Craft Beer Imposters

I recently returned from a vacation in the Bahamas with my family for my parents' 50th anniversary celebration. But like any other beer geek, I had beer on my mind before we even left!

I started thinking of the beer wasteland I may be in during our time on the cruise ship. Two days at sea, stranded with drinking the “BMC” (Bud, Miller, Coors) offered all over the ship (remember, I’m not a snob). I am not one for mixed drinks, so most of the fancy expensive drinks in coconuts and giant plastic fish, with straw included, was not an option. Although I will admit that I did enjoy a Tiramasu Martini, which was more like dessert.

After settling in, I ventured out to see what the ship had to offer in sudsy libations. To my surprise they had a decent selection of imports alongside the typical beer selections, with Budweiser (InBev) being the main supplier. As I was walking through the lido deck, I noticed a strange tap handle that I did not recognize. I stopped to investigate and ended up ordering a Thirsty Frog lager. The bartender tells me that this is brewed by Carnival Cruise Lines and only sold on the ship.

I’m no stranger to the tricks pulled by the big boys in order to get their share of the growing craft beer market, so I was a bit skeptical that Carnival Cruise Lines would acquire the means to produce their own beer. With that said, I took a sip and wasn’t blown away, but it also wasn’t offensive. I later found out that this beer is contract brewed by Budweiser for Carnival Cruise Lines, so my suspicions were valid.

The Carnival Magic Thirsty Frog Beer was designed especially for the Carnival Magic cruise ship and is served in its Red Frog Pub and on draft in the bars on other ships in the fleet. I drank this draft-only offering for the first two days before my palate tired of the heavy malt flavor of this beer.

I wanted to share this part of my story to inform the uninformed masses that may not want to support the “BMC” entities and only share in the micro-brewed craft beer community.

They have tried to create craft beers in the past that are disguised as small craft breweries. Brands like Shock Top Wheat or Blue Dog Wild Blue Lager are brewed by Budweiser, but are labeled with fake brewery names -- or none at all (look for hints like “Brewed in St. Louis MO”).

I would love to list them all here, but alas, I do not have the writing space to do so. Whether you enjoy any of the above-mentioned beers is not really the point. I just want to make you aware of the deceptive business practices that they promote so diligently and encourage you to do a little research on where that beer comes from. It’s beneficial knowledge either way.

In conclusion, I do not mean for this to be a negative article in any way, shape, or form as we all have different tastes and opinions. All I ask is that you take a peek behind the scenes of the beers you enjoy and learn a little bit more about the history and hard work that goes into each and every craft beer.

I will be adding another cruise experience in my next article, so stay tuned!

Cheers!