editor’s note
A water shed moment
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What happens when one of the very things you depend on for your livelihood is comprised? It is the question that a group of 60 craft breweries are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to help decide. In a case filed against Maui County in Hawaii, the brewers asked the court to uphold the very tenets of the Clean Water Act, arguing that if the county convinces the court its Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility does not need a federal permit to indirectly discharge treated sewage to the ocean via groundwater, the precedent will further pollute countless facilities nationwide. The end result: Bad water will eventually impact companies brewing beer. The case, which was filed back in 2012, squares up environmental groups and county government, including craft brewers and business groups nowhere near the Hawaii court battle. Brewers of craft beer understand that the quality and consistency of the water in their products is critical to the taste. How? According to a story on CNBC, too many sulfates in beer make it taste acidic. Too much chlorine and the beer will taste like aspirin. The stone cold truth is that bacteria can spoil a whole batch of craft beer. Any small change in the water can alter the beer’s foam pattern and shelf life. So, as the battle rages on, the questions becomes what’s a craft brewer to do, other than fight? Depending on where your craft beer is made, different water types produce different tastes for local beers. Polluted water is nonnegotiable. If you start filtering your beer with salts and other minerals, the whole aura of craft beer is no more. Maybe it is time to jump into the game. Maybe it is time to start marketing what the the impact of polluted water will have on your beer and, more importantly, the communities you serve. And while we want our beer and brand stand for the good, fun and laid back parts of the daily grind, there is no better time than now to stand up and let your voice be heard. If not, tomorrow might be too late.
Michael J. Pallerino
Maybe it is time to start marketing what the the impact of polluted water will have on your beer and, more importantly, the communities you serve.
CRAFT BRAND AND MARKETING
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