The Mysteries of Contract Brewing Revealed
Posted by brian from www.pastemagazine.com
Pin it! 
The craft brewing industry has jumped the shark when people are doing stuff like this. I get the utility of what is being provided by contract brewers but what happened to actually just brewing your own damn beer?
2 comments
Login to comment →
trigjoh 7 years, 6 months ago
Brian, I've got no problem with these type of arrangements, while its brewery helping brewery, and not corporate outsourcing (I think of Sam Adams in this regard) then I see it as a good thing. Helps spread beers further than their backyard.
Reply
brian 7 years, 6 months ago
I certainly don't have a problem with it as it is described in this article, but I think he is painting the contract brewing they are doing in the best light possible and glossing over some important parts.
If it is an established brand that actually just needs extra capacity, that makes sense and I am all for it. However, I am starting to see more and more "breweries" that aren't and never were brewing their own beer. They simply pay someone to create (or borrow) the recipes and hire a contract brewer to make them. Even in Kansas I am starting to see "breweries" pop up that don't actually have a physical brewery. People will buy it because it is "local". Meanwhile they are simply outsourcing the entire process.
It sounds like, at least according to this guy he is merely providing extra capacity for well established brands, but I suspect that may be only part of the truth.
Reply