The industrialization of craft. How brewers sell themselves out.

Did you know that some so called craft breweries use mice to brew beer? This is a little known fact and it is showing up more and more in today’s craft beer market. Of course I am not talking about the four legged creatures that live in the shadows. I am talking about a computer mouse. That’s right, more and more "craft" beer is brewed from behind a computer. Some may say that this is a natural evolution as the market needs more craft beer. Ok, but is removing humans from the craft brewing process the evolution that we need?

Lets start with a similar example. Compare your favorite local burger joint (lets call them a craft burger joint) with McDonalds. Your craft burger joint sources fresh, local ingredients and transforms them into something spectacular. They work hard on creating the perfect recipes. They offer daily specials that showcase their creativity. Their passion is evident in everything that they do. McDonalds on the other hand, pre-cooks all of their products in a factory somewhere and ships them to your nearest McDonalds. ?Any special menus or burgers are decided by the bosses who are thousands of kilometers away. Consistency is the most important thing and employees are paid as little as possible as their work is seen as “low skilled”. Many of us would probably say that the craft burger joint is the better option. Some would prefer the consistency of McDonalds. In any case, I think we can all agree that McDonalds is not a craft burger restaurant. But even though your preferred local burger joint seems to be doing the right things, they may be just one decision away from following the path of McDonalds. In 1940, McDonalds was the preferred local burger joint. Today they are the worlds largest fast food chain. The decision to grow can be seen as a good sign, but the idea of craft wont be coming along for the ride.

Most craft breweries start out with the craftiest of intentions. They want to push back against the idea that beer is a “yellow fizzy liquid” and offer a product with immense flavor, and creativity. They also want to do it with their hands! This is, in fact, the definition of craft: “an activity involving skill in making things by hand”. These craft brewers work hard day and night to get everything right, and to sell something that they can be proud of. The business is not the objective, the beer is.

If all goes well, these craft brewers may need to grow in order to respond to an increasing demand. When these growth plans get financing, the purpose shifts from product to profit and craft takes the back seat. Doing more with less by replacing humans with machines, and simplify as many tasks as possible to get those costs down! Your local craft brewery, once passionate about the craft of brewing (similar to that local burger joint), has unknowingly left the realm of craft. No more talking about the grams per liter in the latest DDH IPA. Its time to focus on cost per liter and buying in to new distribution channels.

And now let’s talk about the mice. In order to facilitate this growth, many of our local (ex)craft breweries are now fully automated industrial breweries. The entire brewing process is controlled by a computer. There is no need to touch the raw materials, empty out the spent grain, or manage the fermentation curve. Everything is done from an app on their phone. Their “craft” beer is brewed with the same methods as those big 5 breweries who pump out the “yellow fuzzy liquid” that they were so sick of. This is a real life example of “a?betrayal?of one's principles for reasons of expedience”. Yep… they sold out.

The human hand should not be removed from craft beer production. It should be promoted and protected so as to maintain craft beer as an art form. The industrialization of craft beer discredits the art, and the only winner in the industrialization game are the shareholders. So the next time you hear a craft brewery talking about how craft beer is a lifestyle and not a way of working, ask them one simple question, “Are you brewing with mice, or with men?”