Molson Coors Goes "Craft" in Canada
Time travel, anyone? This is the future:
Inevitably, small breweries will gain value and be prime targets for consolidation. And just as inevitably, there will be consolidation. So North Americans will come inevitably to this question: if a brewery gets sold, but the beer remains molecularly unchanged, can that identical beverage still be called "craft beer?" The answer is obvious: yes. But that won't be the answer a lot of people want to hear. There will be some especially painful reckoning by beer fans, too, as fiercely independent brands like Hair of the Dog or New Glarus or Stone start to fall.
On that happy note...
Molson Coors Canada has launched the Six Pints Specialty Beer Co., a new stand-alone segment targeted at the craft and specialty beer industry....Six Pints will initially carry Creemore Springs and Granville Island beers, but its portfolio is expected to expand toWhen macros get crafty, they have a few options. In a ham-handed effort to seize the market, the early, failed plan was to set up shell, faux-micro brands. They have had mixed success buying brands and incorporating them into their brewing operations. Blue Moon has been a winner, but it's the only example I can think of off-hand. Finally, there's the Gambrinus model of acquiring ownership of existing micros and leaving them as intact, stand-alone breweries. This one seems like a pretty smart winning strategy for the parent company (if not the most efficient), but a big problem for those who want the term "craft beer" to mean anything.include other specialty Canadian beers as well as import beer. Molson acquired Creemore Springs Brewing Co. in 2005, which then bought Granville Island Brewing Co. in 2009. Mr. Freedman said the company will operate separately from Molson and come up with its own pricing, distribution and promotion strategies.
Inevitably, small breweries will gain value and be prime targets for consolidation. And just as inevitably, there will be consolidation. So North Americans will come inevitably to this question: if a brewery gets sold, but the beer remains molecularly unchanged, can that identical beverage still be called "craft beer?" The answer is obvious: yes. But that won't be the answer a lot of people want to hear. There will be some especially painful reckoning by beer fans, too, as fiercely independent brands like Hair of the Dog or New Glarus or Stone start to fall.
On that happy note...