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Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

theatlantic.com

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Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#101

Post by King-Aaron »

plandis wrote: post #55
wickawic wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think edibles will be mostly taken over by concentrates. Instead of (in WA for ex.) paying $40 for 10 10mg edibles, I’ll pay $20 for enough concentrate to make 80 edibles.

Do you have any good guide? I’d be interested but don’t where to start. I might try if it’s easy enough to make something that doesn’t taste like I’m eating plants.

Pro tip: Make savoury food. Anything with a high oil/butter content is good, and because it's savoury the "plant" flavour can be more easily masked by other herbs than you can in sweets.

Personally, I find stroganoffs to be really good, as well as things like small pies/quiches that you can mix the butter into the pastry.

Note: I haven't tried any American edibles and not sure how well the sweets mask the flavour - but for the home cook, a sausage roll that then welds you to your sofa is a good thing!

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#102

Post by steveax »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #84
rb808 wrote: post #79

What I dont understand is that in Europe there are dozens of delicious lagers, in the US I can't find any local copies. Mexican or Central American beers come closest. Surely with literally hundreds of microbrewery options there should be something close. Any recommendations?

Craft brewers don't do many lagers for two reasons. The first is that they're "boring". You can already get lots of different mass market lagers, and they're all similar. The second reason is that they're hard to brew. You can hide the fact that you're a shit brewer behind malt and hops (to an extent). You can't cover up poor technique in a lager. The big megacorps have got their technique down to a tee.

They typically take longer to finish as well.

That said, I’ve been encouraged by more lagers from craft breweries showing up. There are some terrific ones that have been around for a long time too, say Prima Pils from Victory.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#103

Post by spelunker »

sigil wrote: post #53

Summary: benevolent regulation caused the craft beer boom. I call bullshit. Look at this graph [1] and tell me again how great the three-tier system was for market diversity. America went from 700 post-Prohibition breweries to less than 100 in 1978. That was the year homebrewing was legalized, and it's a pretty steady climb back up from there. Brewpubs -- which circumvent the three-tier system and its all-too-easily-…

Arguably one of the reasons why craft beer has exploded in Colorado (and probably other states as well) is because small breweries can circumvent the three-tiered system.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#104

Post by cycrutchfield »

mberning wrote: post #70

It’s very hard for me to reconcile. I love what craft brewing has done for the industry. But it has gone to a ridiculous and antithetical place. The culture has more in common with wine than beer at this point. It is no longer an “Everyman” drink. Waiting in line for releases. $10 and $15 pours. It’s a turnoff.

Yes, there is price differentiation between the low end and high end now, but it’s not even close to the magnitude that wine has. And, besides, what exactly is wrong with that?

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#105

Post by stickfigure »

EpicEng wrote: post #99
adventured wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree the movement is likely nearing saturation on total number of microbreweries. However, $10 +/- a few dollars, for a six pack, is not a problem. The mediocre old domestics cost $7 to $10 around most of the US. Paying more is perfectly fine for a superior tasting product. Product price scaling works that way in most consumer goods, it makes sense.

>The mediocre old domestics cost $7 to $10 around most of the US No they don't, not even close. The beers you're referring to cost that for a _12_ pack. 6 packs are ~$5.50, and you can walk into a bar and get a draft old domestic for around $2.00. Wherever you're buying your e.g. Bud Light, it doesn't represent "most places".

you can walk into a bar and get a draft old domestic for around $2.00

Not in San Francisco.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#106

Post by pyoung »

plantsbeans wrote: post #83
sigil wrote: post #53

Summary: benevolent regulation caused the craft beer boom. I call bullshit. Look at this graph [1] and tell me again how great the three-tier system was for market diversity. America went from 700 post-Prohibition breweries to less than 100 in 1978. That was the year homebrewing was legalized, and it's a pretty steady climb back up from there. Brewpubs -- which circumvent the three-tier system and its all-too-easily-…

I think the author made the same point. The three tier system didn't help, but once there was an exception for craft brewers there was an opening, because the three tier system maybe prevented eg. chains of cheap bars run by AB.

Yeah, the author didn't quite connect the dots, but the general point was there.

'Craft Brewery economics' are really interesting. The margin on beer sold out of the brewery taproom is insane, 400-600%, largely because they are selling the beer at 'normal' bar prices but don't have to split the profits with middlemen or worry about transportation costs as the beer is made on site. However, if they go through the normal distribution channels in order to sell at grocery stores and other bars, apparently the margins are much closer to 5%-10%. According to some of the industry publications, there has been a bit of a retrenchment going on as a bunch of breweries overextend themselves to try and grab market share through distribution and got stuck selling low margin beer in a really competitive market.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#107

Post by pm90 »

40acres wrote: post #5

I wonder if marijuana will also be able to avoid being crushed and consolidated by monopolies. I don't think the cigarette industry was able to avoid it but I am not well versed on tobacco industry regulations. My gut tells me that since at the end of the day marijuana is an agricultural commodity large players will come to dominate the market. But on the other hand there is a decent variety in strain types and flavo…

MJ is an interesting product in that its not a carcinogen like tobacco. Its classification as a Schedule 1 drug has been entirely because of some racist elements of the US government making it illegal in the US.

Anyways, the point is that it can be used in various forms. I see a bright future in the edibles industry. I find it hard to believe that any of the traditional confectionery companies (which are pretty conservative) will ever embrace edibles since their market is traditionally kids.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#108

Post by intrasight »

partiallypro wrote: post #87

I, for one, absolutely hate the craft beer revolution in the U.S.; a lot of restaurants are changing out their taps of beers that are universally liked for craft beers. It's basically impossible to get a Stella or Heineken on tap now, everything on tap is Bud Light and a ton of craft beers. There are a few places that haven't fallen into this, but it's a big problem. I hate it. I love Belgian and German beers and it…

It's a free world. If you don't like their offerings you can take you business somewhere else. Or you can find a BYOB restaurant and have your choice and also pay less.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#109

Post by clw8 »

40acres wrote: post #5

I wonder if marijuana will also be able to avoid being crushed and consolidated by monopolies. I don't think the cigarette industry was able to avoid it but I am not well versed on tobacco industry regulations. My gut tells me that since at the end of the day marijuana is an agricultural commodity large players will come to dominate the market. But on the other hand there is a decent variety in strain types and flavo…

Huh, on the contrast, I find myself wishing beer flavors were as varied as weed flavors. I frequently find myself trying a new strain and having to smack my lips after each hit because I want to savor the flavor as much as possible.

Re: Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America

#110

Post by aidenn0 »

chipotle_coyote wrote: post #97
aidenn0 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally OT, but maybe someone in this thread knows why my favorite everyman beer (Busch) seems to not be sold in California.

Walmart claims to have it in stock at their store in Mountain View, so I'm guessing it's sold here. I haven't gone looking myself, but Anheuser-Busch certainly distributes their big brands in California. It's possible that Busch itself just isn't that popular out here by mass market standards, though?

Ah, so does the closest wal-mart to me; they definitely didn't have it last time I was in there.
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