Thread by @dabudah

Independence. A manifesto.

You saw the tweet. The one with the “hand made” vodka, the jackson family wines, and the ab inbev beer. Independent in which sense? Co-opting the work of others. When they can't steal it, they buy it.

This is what economies of scale provides, deep pockets, or is it the other way around? Are “they” the problem. Short answer, yes, long answer, also yes, but there's more.

Little guys can be bad actors as well but their impact is diminished in proportion to their size.

The problem with the @BrewersAssoc pushing independence over craft is that craft connotes a sense of being better. I didn't get into this industry to wear big boy pants. We might enjoy cargo shorts or jeans or carhartts or whatever you find comfortable and safe, but I digress.

The recent news about @BellsBrewery's opposition to self-distribution in MI brought to light their earlier fiasco with Sylva, NC's @InnovationBeer. Is Bell's a bad actor? Maybe you can answer that better than I.

I have enjoyed the company of their employees, Two Hearted might be my favorite menu beer, and I regret not being able to attend their Cosmic Beer Dinner with @EclipticBrewing in Portland tonight.

From personal experience in the industry, I have witnessed first hand actions that go against what I consider “craft.” Surprisingly, as an employee, I felt @WidmerBrothers better represented the essence of my expectations than some of their "independent" cohorts.

Perhaps this came from a sense of duty to Portland after Craft Brew Alliance became a dirty word. Perhaps Kurt and Rob assembled the right cast to go public yet keep an innovative spirit for the purpose of being better, not just to line their pockets.

Far too often I see my comrades put profit over principles. Sure, you can make a hard seltzer or a light lager. Most likely I'm going to give you a hard time. Does that make me a hypocrite for enjoying a [few] @SeekOutSeltzer[s] now and then?

Yes brewing is a business but when we forget our roots, we become the monsters we sought to destroy.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? How strong is your vision? Mine is simple, craft brought us together. It taught us to care for our community over conglomerates.

We need to encourage small business. How? Push legislation providing incentives to level the playing field, including franchise law reform that allows brewers to retain more control over their brands.

Thank you for reading this far. I'm going to get radical here and take this a step further...decouple health care and retirement plans from employers. One of the strongest arguments we hear from acquisitions, “the employees will finally have better benefits.”

If we want to promote small business in America in 2019 then we need to reduce barriers to entrepreneurship and growth. This is a complicated topic but let's have an honest conversation on how to make life better for ourselves and our neighbors.

@threadreaderapp unroll please