The Brewers Association, the trade group that represents the interests of craft brewers, honored Steve Hindy, co-founder and president of Brooklyn Brewery with the F.X. Matt Defense of the Small Brewing Industry Award for 2010. Hindy accepted the award last week at the Craft Brewers Conference, in Chicago. The F.X. Matt Award recognizes people distinguished service to the craft beer industry. Hindy has played an active role in regulatory issues throughout his career at Brooklyn Brewery. Among his efforts to benefit the industry, the association noted his testimony before Congress on the effect of state franchise laws on small brewers.
At the end of the conference, Hindy also got to see one of the Brooklyn Brewery entries, Local 2, win the bronze medal in its category in the World Beer Cup competition. He took a moment to share his thoughts with Examiner.com about this year’s conference and the state of the craft beer business today.
Conference attendance was an indicator of the overall health of the craft beer business, he says. “It was the most exciting conference to date. We had 3,400 attending, last year it was about 2,200, and the keynote speaker was a member of Congress,” he says. (That Congressman is Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who was a co-founder of the House Small Brewers Caucus in 2007.) “The enthusiasm for craft beer is starting to take hold in America.”
Although there was a slowdown in the mid-90s for the craft beer business, there have always been a core group of strong craft beer brands that survived through slow periods, Hindy observes. “Even when overall growth fell and some major brands began to slide into oblivion, there was still a top 50 that continued to grow up to the present day,” he says. “I’m glad to see that our brand, along with some of our friends, continue to thrive.”
There is also evidence of a shift in the public’s taste for what was once considered premium import beer. “It’s interesting the decline of Corona and Heineken over the past couple of years,” Hindy notes, “and how many more exclusive venues, such as country clubs where those were the regular brands, are beginning to feature craft beers. Yes, I’m seeing a deeper consumer acceptance of craft beer.”
Undoubtedly much of that is due in part to Hindy’s efforts at promoting the industry. Congratulations Steve Hindy.
Brooklyn Local 2, one of the more recent specialty brews created at Brooklyn Brewery won the bronze medal in the Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale category at the World Beer Cup Competition in Chicago. This brew is made with wildflower honey and dark Belgian candy sugar.
For the complete list of World Beer Cup winners, click here.
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