The Power of Homebrewing

Many speculate on the fate of craft beer in America (and the world for that matter). Ranging from intense optimism to dismissive criticism, most people know that craft beer is growing but all have different thoughts on the future. These opinions come in a few different variations.

First, the extreme optimist believes the market will continue to grow at a steady rate, and all the small craft brewers will remain true and not sell-out. While this ideal world sure would be nice, it certainly does not hold much truth based on what we know about business and history. As we have seen time and time again, big markets eventually are compressed down to a few key players that dominate.. Many craft breweries are going to fail (many have already), and some are going to be bought out (i.e. Goose Island). 

Second, you will catch the occasional person who claims that craft is really just a fad that will quickly die. Dedicated craft beer enthusiasts would be quick to knock this down and with good reason: craft beer is simply too popular to go away. However, craft beer enthusiasts would need to consider the source before quickly going on the defensive. Naysayers proposing the "fad" opinion generally do not drink craft beer very often and have not really been a part of the growing market. It makes sense they would perceive a fad, based on their limited exposure to the movement. Rest-assured though, it seems pretty clear the movement has many die-hard followers, who are not going anywhere. At least, not anytime soon. 

This leads me to the last opinion of the cynical ones who think believe all the craft players will eventually be bought out and the movement will end. Unfortunately, this is probably closer to the truth. Go watch the wonderful movie, Beer Wars. The movie highlights some key points about the big players' iron grip on the market. With less than 7% of the market share, craft brewers have to fight for shelf space and tap space. This fight for such a small market could mean many of the small brewers will have to sell out to larger companies or be forced to go out of business. 

It seems like a terrible end to such a passionate movement, but it really does not have to be that bad. This will not be likely to happen because the craft market is firmly established and die-hard customers have a lot of clout with their dollar. If In-Bev buys a favorite local company, it really does them no good to intentionally hurt the quality of the product. Craft beer is here to stay, regardless of who owns it.

Even more important, is growing popularity of homebrewing. For argument's sake, lets say In-Bev buys up all of the local breweries and makes them all produce Budweiser Chelada over and over. Everyone would still have the last weapon left in the arsenal, homebrewing. Everyone can, and should, try to homebrew. With enough research, dedication, and effort, you can make fantastic beer. If one of the your local companies stops making your favorite beer, then do some research and learn how to clone it. Most likely its probably pretty simple. You really just need the proper time, equipment, and knowledge.

Homebrewing will always be the voice of the people. If you do not like where the market is going then brew your own. Until In-Bev buys all the local homebrew shops and forces them to only sell Bud Light Lime kits.