You shouldn't have to be this guy to find out who made your beer

On my CBC column last Friday, I did something a bit out of the ordinary for me. It is something I have been contemplating for a while, and have done in little bits and snippets while discussing other topics. I decided it was time to talk openly about the growing trend toward Pseudo-Craft beer. You know what I am talking about – beer that is packaged, named and marketed to appear like a craft brew, but is really a standard lager or large-production-style beer of some sort.

In the column I decided to distinguish between craft and pseudo-craft not so much by ingredients or flavour, but by marketing. To quote myself, I define pseudo-craft beer as “beer sold in a manner to obfuscate rather than illuminate”. In other words the real origins, ingredients and style of the beer is cloaked, rather than placed upfront.

The column starts simply enough by going after one of my favourite targets – Alexander Keith’s IPA – because of their gall to sell a pale lager as an IPA is unparalleled. But I shift into an analysis of Molson’s new Six Pints division, and suggest that we may be seeing the beginning of a pseudo-craft beer war between the two big boys. That, however, remains to be seen.

The second half is a bit more interesting, in my opinion. I decided to highlight Minhas Craft Brewing and dissect some of their strategies. I won’t go into detail here, as you can listen to the column if you wish. But I use them as an example of how pseudo-craft operates. I have spoken with one of the owners, and so was careful to also provide their side of the story.

Why did I do this now? Well, to be frank my experience with Chocolate Bunny American Stout in Calgary’s Craft Beer Market was infuriating. I was very frustrated at the lengths I had to go to to figure out who brewed this beer. The origins of every other beer on their extensive selection was obvious and upfront – but this beer required the skills of Lt. Columbo. The beer itself was a mediocre example of a stout, but nothing too embarrassing. So why hide where it comes from?

Plus, I have to admit, the dishonesty of it all irritates me – as I mention in the CBC column. I value honesty in advertising and the disingenuous nature of their marketing gets to me.

Too many times in the last couple of years have friends and family come to me, freshly arrived from the liquor store, boasting of this new find they had never heard of. Upon inspection, I reluctantly inform them they have bought a knock-off craft beer. It has been these experiences that tell me something needs to be done.

No one would defend a company making Gucci knock-offs, or selling pirated videos at retail price. So why do we stay silent when certain companies pretend to be players in the craft market when their beer clearly doesn’t stand up to the scrutiny? I will do so no more. Expect more out of me on this topic in coming months.

For now, listen to the CBC column that launched it all.