Sept. 25--The last time we thought about craft beer (well, for work, anyway) was in 2011 when Anheuser-Busch acquired Chicago's Goose Island brewery for $38.8 million. We wrote that we were excited for Goose but apprehensive that AB, the maker of Bud and Bud Light, might ruin a special hometown product.
That didn't happen. Goose is still great: They age their seasonal stout in bourbon barrels! Even better is how Goose Island's fine selections are now widely available, thanks to Anheuser-Busch's heft. No crying in our suds over that deal.
Since then, a lot has happened to the brewing scene, summed up by the taste of a fresh, delicious Lagunitas IPA at a Chicago pub. Lagunitas, from Northern California, once was a rarity here, but with the explosive popularity of so-called craft brews, the brand is not only easy to find, it's brewed in Chicago at a new Lagunitas facility on West 17th Street.
Lagunitas has fans abroad, too, which explains another significant moment for specialty beers: Heineken, the Dutch beer behemoth, is acquiring 50 percent of Lagunitas. Also this month, MillerCoors snapped up Saint Archer Brewing of San Diego, joining a flurry of deal-making including AB's purchases of Elysian Brewing of Seattle and 10 Barrel Brewing of Oregon, and Spanish brewer Mahou San Miguel buying a 30 percent stake in Founders Brewing of Michigan.
Let's pause for a second, ideally while sipping a Daisy Cutter pale ale from Chicago's Half Acre Beer Co., to put the deals in perspective:
We're at the breakout moment for craft beers, the creative and independent-minded segment of the beverage industry once the domain of oddballs and obsessives. These were the beer snobs who understood first that there was more to life than an ice-cold Coors Light. They were right. Nothing against the big boys, but when your commercial lauds the temperature of the beer because there isn't much to say about the flavor, adventurous drinkers will seek refreshment elsewhere. Cue the startup brewers, who began filling this untapped market with hoppy ales and chocolaty porters.
What's happening is akin to the coffee revolution brought on by Starbucks. American tastes generally are more discerning than a generation or two ago. You can see the trend in supermarket offerings and wine consumption. Now craft beer is exploding: up 18 percent last year, constituting 11 percent of the overall market.
At the same time, big beer's growth is flat. The trend toward craft is one driver of a possible global merger under discussion between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller. They see possible growth abroad but less room to maneuver in the U.S. because drinkers are turning away from brands like Bud. The craft industry's goal is to reach 20 percent market share by 2020. That number doesn't include beers like Goose Island, which is technically not a craft beer because of its corporate ownership.
There's a lot of silly bickering in the industry about identity, and whether a brewer like Lagunitas sells its soul when it sells a stake to Heineken. That's a debate for the geeks. For the rest of us, it's great news because it means more chances to drink more flavorful beer. When the big breweries buy, they make investments and widen distribution. They've already proved themselves to be responsible stewards who won't water down recipes.
The competition is intense. Tribune craft beer writer Josh Noel says there are as many as 75 local breweries. Among the newest is Like Minds Brewing, which moved into a century-old building on the West Side that was once a stockyard warehouse. Get ready for Like Minds' stout with cold press coffee.
"There are so many great things already happening in beer (in Chicago), and we hope we can be part of it," one of Like Minds' founders told Noel.
This is a phenomenon worth celebrating. Chicago as a beer capital? Nice label to have.
