To be absolutely certain, we would have had to work on their equipment so that we would be the ones making the beer, insuring its quality. Is it possible a contract brewery would have done as well with our recipes as we have? Impossible to answer. Especially for a young brewery establishing itself and its standards. We believe there is no substitute for the passion, guidance, outright craft of our Beersmiths throughout the brewing process. It represents the polar opposite of bog standard product вЂњcraft brewingвЂќ surfaced as a reaction to the macro-produced products of the day. In theory it creates beers of an artisanal quality thanks to the hands-on efforts by the individuals that set the goals and standards of said beer. However, lets remember this is an industry based on craft, creating the genre known as вЂњCraft BrewingвЂќ.

Taste is a very subjective discussion, and is sometimes hard to argue one way or another. There certainly are a number of outfits that specialize in this practice, some have been open longer than youвЂ™ve been on this planet by a wide margin. Lets start with the discussion as to whether or not the quality of the beer suffers as a result of contract brewing. You probably already know where we stand on this topic: We say it does matter, and that there is no substitute. Does it truly represent вЂњlocalвЂќ? Is it the best expression of that beer? WhoвЂ™s driving the bus? It is fair to the consumer? These are debates currently raging within the craft beer industry, many industry insiders arguing that the quality of the вЂњliquidвЂќ is all that matters and if the standard is high, what difference does it make where the beer is brewed or comes from? Transparency of this practice varies however, regardless of how closely you read the label. It certainly has been a winning financial formula for many, and continues to be. These breweries exist far outside the city, and in other states in most cases. In some cases, theyвЂ™ll even develop the recipe and all you need to do is add branding. For those of you unfamiliar with this practice, essentially you use their equipment to either brew the beer, or simply have them brew your recipe for you.

We had our recipes honed and ready and could, like many others before us throughout NYC simply вЂњcontract brewвЂќ our beer through an already existing brewery, saving us the cost of opening a physical location. Opening a brewery in NYC is not an easy task. WeвЂ™ve been following the Internet chatter this weekend about the above sign posted in Singlecut BeersmithвЂ™s taproom, and want to share some responses from the folks at the brewery.ДЇirst, Singlecut owner Rich Buceta posted a statement on their breweryвЂ™s blog that explains where heвЂ™s coming from.

Singlecut beersmith