There was really nothing new in what brewers like Ken Grossman did back in the 70s/80s – after all when German immigrants came to the US in the 19th century they made German style lagers with local ingredients, which were of such a poor quality that they had to innovate and use corn or rice to level off the protein of 6 row barley, they also used American hops like Cluster (as did many English breweries as they were higher in alpha acids than EKG and Fuggles and thus better for bittering). The so-called ‘Classic American Pilsner’ blazed that particular trail long before the craft beer industry was even dreamed of. Just because many craft beer drinkers don’t like such lagers is no reason to airbrush them out of America’s innovative brewing history.

‘Barrel-aging, blending beers, experimenting with wild yeast, turning pale styles dark, brewing with unconventional ingredients, brewing collaboration beers — all examples of innovation in the craft beer industry.’

And all nothing new. The Belgians have been doing all manner of ‘innovative’ stuff with their beer for centuries.

‘Conservatives, purists and outsiders might be skeptical of these so called “bastardization” techniques.;

So basically you are saying that if a person doesn’t see the point of the weird and the ‘wonderful’ (and quite often woeful) then they are outside your little clique? Perhaps the followers of craft beer should start referring to themselves as cultists?

After all, who in their right mind would purposefully infect beer with bacteria and wild yeast?

The Belgians.

Who would purposefully oxidize beers in barrels?

The British, Belgians and every other brewing nation that used wooden vessels before metal became viable.

Why would anyone step outside the boundaries of the Reinheitsgebot and brew beers with crazy adjunct ingredients such as herbs, spices, and fruits?

Pretty much any nation that isn’t Bavaria, and then Germany, as Reinheitsgebot never applied to them and so they just brewed what they had always brewed. Oh and let’s not forget the German brewers working in 19th Century America who happily ditched Reinheitsgebot’s ‘malt-only mania’ when the malt being used wasn’t up to scratch.

And why on earth would anyone want to “share the wealth” by collaborating with competitors?’

You make the craft beer industry sound like some chummy drinking club when the truth is that it is a business just like any other and there have been plenty of examples of breweries bringing in the lawyers to defend trademarks and the like.

I’m a brewer and I don’t agree. Neither does my brewmaster, or several other brewers that have asked me to develop recipes with their beers. Some brewers might not like it, which is fine, they are entitled to their opinions, just like you and I.

While many breweries have reached max capacity, the potential market for craft beer is vast. By introducing more people to the concept, more breweries and pubs stand to benefit, and as a whole, the industry will continue to rise.

Another opportunity to educate.