2. Blue Moon
The Blue Moon Brewing Company was founded in Golden, Colorado, in 1995. Of course, even then, it was actually owned by Coors. Then Coors merged with Canada’s Molson to form MolsonCoors. And then MosonCoors merged with SABMiller to become SABMiller/MolsonCoors…or something like that. The point is, never has the word Coors appeared on the label of this brew. And now Blue Moon—a gateway beer into the world of craft brewing for many people I know—is sold in Canada under the name Ricard’s White.
It’s not craft. Sorry.
1. Magic Hat
The Magic Hat Brewing Company was founded in Burlington, Vermont, in 1994. It makes delicious, funky beers, and all of it’s labels are unique works of art. It’s got all the trappings of a crafter brewery, and until 2010 it really was a craft brewery. But then it was purchased by North American Breweries, and today it’s part of that same giant, confusing beer conglomerate that owns Pyramid.
So don’t believe your eyes: this may look like a craft label, but it’s hardly a craft beer…still tasty, though, so don’t feel guilty to buying it.
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