Scan barcode
A review by whatsbookinjenni
Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch, and How Craft Beer Became Big Business by Josh Noel
informative
slow-paced
4.5
I have been fascinated with craft breweries since frequenting and falling in love with Imminent Brewing (Northfield, MN) since shortly after my 21st birthday. I always found the community spirit at that brewery to be so uplifting and loved discovering beers that I truly loved (I personally have always thought Budweiser, Coors, and Miller all taste like garbage) brewed by people with a love and talent for the craft. In all aspects of my life, shopping local is one of my top priorities, in large part due to the power small, innovative businesses have in building community, and so patronizing and supporting craft breweries became a natural extension of that for me.
This all meant that when I first heard about this book, at some point in the year after my 21st birthday, I knew I wanted to read it. And boy was I impressed! This was one of the most well-research, engaging non-fiction books that I have read in a long time. The history of craft brewing is fascinating, as are the political and business machinations that have happened in recent years. Because of the ways in which craft breweries position themselves in our larger capitalist system (as the antithesis to the “big bad” corporations of the world—similar in some ways to independent bookstores), the inevitability of profits overtaking authenticity and integrity is heart-breaking, but, as Josh Noel argues, somewhat inevitable. The breakdown of craft beer was made more circumspect by the likes of brewery founders like Josh Noel, who approached the creation of a brewery not out of a love of the craft but as a viable business venture. For these reasons, this book brought to my mind a lot of questions about the power small businesses have against more powerful corporations, as well as the power we have as consumers in pushing back against the products of corporations and supporting local products.
The reason I knocked it down half a star was not necessarily a fault of the book, as this book is about business, but sometimes the business discussion just went over my head. Additionally, there are a lot of players at the different companies in question that get name-dropped quite frequently, often without their title/role, which often confused me. Other than that small critique, I loved this book. If you are also interested in craft brewing, behind-the-scenes looks at business acquisitions, and/or the lack of souls that large multi-national corporations have, I would highly recommend this book!
This all meant that when I first heard about this book, at some point in the year after my 21st birthday, I knew I wanted to read it. And boy was I impressed! This was one of the most well-research, engaging non-fiction books that I have read in a long time. The history of craft brewing is fascinating, as are the political and business machinations that have happened in recent years. Because of the ways in which craft breweries position themselves in our larger capitalist system (as the antithesis to the “big bad” corporations of the world—similar in some ways to independent bookstores), the inevitability of profits overtaking authenticity and integrity is heart-breaking, but, as Josh Noel argues, somewhat inevitable. The breakdown of craft beer was made more circumspect by the likes of brewery founders like Josh Noel, who approached the creation of a brewery not out of a love of the craft but as a viable business venture. For these reasons, this book brought to my mind a lot of questions about the power small businesses have against more powerful corporations, as well as the power we have as consumers in pushing back against the products of corporations and supporting local products.
The reason I knocked it down half a star was not necessarily a fault of the book, as this book is about business, but sometimes the business discussion just went over my head. Additionally, there are a lot of players at the different companies in question that get name-dropped quite frequently, often without their title/role, which often confused me. Other than that small critique, I loved this book. If you are also interested in craft brewing, behind-the-scenes looks at business acquisitions, and/or the lack of souls that large multi-national corporations have, I would highly recommend this book!