Craft versus pseudo crafts
First the U.S., then Australia and now Sweden. As BRAUWELT International will argue in an upcoming report on “Craft Brewing in Europe”, micro brewers currently find themselves embroiled in a hot debate over what constitutes an authentic craft beer. With craft beer becoming more popular in several markets, we see more and more crafty-looking me-too launches by the big operators. However, all too often the multinational brewers feel compelled to disguise the origins of their craft beers, probably knowing all too well that ownership is a sore issue in the definition of craft beers.
There is no doubt about the ownership of the latest craft brewing venture in Sweden, though. In January 2013 the U.S. craft brewer Brooklyn Brewery announced it will become the first American micro to open a brewery overseas. The Brooklyn, NY, business is partnering with Carlsberg and D. Carnegie & Co., a Swedish investment group, to build a brewpub in in an upscale central Stockholm neighbourhood called the Brooklyn–New Carnegie Brewery. The brewpub, which will be installed in a converted building, will have a brewing capacity of 8,000 barrels (9,400 hl) and seating for 100 punters inside plus 150 outside.
The USD 5 million brewery is expected to come on stream at the end of 2013. Brooklyn Brewery will create a Swedish subsidiary to operate the plant. Although most of the main Brooklyn beers will still be exported, the company said the focus of its new endeavour is to brew "small-batch specialty beers" under the Carnegie label for devoted Swedes.
Interestingly, although the Carlsberg connection was not played down in the announcement (Carlsberg has imported Brooklyn’s beers in Sweden since 2006), it did not provoke the same kind of ire as did the launch of "corporate-made craft knockoffs" (in the micros’ lingo) such as AB-InBev’s Shock Top IPA or MillerCoors’ Pale Moon brands over in the United States.
Perhaps, this is due to Swedish craft brewers on the whole being too laid-back to work up such anger.
What could also be the case is that Carlsberg and Spendrups already got their come uppance on the blogosphere when they launched their “BB” craft breweries – Spendrups’ Brutal Brewing (2011) and Carlsberg’s Backyard Brewery (2012). Given their often embarrassingly naff labels (viz Brutal Brewing’s Cheap Thrills brand and Carlsberg’s Lawn Mower) and odd packaging choices – in cans! – these products were immediately brandished as “pseuds” by craft savvy Swedish consumers.
It did not help that both Carlsberg and Spendrups made lofty remarks about the physical origins of the craft beers, making everybody wonder if the BBs are merely marketing inventions or actual microbreweries.
Because of these glaringly obvious inconsistencies with craft brewing ideology, the “BB” ventures are widely regarded as blatant attempts at profiteering by the big breweries that want a slice of the dynamically growing craft beer market in Sweden”, as Darren Packman commented on the blog beersweden.se.
It is to be hoped that Swedish consumers already know which is which – which is a genuine craft beer and which isn’t.
Ultimately, however, the entry of the macros into the craft beer segment is a good sign. It underlines that craft beer is here to stay in Sweden and that the values it stands for are being coveted by the big players.
For more insight into Swedish craft brewing, I refer you to my report “Skol! To the IKEA way” in BRAUWELT International 1/2013.
