Contract brewing has been raising waves across the Tasman. The debate started at Australian Brews News, and contract brewing was one of the topics that inspired Radio NZ’s This Way Up program to look at New Zealand craft brewing last month.
Much of the Australian discussion centred on McLaren Vale Beer Company. McLaren Vale is in South Australia, and the McLaren Vale Beer Company’s beer is contract brewed in Sydney while a brewery is being built in McLaren Vale itself.
McLaren Vale is a wine producing region, and it jealously protects is labelling, and some have seen the beer company’s approach as being deceptive.
I struggle to have any problem with their contract brewing. For one thing, the place where a beer is made has little influence on its taste. I’m much more interested in where the ingredients come from. US, English and New Zealand hops, for example, are all very different and don’t we love them for it. A beer made in New Zealand with US hops can accurately call itself an American Pale Ale – the fact it isn’t made in America does not make the label misleading.
I think there are some cultural differences between New Zealand and Australian beer fans, because I just don’t see any ethical problem with contract brewing. Perhaps it comes from parochialism and loyalty to their state, but I suspect there are factors to this debate that we don’t know about over here. Speaking personally, I think of all New Zealand craft brewers as being interesting. I don’t favour, say, North Island brewers over South Island ones just because I live on the North Island.
Here in New Zealand we have a healthy tradition of contract brewing in the craft beer industry. Yeastie Boys may have started the trend, and I’ve never heard anyone complain that their product is actually made in Invercargill and not in Wellington.
Contract brewing allows brewers to make use of spare capacity and get access to new ideas and recipes. It allows the contractors to brew in bulk and take advantage of the brewers’ commercial experience.
The only catch I can see is commercial, rather than ethical. Contract brewing works by paying a fee to the brewer – somewhere between 25c/l and $2.50/l depending on the deal, according to those in the industry. As production increases, it can reach a point where it would be cheaper to own your own equipment and get some economies of scale.
Rather than arguing over ethics, New Zealanders have been rushing to get into contract brewing this year. One of the most popular beers at the Matariki Festival was the contract-brewed Brewaucracy’s Punkin’ Image Ltd. Parrot Dog Brewing has just put down its first batch, contract-brewed at Mikes in Taranaki. Mikes has also linked up with Liberty to produce the very excellent indeed Taranaki Pale Ale. And of course, Yeastie Boys, 8 Wired and Epic have been using the contract brewing model for years.
Collaboration brews take contract brewing a step further, and this is a growing trend here too. Various star brewers have been visiting Galbraith’s brewery in Auckland to produce special one-off beers collaboratively, and Rescue Red is a charity fundraiser collaboration between Yeastie Boys, 8 Wired and Renaissance.
I like our approach here. The craft beer industry is too small for cutthroat competition, and collaborating to make better beer while growing the overall market is the way to go.
Originally posted on NZBeerBlog.com
Put perfectly. I have been trying to write this article but hadn’t been able to get it right.
First off this article comes across somewhat biased when it arrives in my RSS reader with a McLaren Vale Beer Company ad on the bottom.
Ignoring that and moving on.
I don’t think the McLaren Vale debate is really about contract brewing but more about deceptive marketing. Their whole marketing campaign revolves around making people think the beer comes from McLaren Vale when in truth it doesn’t.
They have, however, successfully convinced the average beer drinker that it does. Mention to someone as they order a pint of it over the bar that it’s not made in McLaren Vale and generally they react with surprise and disappointment – they have been deceived. It’s no different to brands like Peroni and Becks appearing on the imported beer list when they are brewed in Sydney. It’s a lie.
The Yeastie Boys comparison is not a fair one, they don’t rely on an world renowned wine region to sell beer. In fact we don’t care where the beer is made because it’s excellent, the beer speaks for itself and the brand stands on it’s own. It is the same story with other successful brewers using the contract brewing business model.
McLaren Vale Beer Company is a triumph in marketing there is no doubt, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that the issue is contract brewing, it’s not. Instead ask yourself if the words “McLaren Vale” weren’t in the company name would this beer be as successful as it is today? Would it even stand on it’s own as a craft beer?
Regardless of where beer is made claiming a region is meaningless marketing. Where it was brewed has nothing to do with the end product.
I disagree that claiming a region is “meaningless”. It is the main reason McLaren Vale Brewing has been so successful.
The end product is not the issue and is largely irrelevant in this debate. Contract brewing is not the issue and I agree with the sentiment of the above article in that it should be embraced – it’s a good thing for beer lovers.
If your beer is good it should stand on it’s own without marketing gimmicks. I don’t care where it’s brewed, unless you lie to me about it.
To keep with the McLaren Vale Beer Company example I don’t believe they have ever lied about where their beer is made. I’m pretty sure they have never claimed their beer is made anywhere other than where it is made.
I’m personally more interested in what goes into the beer and how it is made. I would like to see brewers list all their ingredients on the label. I would like it if they told me how they make the beer too.
Aaron, you should have seen the website before they quickly changed it just recently. It went on and on about hailing from McLaren Vale” “Now McLaren Vale had a beer it could call its own” etc etc. They seemed pretty keen to associate themselves with that region as strongly as possible – why do you think they did that?? If you were ok with being honest about where it was brewed why would you organise a PO Box in McLaren Vale for orders which then must have been redirected to Sydney. Region usually isn’t important with beer but in this case it was all about region and sadly it was all in name only. Be honest / don’t be silly!!
Over in the US The Boston Brewing Company one of America’s biggest microbrewers for a long time contract brewed their beer and now the their two production facilities are based in Pennsylvania and Ohio.Thier Sameual Adams Brewery in Boston is basically a pilot/ showcase brewery ,
Happoon Brewery who are Boston Based have their main production facility in Vermont ,
Brooklyn Brewery has most of thier production contract brewed by FX Matt in upstate New York .
Many breweries in the US are renting space to brewers under what are called Alternate Proprietorship agreements that are recognised by the TTB, so a brewer can come in and brew and rent the brewery for a day or two and use up any unused capacity at a microbrewery ,The beer from a Alternate Proprietorship is taxed at a lower rate than Contract brewed beer .
This is becoming boring; you could have this argument about any product selling in a supermarket. I think lack of marketing is one thing preventing faster growth of Aussie craft beer; both is sales and consumer awareness.
If the beer tastes good – drink it and buy another. End of conversion.