BOULDER, Colo. -- The Brewers Association, a nonprofit association of independent (craft) beer brewers, has created a "seal" to unify craft breweries in the United States.
The association encourages small and independent craft breweries to include the new symbol (see image below) on its packaging.
"This symbol—the independent craft brewer seal—gives beer lovers an easy way to identify true small and independent craft brewers, something they have indicated is important to them," the association said.
Craft-beer makers who recently sold their companies to major beer makers such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, however, say the new logo is divisive to the beer industry at a time when wine and spirits are taking share of the alcohol market.
"They've got to be laughing at us. 'You guys are infighting. This is a civil war.' Meanwhile, there's this armada coming across the ocean," said Walt Dickinson, co-founder of Wicked Weed Brewing, which joined A-B's The High End business unit in May. "[Wicked Weed brand] Pernicious was a craft-beer IPA two months ago; I'm pretty sure it's still a craft IPA now."
Andy Ingram, brewmaster of Four Peaks Brewing Co., which was acquired by The High End in December 2015, said the new craft-beer logo hurts both the industry and consumers.
"When the major trade organization says that it doesn't matter what's in your glass as long as it's independent, and they're telling consumers that, that's a big issue," he said in a video (see below) distributed by The High End. "You're saying go ahead and drink crap just as long as you're not supporting the big guys. That's not healthy. It's not a good way to go forward."
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