It can be hard to tell if that craft beer on the grocery shelf comes from the vats of a small, independent brewer, or if it is the product of a commercial vat. That’s the crux of a new class-action seeking lawsuit that claims Walmart is deceiving consumers with its private label “craft” beer brands in an effort to inflate prices.
A beer drinker’s lawsuit [PDF] filed in the Hamilton Count, OH court of Common Pleas claims that calling the beverages — made in collaboration with Trouble Brewing under the names Cat’s Away IPA, After Party Pale Ale, Round Midnight Belgian White, and Red Flag Amber — craft beer is a “wholesale fiction,” because they’re actually mass-produced.
According to the complaint, Trouble Brewing “doesn’t really exist,” echoing a recent Washington Post article that pointed out the applicant listed on filings with the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is ‘Winery Exchange Inc.’, which has since turned into WX Brands.
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No different than Blue Moon sold at high prices as a craft beer but made by AB-Miller. It's OK to make a profit as far as I know. That's how we all get paid.
ReplyDeleteShouldn't a person buy beer because they enjoy the beer at a price they like not because of the quantity made? I am so sick of the beer snobs who have become just like the wine snobs.
ReplyDeleteI remember Killian's Irish Red being sold at premium prices on tap as an import. It was "imported" from Colorado, where it was produced and marketed by Coors Brewing.
ReplyDeleteFin City is brewed by Peabody brewing Co. in Baltimore. But yet Fin City claims to be Ocean City's oldest brewery. Just like Sam Adams could be a macro brewery if it wanted but it stays under the numbers to be considered a micro brewery. It's all about money. That's why I like drinking local beers knowing it comes from the tanks at the location.
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ReplyDeleteIIRC, at one point they were contract brewing Sam Adams in Latrobe, PA in the former Rolling Rock plant closed after Budweiser bought the RR brand and moved production from rural streams to the waters adjacent to Newark, NJ. Yum!
Sam Adams stepped in it for me when they tried to dictate who should be in the St. Patrick's Day parade in NYC.
So find something you enjoy, and enjoy! Hope Wally World slaps the snot out of the bogus plaintiffs, and is awarded costs and sanctions. Then plaintiffs and their lawyers can truly cry in their beer!