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The \u2018Surplus\u2019 of Collaboration Brews<\/h2>\n
As a craft beer aficionado, whenever a pair of breweries get together to collaborate on creating a beer, it\u2019s always an extra-special, sought-after release. These beers, in the eyes of the beer-holder, contain an \u2018extra;\u2019 a surplus of enjoyment beyond that of the (non-collab) beer beside it on the shelf. Craft beer collaborations are seen in a slightly different way, as if you\u2019re getting a two-for-one; an additional greatness from the combined forces of the respective breweries.<\/p>\n
Of course, the experience, in the end, never really lives up to the hype you created in your head (although that is true for everything, I believe). And of course, just because two breweries work together, does not necessitate they\u2019ll do so well or successfully. But there\u2019s clearly that special sort of allure with a brewery collaboration beer release.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n There\u2019s another aspect of craft beer collaborations that\u2019s alluring for a different set of reasons though. Brewery collaborations highlight a sense of community and shared purpose \u2013 of producing great beer to be enjoyed by all (i.e., the community). Collaborations work to extend the communities by joining them together; introducing each community to the \u2018taste\u2019 of the other\u2019s. <\/p>\n I\u2019d say that collaborations within craft beer act to symbolize what the craft beer industry sees itself as (or, at the very least, sells itself as): as a community-building product, able to transcend the limits of a typical product\u2019s purpose of consumer use and capitalist profit. The very essence of collaboration between two would-be competitors stands for this. (To be sure, when was the last time Adidas and Nike collaborated on a shoe together?).<\/p>\n And their collaborations go beyond beer (\u2026I did just say that\u2026). Craft breweries will collaborate with local businesses in other sectors as well. They work with local farmers for unique produce to use with new recipes. Breweries work with local clothing designers for creating merchandise. They collaborate with local artists on branding. They fundraise for charities and non-profit organizations. Breweries host local Business Improvement Area board meetings. And so on. This all works to unite their community further, of course. <\/p>\n Craft beer collaborations are beer releases that give body to the extra, surplus of enjoyment that any craft beer drinker gets from drinking craft beer: access and participation to a world that celebrates local community and exclusive releases.<\/p>\n \u201cTo drink Craft is to drink exclusivity<\/em> itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Indeed, when one drinks craft beer, it is never just a beer that they are drinking \u2013 they are always drinking Craft<\/em>. And to drink Craft is to drink that exclusivity<\/em> itself. The appeal of craft beer is not merely or only (or really) the beer, but the extra enjoyment such a beer promises us access to (#limitedrelease, #[insert your city\u2019s name here]craftbeer, or even #supportlocal).<\/p>\n For sure, a lot of this is really marketing. In the end, breweries are businesses acting within a capitalist economy. It\u2019s a matter of how we say things, isn\u2019t it? While two breweries collaborating together, indeed, may \u201cwork to extend the communities by joining them together,\u201d the breweries are, at the same time, also extending their markets by tapping into each other\u2019s consumer base. <\/p>\n You may have already thought that at least four paragraphs ago.<\/p>\n This is the paradox of craft beer: a community-building product that prides itself on inclusivity is<\/em> also, at the same time<\/em> a product that exploits its consumers\u2019 enjoyment of access to an exclusive community.<\/p>\n The world has changed\/is changing in dramatic ways, beginning 9 months or so ago. Craft beer collaborations began by Other Half Brewing<\/a> (\u201cAll Together IPA\u201d) and then Weathered Souls Brewing<\/a> (\u201cBlack Is Beautiful Stout\u201d) introduced a different sort of brewery collaboration.<\/p>\n Other Half Brewing in New York, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shutting down of industries, in particular the hospitality industry, created an IPA that they sold with 100% of the proceeds being donated to their local hospitality workers. The branding and recipe was then shared across the globe, inviting every brewery to brew their own version of the All Together IPA<\/a> to raise funds for hospitality workers in their own area.<\/p>\n After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police and the anti-racism social uprising that quickly ensued, San Antonio-based Weathered Souls Brewing took Other Half\u2019s lead, creating the Black Is Beautiful Stout<\/a> and inviting breweries from around the world to produce their own spin on it. 100% of the proceeds are donated to local legal defence funds for those who have been wrongfully convicted and\/or to police brutality reform projects.<\/p>\n For these collaborations, breweries brewed the same beer differently separately together: the beer collaboration itself is a paradox wrapped up inside a paradox! <\/p>\n But these are not really beer collaborations. Breweries are not brewing together nor brewing the same beers here, but every beer being brewed does share the same extended purpose of every other beer being brewed. The collaboration here is really not about the beer, but (almost) entirely about the purpose<\/em>. Indeed, for these initiatives, the breweries collaborate on affecting their communities together \u2013 they do not really collaborate on beer<\/em>.<\/p>\n Other Half\u2019s All Together initiative currently has more than 850 breweries from across the world participating. Weathered Souls\u2019 Black Is Beautiful initiative has had almost 1200 breweries brew their stout to date. While there are hundreds of breweries brewing the beers, the exclusivity of each particular brewery\u2019s version, combined with the allure of participating in helping to build\/prop up the community, means these beers sell out quickly, sometimes in an instant.<\/p>\n The success of both is astounding and totally awesome. That said, it\u2019s maybe not as surprising as we may first think, given how well the product manifests the real appeal of Craft: participation in an exclusive community (i.e., limited release) that helps build the community around it. Which is to say that these craft beer collaborations introduce a new paradigm of Craft collaborations. And I\u2019ll say again: they\u2019re astoundingly awesome. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s also somewhat astounding to me that not every brewery has participated in these projects. Now, certainly, we\u2019re not in some period of economic expansion here in this pandemic \u2013 quite the opposite, clearly. I don\u2019t own a brewery, so I cannot<\/em> say that breweries must<\/em> participate in these two particular initiatives, but I will encourage every one of you to ask your local brewery whether or not they have participated, and why they haven\u2019t if that is the case. The more the merrier; if you can, you should<\/em>.<\/p>\n I also would like to see the breweries who have\/are participating continue to produce these two beers (that is, until the support they provide their respective causes is no longer required, I suppose). These collaborations have worked like every craft brewery collaboration should: by extending beyond beer, and to the nth degree in this case. Bottling companies and label makers have donated their services to the initiative. Suppliers have donated ingredients. As long as the beer can avoid costing a brewery anything, why not just make it for the sake of being a Craft brewery, for the sake of building one\u2019s community?<\/p>\n I know \u2013 that is perhaps a naive question. For starters, these financial arrangements cannot sustain themselves ad infinitum<\/em>. But then these arrangements can adapt and change: there may be less proceeds being donated now to offset added costs, we could imagine, but there are still donations being made at the end of the day. Moreover, the messaging of such initiatives continues to be spread, which may in fact be more significant than the fundraising they produce (at least in one instance of the two, to be sure).<\/p>\n Now, I do see the real estate issue here of having these beers take up fermentation tanks for weeks at a time (or longer) when a brewery could have something else fermenting that would bring profit into the brewery. It\u2019s clear that there\u2019s an unavoidable cost in a loss of profit, and a few hectolitres of beer (or more) is no small amount of lost potential profits, I must acknowledge. Balance here would of course need to be struck; and certainly many breweries would tell me that they couldn\u2019t afford to \u2018balance\u2019 things long-term, and definitely not during a pandemic.<\/p>\n I get it; it\u2019s true; this is capitalism \u2013 one can\u2019t be working for free! But if you really are going to be Craft, then these sorts of projects must be an integral part of your business long-term. An effort must be made to create such a \u2018balance,\u2019 whatever you can manage to make that balance be, in other words. <\/p>\n It is true that the business may lose (short-term) profits, but you will likely gain other advantages from participating and acting as a leader in your community (which can easily translate into long-term profits \u2013 so in the end, you won\u2019t be working for free). The point here is not that every brewery should brew an All Together IPA and a Black Is Beautiful Stout; rather, the point is that if you are not involved in projects like these (invent your own!), then you may not in fact be a Craft brewery proper.<\/p>\n Your product is a bridge. That\u2019s how you, craft breweries, have always defined it. Indeed, this is part of what it means to be Craft: to be engaged with your community and a part of its growth and improvement. That\u2019s what initiatives like All Together and Black Is Beautiful have carved into higher relief these past 9 months or so.<\/p>\n You are community-builders after all.<\/p>\n Or are you?<\/p>\n Today\u2019s social landscape, in many different ways, but especially and really beginning with these craft beer collaborations from Other Half and Weathered Souls, is asking craft breweries to define their Craft<\/em> more clearly \u2013 not<\/em> in their \u2018brewing philosophy\u2019 (experimentation, ingredient procurement, consistency, blah, blah, blah\u2026), but in what they actually do, in their actions within their community<\/em>. <\/p>\n So, the question to the reader is, \u2018How does your local brewery define their Craft?\u2019<\/p>\nTranscending beer<\/h3>\n
The Craft surplus<\/h3>\n
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The paradox of craft beer<\/h3>\n
\nThe New Craft Beer Collaborations<\/h2>\n
![\"Craft](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pairingwithbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Manantler-All-Together.jpg?resize=676%2C448\")
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It\u2019s astounding<\/h3>\n
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And why stop once you start?<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s gotta be Craft<\/h3>\n
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\nIf you have a response that you would prefer not be published, please do contact me directly<\/a> - I would love to hear your thoughts on any or all of this!<\/pre>\n
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