YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION?
I’m not sure where to start, and I’ll try to keep this short, but here goes…
I’m in the craft beer business. You may have heard in media reports that craft beer is growing at a healthy clip. You beer geeks are among the most ferociously loyal group and you know it. All appears well, you’d say.
Not so fast. There’s an 800 pound gorilla in the room. It has a name: AB InBev. They would love to keep things the way they are (or maybe as they were just a few years ago.) You know, advertise like there’s no tomorrow to convince you to drink beer without character. (I’m not saying it’s bad beer…) They are currently doing everything in their power to keep craft beer out of the media.
Huh? A little independent film came out last year that’s made quite a splash. A little splash. It’s possible you didn’t even get wet. The film? Beer Wars.
Interestingly, this film was made by a woman who has an alcohol allergy and can’t even drink beer. She used her savings and even took out loans to get it finished. The film is startling, though, both in content and in passion. If you’ve matured to appreciate the karma of honest beer, you get mad. And proud. Beer Wars is to movies as, well, Food, Inc or Supersize me is to movies. Even if you’re not a beer fan, (though that’s hard to believe if you’ve read this far,) you can appreciate the David vs. Goliath theme.
She’s having trouble getting the mainstream to hear about it.
Of course, you beer geeks have heard of it. Many of you have even seen it. Saint Joan and I had the privilege of seeing it at Tom and Kim’s house while drinking some damn good beer recently. (Thanks guys!)
So what’s the point here?
The craft brewing industry is still small by comparison. It’s a collection of independent-minded folks who do what they do because they want to do it. And we’re in for the battle of our lives. This battle is for mind share.
Way down south they had a jubilee,
Them Georgia folks, they had a jamboree.
They were drinking homebrew from a wooden cup,
The folks that were dancin' there got all shook up.
— Chuck Berry, Rock 'n' Roll Music
(continued in next column...)
Join Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub on Facebook and leave a comment.
(...continued from first column)
In 2007, Anheuser Busch spent $1.36 billion in advertising. That’s with a B. That year, they were the 22nd largest advertiser in America. On top of that, they have a very strong lobbying voice in Washington.
One example of those efforts is that beer labels are not required to list ingredients nor alcohol content. What other food product can get away with that? They have their control in Washington. What does that influence cost them? Well, in 2009, AB spent a grand total of about $3 million. That’s with an M. I guess that goes to show you that Congress can be bought cheap. Amazing, isn’t it?
The U.S. brewery count in 2009 was 1,525, the highest number of breweries in this country in over 100 years. Sales volume for the craft brewery segment was $6.3 billion. Compare that to AB’s advertising budget.
So why haven’t you heard about Beer Wars on Letterman or Leno ( or r.i.p. Conan.) Or even Jimmy Kimmel. Oprah? Simple. AB InBev doesn’t want you to. Who’s going to talk about it if the possibility exists that advertising dollars will evaporate? (In case you don’t think that can happen, look what Toyota dealers are doing right now.) This is where you come in.
If you love honest beer—craft beer—don’t let your favorite pint get steamrolled by The Man. Make no mistake. Craft beer is a threat to the big boys. No doubt, we’ve got bigger problems in our country than Beer Wars. Collectively, though, our woes a million little problems. Most of which we can’t do much about. You can do something about this one, though.
Watch Beer Wars. Then let your friends know about it. Tell your friends to tell their friends. Together, let’s control what we love. The craft brewing industry doesn’t have a multi-billion dollar advertising budget. It doesn’t have a team of lobbyists. But it has one special thing of value.
It has you.
If you haven’t seen it, watch Beer Wars. The links below will get you there.
Then, let everyone else in on our secret. Let’s use the power of your favorite social networking method, be it your blog, Facebook or Twitter. We can do it. YOU can do it.
You say you want a revolution ?
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
--The Beatles, Revolution
What’s at stake is the next pint of craft beer in front of you.
Cheers!
Lenny Kolada
aka Brewdood
Resources:
Beer Wars: The Trailer
Beer Wars: Call to Action
Beer Wars: On Demand, Download, DVD
Barley's
Smokehouse & Brewpub Ale House No. 2 ... 1130 Dublin Road Columbus OH 43215