CRAFTWASHING
10 January 2012 · General · Press · Tips for the Moa Man

*Article updated on Wednesday 11 January 2012

What exactly is craft beer?

If you are unsure what defines a craft beer, you are not alone. It is difficult enough to articulate for those who do understand and there is confusion within the industry itself, let alone for those just trying to enjoy the stuff. The confusion is compounded by the big multi-national players who are attempting to highjack the rapid growth of the genuine craft beer market in New Zealand, claiming their mass-produced beers are ‘craft’.

In November we announced that Moa Beer had become New Zealand’s first craft beer to be sold in duty free stores now that it is now stocked in JR Duty Free. The next day, a large brewery released a release statement claiming they were actually the first ‘craft beer’ to be sold in duty free. There is no disputing that beer has been available in Duty Free before us, but is it craft? It might just seem like a bit of PR tit-for-tat, but it has struck a chord with Kiwi drinkers, many of whom have been taken aback by claims that mass produced beers are ‘craft’.

Kiwi drinkers are being hoodwinked into paying premium prices for beers they’re led to believe are, for example, are hand-crafted in out of the way locations when actually they are being brewed en masse in South Auckland. Much like ‘organic’ labels on products need to be certified, is it time for the liquor industry to introduce a benchmark for ‘craft’ credentials.

This is how we define craft beer:

REMAIN TRUE TO IDEOLOGIES. [*Amended from: IT HAS A TRUE BRICKS AND MORTAR HOME.]

Craft breweries must have real roots and stay true to their birthplace and ideologies.

[*The following has been retracted: The following A craft brewery does not contract brew at different breweries around the country or allow its beer to be brewed under licence overseas. The most important and influential ingredient in beer is water and you cannot accurately replicate your water supply in a different location.]

CHALLENGING THE MASSES.

Creativity, artistry and innovation are at the heart of craft brewing and craft brewers like to push the boundaries with their beers. They experiment with crazy mash ups, high alcohol content, big malt and hop structures and interesting fermentation techniques, to give consumers a range of unique and distinctive flavours that can in fact be polarising. Mainstream beers are made to have mass appeal and although they may be made flawlessly, they are designed to taste as close to water as possible. These are plain Jane beers that are quaffable to the masses, not too malty and not too hoppy.

FINALLY, THE BREWERY MUST HAVE A PERSONALITY OR TANGIBLE FIGUREHEAD.

Made by lots of men and not many machines as opposed to lots of machines and not many men, craft brewing has a human touch.  These human brewers are an eclectic and sometimes eccentric bunch. Their personalities are not only projected through their brands but are also present in their beers. These are the passionate individuals behind craft beer and they will chew the ear off anyone willing to listen to their stories, theories and philosophies, while also vigorously educating them on why craft beer and their beer in particular is the best.

Considering the above, are the big multinational players in New Zealand currently indulging in the beer equivalent of “greenwashing” a.k.a. “craftwashing”?

*This article was updated on Wednesday 11 January 2012 after some discussion on Facebook and Twitter. We do respect and appreciate NZ “craft” beers brewed under contract. We have our opinion and we have chucked it out there. We welcome debate and comments and don’t have our heads so far up our own poopers that we cannot listen to other peoples views.What we are trying to achieve is a clearer more tangible definition of “craft” in order to help educate punters. This is in response to the smoke and mirrors tactics of the big breweries with their so-called “craft” beers. Turns out “craft” is rather difficult to define. Go figure.

News articles:
NZ Herald

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Comments (18)

18 Responses for "CRAFTWASHING"

  • Luke says:
    January 10, 2012 at 2:16 pm · Reply

    That is a nice photo of hops, which I took in my backyard. Seems many people like it and it is all over the net now.

    Cheers
    Luke from Epic Brewing.

    • siteadmin says:
      January 11, 2012 at 2:53 pm · Reply

      Apologies Luke. It has been removed. Nice pic, well done

  • edward says:
    January 10, 2012 at 2:39 pm · Reply

    you guys are so up yourselves it’s not funny.

  • edward says:
    January 10, 2012 at 2:41 pm · Reply

    In fact, you guys are so creepy, I’ve decided to stop drinking your beer altogether, even tho I quite like it

  • Doug from New Zealand Hops says:
    January 10, 2012 at 3:18 pm · Reply

    The only true market distinction in my view is that when a company’s production philosophy becomes, or already is commodity based, it certainly can’t be based on quality considerations or size. I think if the question arises, “how much more cheaply can we make it”? You’re on shaky ground from a craft beer perspective or you’ve already shifted camp.

    • Stu as "Stu" says:
      January 11, 2012 at 2:46 pm · Reply

      That’s about my thought too Doug. Nicely put.

      That and the fact that the figurehead must wear colourful or patterned pants – or a kilt).

      • siteadmin says:
        January 11, 2012 at 3:16 pm · Reply

        Please refer to the photos of Josh Scott and David Nicholls from Brew NZ 2011. They have lovely pants.

        • Stu as "Stu" says:
          January 11, 2012 at 4:58 pm · Reply

          can agree that David had remarkable style but Josh was in grey slacks.

    • siteadmin says:
      January 11, 2012 at 3:14 pm · Reply

      Our focus is on meeting current demand and then growing demand (domestically and internationally). While remaining true to our values and ideologies. The brewery (including people), ingredients and techniques won’t be compromised. The beer is made the same way, with the same passion and craftsmanship, as it was prior to new investment. Cost savings will definitely come with economies of scale in production (glass, caps, labels, packaging) and operations (logistics, back office). We are rapt to now have a dedicated sales team, bean counter and marketer who can help grow the Moa Brewery.

  • Zane says:
    January 10, 2012 at 7:54 pm · Reply

    Sorry, but your definition of “has a true bricks and mortor home” puts quite a few breweries that I consider quintessentially craft beer out of the running. Yeastie Boys, 8 Wired, Epic and many others contract brew and bring fantastic craft beer to the market. I would have to say that the contract brewers are able to bring even more innovation to the craft beer industry as they do not have to pay for the overheads of the bricks, mortar and stainless steel that a physical brewery does. This means they can produce stuff that is weird and wonderful without having to keep an eye on how much other not so exciting beer is being sold to keep them afloat.

  • Gerry says:
    January 10, 2012 at 8:09 pm · Reply

    Challenge is for you guys to get your message out there. I don’t seriously believe people think those DB and Lion Nathan beers are craft but they buy what is there in the bar. Until someone breaks the brewery duopoly that won’t change.

  • Greig McGill says:
    January 11, 2012 at 10:27 am · Reply

    Hi guys.

    I appreciate the amendment. Speaking as half of Brewaucracy (a fairly new contract brewery out of Shunters Yard, Hamilton, and previously Liberty Brewing in New Plymouth), I was a bit peeved at the initial definition, though unlike some of my brewing peers, I do believe this is an article worth reading and a debate worth having. No matter how many times it is rehashed, having the debate keeps the interest alive in seeking out craft beers by those possibly new to the concept.

    I’d agree very much with what Doug says above, although very hard to define from a technical viewpoint. I also liked what Stu of Yeastie Boys had to say on twitter yesterday – real craft brewers express personal opinions. That is, they don’t shelter behind a corporate or brand identity. In fact, very few HAVE a corporate or brand identity separate to that of the brewers themselves. Most don’t use the term “brand” at all. They talk of beer, not of “product”. By their terminology shall ye know them!

    Zane: just a small clarification; contract brewers DO pay overheads (built in to the per litre cost) in addition to some margin for the contracting brewer, so it’s actually more expensive in general for the contract brewer, hence generally slightly higher tap prices. The strength/advantage comes from the lack of capital outlay, and thus minimal cost of debt servicing. Same result though, more flexibility as you pointed out. It also helps brewing as a whole by assisting existing brewers to use their otherwise wasted capacity. Everyone wins! The only downside is I can see a fair few of us eating each other shortly over lack of tap space. This is where we owe companies like Moa a bit of a debt. That brings me to…

    Gerry: To Moa’s credit, they are actually a player in helping to breaking that duopoly. Even if they are replacing one tie with another, it’s still a first step on the road to more choice for the NZ drinker!

    Finally to Moa: if you’ve not already (and I’m sure you have), I’d suggest you have a look at Phil Cook’s Beer Diary blog for his views on the “brandwank” from Moa since the Geoff Ross involvement/image makeover. His opinion is shared by a seemingly large proportion of the craft beer community, many of whom used to love Moa and many (such as myself) who try very hard to STILL love Moa. I’m hoping you can reassure myself, Phil Cook, and others that you guys are actually genuine in what you say and do, because it really does seem as if you say and do things merely to generate a reaction and raise publicity (trolling) rather than for any real commitment to craft beer.

    Please reply, I’d love to hear it.

    Thanks, and with respect,

    Greig.

    • siteadmin says:
      January 11, 2012 at 3:52 pm · Reply

      Please see the response to Doug above.

      We think the Moa Beer range (10 variants) displays very distinctive and unique flavours (and aromas) which are combination of the ingredients used, the brewing techniques and the craftsmanship of Josh Scott and David Nicholls. Then on top of this they continue to innovate – Schipper’s Bitter, Ten Year Beer, Four More Years and many more to come… These guys are all about the beer.

      Thanks for the credit. We are trying to fight the good fight.

      We follow Phil and have noted our regular appearances in his “brandwank” section. It is a shame that a “large proportion of the craft beer community” share his sentiments. As I said above (response to Doug) we are rapt to have a dedicated sales team, bean counter and marketer to help us achieve our ambitions. We are simply trying to get our message out there and during our “brandwank” period we have more than doubled our sales from 2010 to 2011 including having growth through winter, expanding our export markets and with each month being a new record sales month culminating in a massive December 2011.

      Hopefully we can win you and your mates back in 2012.

  • hughthewineguy says:
    January 11, 2012 at 11:39 am · Reply

    @Gerry: people are seriously thick. they believe and think all sorts of gunk, and yes my flattie thought monteiths was a ‘craft’ range (until I moved in and broadened his perspective)
    he still chucks empty but unwashed peanut butter jars in the recycling with the lids screwed on and perfectly clean mcdonalds paper bags in the rubbish, in support of my ‘people are seriously thick’ statement.
    personally, i like moa beers, but gave up drinking them with the new marketing aspect to the enterprise, that’s just me and my outlook- do you see ‘proper’ ‘craft’ ‘breweries’
    (what is proper?
    what is craft?
    what is a brewery?
    do those terms deserve permanent segregation within quotation marks, signifying their ambiguity?)
    with billboards, and branded landrovers and promo staff paid to run tastings?
    i’d argue that a craft brewery is defined as being one that, finding itself with any spare capital, would re-invest it into doing what they do best. (just in case my flattie reads this, i mean BREWING BEER)
    moa: you beer is exceptionally less rare than it was! time for a new tagline?

  • Nick says:
    January 12, 2012 at 8:33 pm · Reply

    Based on the article and subsequent comments, as a consumer I understand a craft beer must:

    1. Be really good quality beer, without any compromise, and
    2. Be made by a human, preferably an eccentric one.
    3. Not become too appealing to the general population.
    4. Be brewed in its own brewery, but
    5. Not be brewed in a brewery that is too big.
    6. Not have a brand or advertise widely.

    That just seems to me like six steps to great homebrew.

  • Simon Cooke says:
    March 4, 2012 at 10:18 am · Reply

    interesting infographic definition on the US scene: http://visual.ly/how-indie-brewers-are-outpacing-beer-industry-growth

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