I realize that comparing anything to a Beatles record is problematic, especially a beer. Beers is beer and Beatles music is, well, music. And I’m sure the headline above will arouse mutters of derision, since it suggests that Phillips Brewing is the Beatles of BC craft breweries.
Which, you know? I think there’s still a strong case to be made for that.
See: Phillips is one of thetop-selling, if not the top selling, craft breweries in BC (sales figures are proprietary in Canada, so I’m relying on the anecdotal here). Their beers are wildly popular with mainstream beer drinkers, and there’s a level of devotion to their products – to Blue Buck especially – that not all breweries have. Like Beatles records, Phillips beer is for the most part approachable, inoffensive and enjoyable in nearly any social situation – but there’s also creativity and playfulness in their approach to what they do.
Like the Beatles, Phillips is creating a strangely insular and inventive world as they create new products. I’m not talking about the beer, necessarily, but everything surrounding it – the label art, the marketing, the Wonka-esque brewery itself.
But I say that Blue Buck is the Sgt. Pepper’s of BC beers because, while it might not be their best beer, it’s their most widely known. It cemented Phillips status as mainstream players with an experimental streak.
More importantly though, Blue Buck has helped win people over on the craft beer movement, to show that brewing is an art form in its own right – like the Beatles did with rock music and the LP in the 60s.
(Yes, I’m aware that I’ve entered realms of Nerdism that many might be uncomfortable with. I’m also aware that my comparisons here are flimsy. I’ll admit that. Poke holes all you like. Do it on Twitter. @stephensmys.)
Full disclosure: Blue Buck is my favourite beer, period. It’s rare that I drink it these days, but it introduced me to the world of craft beer and I have a strong affection for it. Like my favourite albums of my youth – OK Computer, Nevermind, and yes, Sgt. Pepper’s (though I’m partial to Revolver) – there’s a flood of nostalgia. If anything, Blue Buck introduced to the notion that beer could inspire nostalgia – or inspire anything, for that matter, other than wretched gagging noises when forced to choke down pale, fizzy lager.
“[Blue Buck]’s not an in-your-face double IPA,” says Matt Lockhart, Phillips’ communications manager, after I asked him to explain Blue Buck’s popularity. “The flavour of it lends itself to a broad audience. It’s an easy beer to share with people.”
“It’s been pretty widespread accepted, at least out here, and at the same time it has a really devoted fan base, a really devoted support system to it, and a strong identity to it.”
Bring Blue Buck to party and I wager you’ll find nary a dissenter in the group…unless you’re attending a party of beer nerds.
Because here’s the thing: Many “serious” beer enthusiasts that I’ve met – the ones scoffing at the headline, no doubt – hold Blue Buck in relatively low regard. I’m not sure why, but there’s are throngs of craft beer lovers who, if massed together and asked to share their thoughts on Blue Buck, would collectively shrug and make farting noise with their tongues.
Well, I make my own farting noise (and not with my tongue) because Blue Buck has been unfairly maligned, especially among tastemakers in this province. BC’s known for its IPAs and Central City’s and Driftwood’s in particular are regarded as the quintessential BC beers.
But it’s not an easy jump from Kokanee to Fat Tug. The people discovering craft beer need a leeway, something that can help introduce all that craft beer has to offer. There are several options, but I’d wager that more people drink Blue Buck, or have been turned on to craft beer by Blue Buck, than any other beer brewed in this province.
Of course, I have absolutely no data to back this up, so we’ll just leave it at that.
Any comments?
