{"id":20173,"date":"2020-07-25T21:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=20173"},"modified":"2020-07-27T20:49:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T08:49:04","slug":"independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2020\/07\/25\/independence\/","title":{"rendered":"Independence isn’t…"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"'Indie'<\/a>
This definitely isn’t what they meant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s Indie Beer Day<\/a><\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> here in Australia, which seems like a weirdly appropriate time to reflect on why I can’t really bring myself to care about “independence” itself. Living in a country where that word is (now) the go-to organising principle for a lot of lobbying, events, and branding<\/a> \u2014 certainly much more than it is back home in New Zealand \u2014 I’ve realised how it leaves me cold. Sure, “independence” loosely correlates with some things I do<\/em> care about, but the link is so flimsy that it just doesn’t make for a good guide to follow or banner to wave. As it happens, most of my favourite beers are from independent breweries, and, all else being equal, I’ll probably pick one over a non-indie alternative \u2014 but all else is very rarely equal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When I’m learning about a new brewery over here, asking friends and colleagues about it, I’m always curious to know if it’s independent,<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> but what I\u00a0really<\/em> want to know is whether they’re worth supporting: are they good people, is it a well-behaved business? Despite the pandemic, this is still a boomtime for your beer options, and \u2014 as I’ve noted before<\/a> \u2014 that gives you plenty of room to be picky about these things. Indeed, perhaps the pandemic makes it\u00a0even more<\/em> important to think more deeply than simple slogans about who gets your money.\u00a0In making my own choices, I care vastly more about a company’s actions than its structure.<\/p>\n

\"2019<\/a>
2019 answers to ‘What does the term “independent beer” mean to you?’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s a lot of positive values that get associated with “independence” that don’t have any inherent connection to it, despite the best efforts of marketers and the overlaps that happen to exist in the wild. Look at what achieved forty percent support in last year’s Australian Craft Beer Survey, when it asked what “independent beer” was.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> It isn’t any of those things.\u00a0Conflating “independent” with “craft” is just weird and fraught<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> (nevermind the oddness of setting “manufactured” as the alternative); size doesn’t have anything to do with ownership since multinationals operate any number of tiny local subsidiaries, and independent breweries like Coopers (let alone, say, Sierra Nevada) are “big” by anyone’s standards;<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> implying that\u00a0overseas<\/em> independent breweries don’t exist is so bizarrely parochial I don’t know where to start; and it’s\u00a0way too optimistic<\/em> to think that these companies are going to be reliably supportive of their fellow small breweries or the other entities they deal with \u2014 for all we go on about how convivial and collaborative the sector can be (and it\u00a0can be<\/em>) it’s got the potential to be just as ruthless as anything else.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0All<\/em> of the survey’s answers, except the top one, will have at least as many exceptions as they have exemplars.<\/p>\n

Last time I wrote about boycotts<\/a>, I mentioned that I’ve got two New Zealand companies on my list: one is there for its unrepentant history of peddling gross sexist and homophobic marketing, the other because of the truly appalling behaviour of its owner\/founder towards women \u2014 both of them are “independent”. I’ve been steered away from a few local indie brands, here in Australia, on similar grounds. And full-on boycotts aside, I just can’t imagine cheering on the success of an “indie” if I found out it was partly achieved by cutting corners like breaching its liquor license, underpaying its staff, or flouting workplace safety.\u00a0There are indeed ethical considerations to ownership, but there’s\u00a0plenty<\/em> left to be vigilant about even if a handy logo has answered that one<\/em> question for you.<\/p>\n

\"Mockup<\/a>
Let’s face it, the red cans look pretty cool too<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If a trade group like the Independent Brewers Association want that word \u2014 and thereby their seal, Indie Beer Day, their other campaigns, and all that \u2014 to really<\/em> “mean” a cluster of positive things beyond some one small (but significant, sure) fact about ownership, then they’re going to have to work for it. They seem to provide a bunch of resources<\/a> for members looking to improve things like quality and safety, so it’d be great to see them lay out what else they expect<\/em> of their members, and state clearly where the line is beyond which you won’t be welcome in their ranks, even if you’re “independent”.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> If we knew that a serious-enough finding against a brewery (for underpaying staff, or whatever) would strip a brewery of their right to use the seal, then its presence would genuinely start to stand for something more.<\/p>\n

At this stage in the story of modern beer, it’s also impossible to ignore just how weak the convictions of some breweries prove to be. After several high-profile and high-hypocrisy buyouts of once-proud “independent” operators, I’ve lost the ability to be surprised by the next one.<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> If a brewery wanted to convince me that it truly valued its independence, there’s a lot more it could do than add a little seal to its packaging: it could structure its shareholding to make a buyout much more difficult or much less appealing, or it could put its intellectual property in trust in a separate entity, which would have the same effect. Granted, steps like that would\u00a0also<\/em>\u00a0undermine the perceived “value” of the company, which might make raising capital difficult, among other possible complications<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> \u2014 but that’s the\u00a0point<\/em>: words are pretty much free,\u00a0principles<\/em> are going to cost you.<\/p>\n

To celebrate Indie Beer Day, then, I guess I’m inviting both the IBA and its members to\u00a0do something<\/em> to make “independence” a more meaningful commitment. Until then, I’ll pretty much ignore it and keep looking for good beer made by good people.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Indie Beer Day here in Australia, which seems like a weirdly appropriate time to reflect on why I can’t really bring myself to care about “independence” itself. Living in a country where that word is (now) the go-to organising principle for a lot of lobbying, events, and branding \u2014 certainly much more than it … Continue reading Independence isn’t…<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blahblah"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26817,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2025\/04\/13\/that-word-independence\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":0},"title":"Independence \u2014 “…I do not think it means what you think it means”","author":"Phil","date":"April 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"'Independent' remains the adjective of choice in promoting and organising the many Australian breweries that might otherwise be grouped under 'craft' or (in earlier times) 'micro'. But companies who persist in waving it around as they take part in the recent string of mergers, consolidations, and various other entanglements are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediawatch"","block_context":{"text":"Mediawatch","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/interesting-finds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/You-keep-using-that-word.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/You-keep-using-that-word.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/You-keep-using-that-word.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/You-keep-using-that-word.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/You-keep-using-that-word.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18356,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2016\/08\/29\/yall\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":1},"title":"A festival for the rest of y’all","author":"Phil","date":"August 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"So that was the week that was. The week that was a while ago, now. How time flies when you're quietly recuperating. Weirdly, given the work I gravitate towards, I'm a natural introvert and crowds of lovely beer nerds are still, you know, crowds. I think exhaustixhilirated just about covers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Observations"","block_context":{"text":"Observations","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Light-up signage at Beervana 2016 (Wellington Stadium, 12 August 2016)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blow-your-bulbs-at-Beervana.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blow-your-bulbs-at-Beervana.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blow-your-bulbs-at-Beervana.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blow-your-bulbs-at-Beervana.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18857,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2017\/02\/24\/will-it-gaff\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":2},"title":"Will It Gaff..?","author":"Phil","date":"February 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Continuing in the strange experimental spirit we started with our 'Will It Shandy..?' investigation, Dylan \u2015 of The Bottleneck blog, and my comrade \/ direct superior at Golding's Free Dive \u2015 and I ask the yet-more-nonsensical question: Will It Gaff? We realise that's probably not really a noun, nevermind a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast episodes"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast episodes","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/podcast-episodes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26733,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2025\/04\/10\/human-robot-twice\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":3},"title":"Human Robot \u2014 twice, during forty-eight hours in Philadelphia","author":"Phil","date":"April 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I've honestly forgotten how I first heard of Human Robot. It might've been one of those rare cases of Instagram, like the proverbial stopped clock, recommending something I genuinely was interested in. I love their whole vibe \u2014 the name, the lager focus, the aesthetic \u2014 but didn't actually remember\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The beer list at Human Robot in Philadelphia; black magnetic letters on a white tile wall, the beers are overwhelmingly lagers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Human-Robot-list-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Human-Robot-list-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Human-Robot-list-300x300.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Human-Robot-list-300x300.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17491,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2015\/09\/21\/beer-media-baseline\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":4},"title":"The beer-media baseline","author":"Phil","date":"September 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent a few hours on Saturday in the beer-bunker that is Hashigo Zake, in the company of two-dozen-or-so like-minded folks and enjoying the Brewers Guild Awards beaming at us from Auckland over a mercifully-dependable livestream. It was a properly marvellous occasion,\u00a0and the Guild (with new host, Hilary Barry) put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediawatch"","block_context":{"text":"Mediawatch","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/interesting-finds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screenshot from tv3.co.nz","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Story-taste-test-300x218.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17208,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2015\/08\/21\/beer-writing-caution\/","url_meta":{"origin":20173,"position":5},"title":"Beer writing: a word of caution","author":"Phil","date":"August 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Most beer writing is crap. This should be unsurprising and uncontroversial for the simple reason that\u00a0most of everything is crap. Enshrined as\u00a0Sturgeon's law, this isn't a cynical or depressing conclusion; just a sound observation and call for better mental hygiene. But that strangely-comforting general cause shouldn't blind us to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediawatch"","block_context":{"text":"Mediawatch","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/interesting-finds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"'The Ultimate Book of Beers' (2014) \u2014 here under fair use for criticism \/ comment","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ultimate-Book-of-Beers-Cover-300x216.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20173"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20223,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20173\/revisions\/20223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}