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Every time I load the Beoir homepage, I see the beer festival logo and just think the H word.

Beoir takeover by Heineken on the cards? <!-- s:twisted: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt="" title="Twisted Evil" /><!-- s:twisted: -->

I know that there are differing criteria for "craft" breweries but I struggle to see how a brewery valued at $1bn and with 730 employees would be craft. To produced enough to be valued so highly and to pay the wages of so many they must be pretty similar to the great satan that is macro.
It shows how useless the term craft is. Surely it's time for beer to be classified as good or bad regardless of who brews it.

&amp;quot;CDow&amp;quot;:1ksvam7i wrote: It shows how useless the term craft is.[/quote:1ksvam7i]It's mostly just the medium-sized producers who are clinging on to it, as a way to distance themselves for the giants they increasingly resemble.

It's gone the way of terms such as 'organic' and 'home made'

Interestingly there was a push many years ago to get the term 'industrialised organic' into broader use; maybe we should see if 'industrialised craft' will fly...

Didn't realise how big or valuable the company was. On the one hand I'm disappointed but if it brings craft into countries were craft doesn't yet exist it will probably be a good thing. Heineken is literally everywhere so if hoppy IPA starts popping up beside it on shelves I'll not complain too much. Will still stick to local craft given the chance though.

&amp;quot;irish_goat&amp;quot;:1szmoo5e wrote: Didn't realise how big or valuable the company was. On the one hand I'm disappointed [b:1szmoo5e]but if it brings craft into countries were craft doesn't yet exist it will probably be a good thing[/b:1szmoo5e]. Heineken is literally everywhere so if hoppy IPA starts popping up beside it on shelves I'll not complain too much. Will still stick to local craft given the chance though.[/quote:1szmoo5e]

I know Lagunitas qualified as craft in the US prior to this deal, but didn't qualify under the Beoir definition, why do we still consider it craft? If this is craft ($1bn, 730 employees) then Smithwicks PA and Hop House 13 have to be considered craft. They are most definitely brewed in much smaller batches to Lagunitas best sellers.