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Originally Posted by AngelsSix
I have to ask...Pete's Wiked is a microbrew..............i see no relation to Coors. Can you send me a link??
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Pete's is not even close to being a microbrewery. While they come from a modest begining they would no longer be defined as a micro. Their production numbers exceed what would be considered a true micro as well they have distro in all 50 states. A true microbrewery produces LESS then 15,000bbls (barrels) of beer a year (Pete's brewed well over 100K in 1996 alone). If we had to put a label on them it would more likely be a "Regional Brewer" as in that category they would be closer to the 1-2MM bbl mark. If they are still having their beers brewed under contract though they are a "contract brewer" and that is actually how Pete's got started.
A contract brew is one in which the "brewer" has it brewed by a second company rather then themselves. FX Matt brewing company in NY is a contract brewer and while they have their own labels the bulk of their business comes from brewing other companies beers. Now whether that be because those companies own no equipment (and only the recipes for the beer) or because they need the larger capacity is why they seek out contracts.
Brooklyn Brewery in NYC is a great company. They brew the vast bulk of their beer on premise but some of their products need to be done in larger quantities then they can do at times or the grain bill is so big it cannot be done on their equipment. When that happens they contract to FX Matt to do the job.
The start of Pete's brewing company came when he (Pete) called the Palo Alto brewing company and asked if they could brew his beers for him. When Palo Alto went through Chapter 7 they moved their contracts to the August Schell brewery in Minnesota and IIRC as they have grown in sales they have entered into contracts with other companies to produce the beer. I know the company went public 1995 and some time after that Gambrinus aquired them and moved brewing to San Antonio TX. Pete has since started a chocolate company called Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures.
I know in 1996 they hit well over the 100,000bbl mark (200,000 kegs) and I can only imagine they are well over the 1million bbl mark like Sam Adams. When you get that big unless you own several large breweries (like AB, Coors & SABMiller) it is difficult to hit those numbers so you contract it here and there. If you recall a few years ago there was a very big stink about Sam Adams doing this and not putting it on their labels (not required). Why the stink I do not know but people were up in arms about "truth in advertising" saying that it was not truly Sam Adams if it was brewed by "XXX" brewery.
Whether or not Coors has ever brewed all (or possibly even any) of the Pete's products is up for any ones guess. It has become somewhat of an urban legend although I do know that right after they (Pete's) went Public there CEO was a former Coors executive. Many of those who are contract brewing do not disclose who is doing the actual brewing. Since disclosure is not required we may never know the full truth on who brewed their beers, we can only talk about what we here at the conventions.
The problem with "Microbrews" is that many large companies are telling you what a microbrew is and they are getting it wrong. It is all marketing and that is it.
How many here remember the "cold filtered" commercials of Miller Genuine Draft? That is 110% marketing and they want you to believe that it is something special that only they do. It is so bad that even one of the owners of the company I brewed for believed it and actually asked me one day if we cold filtered our beer. News Flash...ALL BEER IS COLD FILTERED. It has to be or it will not filter out correctly. Beer must ALWAYS be filtered as cold or colder then the serving temp or it will "throw" a haze. However those marketing guru's would like you to believe that only they do it or that they are the pioneers. LOL!
Edit- Gambrinus Brewing company owns brands such as Bridgeport out of Oregon and Spoetzel Brewery out of Texas. Spoetzel brewery is known for their Shiner Bock & Shiner Blonde.
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