I recently found myself in central Wisconsin for a wedding and when given the choice to go scout out cheese or beer, I naturally went for beer Enter the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I will never pass up a chance to go on a brewery tour regardless of the quality of beer. Call me romantic, or sick if you prefer, but I swoon when I see the gleam of copper, shine of stainless steel and the sweet aroma of the wort. The Leinenkugel brewery was no exception.
We entered the Leine Lodge and signed up for a tour approximately ten minutes later, just enough time to take a lap around the gift shop area and check out the tasting bar. The Miller Coors influence was palpable. It might have been the overabundance of items for sale, the cheesy uniforms or perhaps the "Disney-like" quality of the staff. It felt like you were there to be entertained and they were there to provide the show. Not to say that the staff didn't know their stuff, just that the whole experience was a little too slick.
The tour began with our friendly guide welcoming us to what is clearly a historic brewing site. It was very cool to see a brewery that existed before prohibition still in operation. However I had to bite my tongue as our guide informed the group that they were the 4th largest craft brewery in the U.S. Say what?? I looked to my husband to make sure I heard that right and sure enough I did. Now it is this blogger's opinion that a couple key factors knock you out of "craft beer" status. Number one, they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Miller Coors. Second, they use an adjunct, corn, in the brewing process. Combine these two factors and you have the beer equivalent to false advertising.
Here comes the rant, hold on to your pints! One of the reasons I am so passionate about craft beer is that is comprised of a community of independent brewers that have the freedom to experiment, perfect and bring their unique product to market. Now I am aware that we live in a capitalistic society and that as the popularity of craft beer continues to soar so will the involvement of the larger mass producing breweries. But, what I cannot stand is when the large domestic beer makers masquerade their smaller brands as "craft" breweries. Just be honest about your product! In this instance the only reason that visitors to Leinenkugel's knew that they were owned by MillerCoors was because someone asked the question.
Now that I have said my peace and emptied my glass I know that this will never happen. It is up to us, the craft beer lovers, to be well educated on the source of the beer that is being marketed. I implore you to avoid the craft beer posers, pull out your wallet and invest in the true craft breweries out there.
