In the case of a brewery like Samuel Adams, it was about 25 years ago, even as Jim Koch was spouting his nonsense about how the big brewers spill more beer than he makes in a year.

I started in the bar business 23 years ago, when there were no craft breweries in the area. Shiner was about as exotic as it got. My places have been classic neighborhood pubs, and I was never interested in selling schooners of Miller Lite, so we mostly had imports on tap, Bass, Newcastle, Harp, Amstel Light, etc. I usually always kept one macro on like a Bud Light or Coors Light. When New Belgium first came to Texas, that's when interest in local craft really started to take off here. I remember when a New Belgium rep first called on me, and convinced me to put Fat Tire on tap, he made a comment about how they were pushing quality beer, "not selling dogs and frogs". Obviously the local craft market has exploded all over the US, and at last count, I think we have 45 breweries in the D/FW area We now only have taps from those local breweries., with the exception of the Irish Prozac, which I think is just such a pub standard, you need to have it.

As I mentioned to BamaVol in another thread, I've seen instances of micros selling to macros, and the quality almost immediately going down. I've never seen the reverse. Some brewers are truly committed to their brand, one local Called Peticolas is an example of that. Michael Peticolas is a lawyer turned brewer who was instrumental in having a lot of the beer laws changed in Texas the last few years; such that they can now sell to the public in tap rooms, sell to go, etc. Until last year, he didn't even can or bottle anything, because, as he told me, he was afraid of not being able to maintain quality. Even now, he only cans three of his beers, out of a rotation of eight or nine. If you ever come across a Velvet Hammer tap, order one. Revolver was an example of a place that made fantastic beer. They sold out to Miller after about three years in business, and now the beer sucks. Some brewers want to do their thing and make good beer, others make good beer but want to sell to a macro as soon as possible and cash in.

Overall, it's been a really interesting time to be in the adult beverage industry, in just about any capacity. I have to say tho, I've never seen a micro get better by selling to a macro. All this doesn't even touch on the so called crafts that actually never were truly small breweries, just marketing gimmicks by the majors. I'm looking at you, Blue Moon.

You are absolutely correct, btw. The water anywhere is gonna affect the taste of beer, just as it does bread and other edibles. I like Anchor Steam, but I know it would taste very different it if was brewed in say, Alabama.