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The Demand for Microbrews in a Competitive Market

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Many are amazed at the head of steam the trend of good, quality beer has built up in recent years.  For many home brew entrepreneurs, the increasing demand for microbrews and quality beers has made their dreams come true.  The market seems to show little sign of slowing down.  More and more breweries are opening every year at the craft and microbrew level, and even the big companies are trying to compete and keep their formidable chunk of the beer market.  Well, there will always be those who want the cheapest of schwill.  But more and more people want something more out of their beer: nutrition, flavor, and real tradition.

New Belgium

Let’s start with some definitions.  Microbreweries are considered those breweries that produce less than 15,000 barrels a year.  Microbrews also tend to focus on producing the highest quality beer, and in the U.S., this also qualifies most of them as craft breweries.  Unlike bigger breweries, the eye towards quality means that beer is actually made with real barley, hops, and yeast.  The addition of rice and corn found in the cheapest schwill are not found in microbrews.  Although this means an increased cost of up to 60% that of mainstream beers, microbrews manage to do quite well in a consistently shrinking beer market.  Microbrew sales consistently have risen 40% in recent years, with new breweries popping up with regionally-based fans all over the country.  In order to study the methods of the micro breweries success, lets look at one of the biggest success stories.

One beer manufacturer that has risen above the qualifier for microbrews while still maintaining its craft brewery status is New Belgium.  With its very popular flagship beer, Fat Tire, New Belgium has continued in the tradition of craft brewing excellence, even while exponentially increasing its production.  For those interested in the business of beer, New Belgium is a great company to study.  With well-studied brewing expertise they have managed time and time again to upgrade their brewery production without sacrificing quality.

One undeniable aspect of New Belgium’s success is ingenuity and green production techniques.  With a commitment to sustainable production methods, New Belgium has merged ideology with efficiency and some crackin’ good outside the box thinking.  Since 1999, the New Belgium brewery has been powered from 100% renewable energy sources.  30% of the energy that is used to manufacture is harvested from the biodegradation of their own spent grains, and the rest comes from wind power, bought off the grid of the power company with specific earmarking for wind farms.  With other companies scrambling to attain the reputation of being “green”, New Belgium is an example of authentic green thinking and how well green marketing can work if it isn’t just all talk.

Perhaps one reason why New Belgium has been able to achieve such success is that the company is, in a large part, owned by its operators.  After only one year working for New Belgium, employees are given part ownership of the company and a brand new shiny red bicycle.  One aspect of their business which struck me as phenomenal, was their transparent finances policy.  According to their website:

“And, like all responsible business owners, it’s important to know your bottom line, barrels, and books. Meet New Belgium’s practice of open-book management: a policy of fiscal transparency throughout the company that encourages a community of trust and mutual responsibility.”

It seems that finally, there is a precedent for honesty, ingenuity, and integrity in successful business.

In an ever expanding market, it only makes sense that microbreweries are a good investment choice, even in the troubling times of today’s economy.  Even in the toughest of times, people of all economic strata seldom give up the solace of a fine beer.  But more than that, craft brewing is part of a culture that honors fair dealing, hard work, and cultural tradition.  All of this is evident in the policies of one of the most successful craft breweries of the last 20 years – and it can happen again, maybe for you.

Related article: Kegerators.com’s Top 5 Names in Domestic Beer

Health Benefits of Organic Beer

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As the world we live in becomes more and more toxic, eating (and drinking) organic is the most fundamental change towards health that we can effect in our daily lives. With new poisons in the air and the water every day, it only makes sense to cut down on the poisons in any way you can. For those of you new to the concept of Organic foods, it is food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. If it is food that contains many different ingredients, such as beer, then chemical additives and preservatives are also excluded from the product. Organic food and beer help your body to process that food and drink more efficiently – with less of these toxins involved, your liver functions more smoothly. A healthy liver is something that every beer fan should promote in their lifestyle. Although organic products cost a little more, the health benefit – and the taste – is well worth it.

It all started with “health food”. A trend started in the 1960’s to really look closely at how our food was made. People started to discover that most of the food at the grocery store was either sprayed with poisonous pesticides or jam packed full of weird preservatives and chemicals. The Health food store quickly became an important part of the daily routine of eating healthy. Foods found there were local, fresh, or made in a way that was “closer to nature”. As far as beer is concerned, it was the health food stores that first started to carry microbrews, and especially organic beers.

It is true that organic products cost more, and organic beer is no exception. The question is, what price are you willing to pay for food that has never been sprayed with poisons and other chemicals? There is probably no better way to spend your money than on the quality of the food you eat and the beer you drink. Buying organic supports farmers and brewers that have a commitment to making the world a better place – and not poisoning the earth or you. If you consider the grand scale of large scale commercial farming operations in this country, we are lucky that the organic food markets aren’t more expensive.

A fundamental mindset change must take place to enter organic eating into your diet. You must realize that you don’t want to die young, you want to be healthy your entire life, and you are committed to enhancing your quality of life. Organic foods are more flavorful and some studies show that organic foods carry significantly higher levels of vitamins and nutrients. Make no mistake, beer is food. The Soil Association Scotland has shown that organic produce contains between 10 and 15 per cent more phenolics (compound that may fight cancer) than non organic. In addition to being grown pesticide and chemical free, organic products also lack the preservatives and additives that many non-organic products have.

I have been a home brewer for many years, and the change to organic, for me, was an easy one. I made the change to brewing organic beer before I started eating organic. Consistently, I found that organic beers tasted much better than non-organic ones, and that the quality of water used to make the beer was also a very important factor. Luckily for me, some friends in a nearby town told me of an organic home brew supply shop where everything was organic! I quickly became friends with the collective members there and, with access to a large variety of organic malt, extract, and hops, I was well on my way towards organic brewing. The Seven Bridges Cooperative brew store has a healthy mail order business, and you can check them out and place orders for organic brewing ingredients online at www.breworganic.com.

We are lucky that we live in this golden age of micro brews, where local and even organic beer is available across the nation. Microbrew organic beer can be found at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and, of course you local health food co-op or small business. As always, drink it in good health.

The Brew Scholar

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Brew Scholar Diploma

Brewing today is more of a science than ever. With advances in the specialty fields of micro-biotics and plant biology, this science is now receiving praise – and the degree programs – from the highest level of academia. The golden age of microbrews we are living in is giving more and more respect around the board to brewmasters, and has created a whole new field of academia – the brew scholar.

With more and more inventive and daring microbrews being created every year, we are seeing the ancient art of brewing given more and more attention. With a better understanding of what happens on the cellular level during each process of brewing – malting, mashing, fermenting, and kegging – efficient short-cuts and better ways of cleaning and sanitizing are becoming apparent. The advent of science of genetic engineering may provide even more efficient ways of fermenting beer as well. Already on the market is the product known as turbo yeast, which ferments quickly and more efficiently than most regular yeast strains. Alcohol fermented by the use of turbo yeast is used primarily as a fuel source or for distillates.

The use of Ethanol as a fuel source is growing rapidly. In Brazil, ethanol production is high, and new “flex” cars are being manufactured, which can run on either Ethanol, Gasoline, or a mixture of the two. U.S. president George W. Bush even visited there in March 7th of 2007, where he signed agreements with Brazilian president about importing alternative alcohol based technology from Brazil to the United States. The rise in value of Ethanol as an easy fuel to turn to has only increased opportunities for the Brew Scholar. After all, alcohol is most easily manufactured through the art and science of fermentation.

Speaking of which, there is a book by brew scholar and professor of brewing technology at U.C. Davis Charles W. Bamforth called Beer: Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing. This book goes into scientific detail about all aspects of the brewing process, with a mind to a layperson’s understanding of the topics. This is an excellent book for those interested in the details of the process of making beer. This is a good place for a starting home brewer or beer fan to learn more about what they are drinking. Professor Bamforth also gives lectures from time to time, so keep an eye out for his name in your neck of the woods.

One interesting development in the birth of the brew scholar is that many respectable Universities are now offering degrees in brew science. The U.K.’s University at Nottingham has offered since 2006 a master’s course which is open to graduates as well as current brewery employees. Class topics include yeast efficiency, brewery design, and more.

At U.C. Davis, in northern-central California, malting and brewing are taught as part of the bachelor of science degree in Food Science or the master’s degree of science within the Food Science Graduate Group. This is where Professor Bamforth teaches. There are three tiers to the Davis brewing program. First is Introduction to Beer and Brewing, which gets the student familiar with the importance of beer as an international industry, and a basic understanding of how industrial breweries operate. Next is the theoretical class Malting & Brewing Science, which familiarizes the student with all aspects of industrial beer production from growing grains to the point of sale. Thirdly is Practical Malting & Brewing, where the student learns “hands-on” in the brewery and at the lab about analyzing beer and the links of that analysis with production methods.

With the golden age of microbrews going strong, it will be a wonder to see what these new brew scholars can do with beer. We are sure to see more interesting varieties and more efficient beer production thanks to these new degrees. Blue-collar workers finally have something to thank academia for!

Beer Trends in 2007: a summary

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Beer Trends

2007 has been an exciting time for beer. With a public increasingly interested in craft brewing, we have seen a greater variety and tendency towards experimentation from brewers. Even big brewers are now desperately trying to get a piece of the quality beer market. At a time when craft brewers are upgrading to micro-breweries, and some micro-breweries are selling so well that they can’t be called “micro” any more, the abundance these brewers are enjoying is sparking a creativity in brewing that is at an all-time high.

One unforeseen benefit of this golden age of microbrews is the revival of older, or even ancient traditions of brewing, such as cask-conditioned ales. Cask ales have increasingly come to the fore in increasingly craft-brew oriented bars from coast to coast. According to the New York Times in their article Power in the Cask: New Beers, Old Ways, one beer distributor, Union Beer Distributors, has had their accounts more than triple for cask ale sales in 2007. UBD is the leading cask ale distributor for the New York metropolitan area.

In addition to cask ales, recipes for ancient beers have been re-surfacing in the commercial market as a trend. While some varieties have been on sale for many years, such as the Trappist Ales from the monasteries of Belgium and the Netherlands, each year we are seeing more and more ancient recipes on the shelf. Fraoch, the Gruit-style Heather Ale of Scotland was perhaps the first of these ancient recipes to be re-born in a commercial venue. One of the most ancient recipes being re-created recently is Dogfish Head Breweries’ Midas Touch Golden Elixir. This beer is made from the oldest as-of-yet discovered beer of the ancients. According to the Dogfish Head website, their Midas Touch Golden Elixir contains:

“…the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey & saffron found in the drinking vessels in King Midas’ tomb! Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead…”

Both of these ales exemplify a distinct brewing trend apart from that of ancient beers re-incarnated, and that is hop-less ale. Hops have dominated the brewers arsenal for about 700 years, and it is only now that we are seeing the return of un-hopped ales. Before hops took over the scene, the most popular herbs used in beer were part of a concoction known as Gruit. Gruit was outlawed during the 16th to 18th centuries throughout most of Europe, but may see a resurgence, despite its euphoric, aphrodisiacal, and cerebrally stimulating properties.

Gluten-free ale is another innovation which is satisfying a niche market the world round. From Belgium comes Green’s, a brewing company that specializes in such ales in many varieties and flavors. In 2007, Green’s gluten-free ales hit the U.S. market with their blend of sorghum, rice, and millet replacing malted barley in their ales.

With all of these innovations in beer, and the new market that is popping up as a result, we are seeing even big brewing conglomerates attempting to jump on the band wagon. But big brewing companies are in a tight bind when trying to enter the high quality beer arena that has traditionally been the domain of micro breweries. Some are trying to market the same old rice padded malt beverage as a micro brew with some tricks: like adding blue food coloring to ale to try and sell their “blueberry” ale. Others are increasing their malt content for their “select” line of beers – but the slow degradation of mass produced beers has reached such a point that many people (myself included) simply cannot believe that these big corporations are capable of putting out a decent beer. One rule of thumb I have always followed is this: any beer that claims to be “best”, or a “premium” beer most certainly ISN’T. It is especially amusing to me when malt liquor is advertised as “premium”. The big brewing corporations that put out such beer have lost all credibility in the eyes of many beer fans.

It will be interesting to see how these trends develop in 2008. Will big beer corporations be able to get in on the beer-of-quality market? Will more ancient beer recipes be commercially available? Will gluten-free beer technology usurp barley? Will Gruit return to the world? All I can say is, our intentions create the world we live in.