MillerCoors will cease funding hop research

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by BeRightBock, Oct 24, 2018.

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  1. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    A penny per pound assessment strikes me as a more reliable way of funding the organization than relying on donations.
     
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  2. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    MillerCoors, a large brewer based in Chicago, will cease funding the Hop Research Council, a nonprofit that funds breeding and other research, in 2019 and beyond due to “continued beer industry headwinds and the resulting budgetary constraints.”

    The company cited other problems with funding the council, such as an “inequitable” split of contributions across the beer industry and research benefits being available to non-members, according to a letter sent to HRC this summer.

    “We are supportive of an initiative to review how public research and varietal development is funded by the hop industry so that all organizations that benefit are contributing equally,” the letter said.


    This is what happens when craft brewers and the BA want to paint Big Beer as the bad guys. Most beer drinkers, including most craft brewery owners, don't have any idea of just how far reaching the contributions of Big Beer are until they withdraw them.
     
  3. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

  4. THANAT0PSIS

    THANAT0PSIS Pooh-Bah (2,201) Aug 3, 2010 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I think this will be a bigger blow than most people on these forums will probably opine. Shades of gray, as with everything, applies to Big Beer.
     
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  5. NickSMpls

    NickSMpls Pooh-Bah (2,692) Nov 11, 2012 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    According to the article, that's about 1/6 of their entire budget. Gotta hurt. On the other hand, $100k is not an insurmountable amount to find elsewhere. I wonder how their efforts fits in with what major universities and others are doing in this area.
     
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  6. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I agree, sounds worse than it is. Yep, it's 16%, but in the grand scheme it' s only 100K in a big market.
     
  7. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (1,912) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Interesting timing considering Canada has legalized marijuana.
     
  8. 5thOhio

    5thOhio Initiate (0) May 13, 2007 South Carolina

    ...because Miller Lite and Coors Light are perfect just the way they are.
     
  9. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Although it's important to keep in mind that nothing they do is purely altruistic, it's also important to remember that a lot of the stuff that they do benefits businesses besides themselves.

    True, but, yeah, try naming a craft brewer that funds the research that they fund and openly shares it with the rest of the craft community. I won't hold my breath.
     
  10. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,611) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I was surprised they were still funding research.
     
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  11. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    :thinking_face:
    "Foreign" and "Domestic" ?
    "Pellets" and "Extract" ?

    Of course, without Coors, Cascade hops might not have been around later for the craft brewers to use... In '73, they announced they would buy a million pounds of Cascades (in place of some of the German hops they had been using) the following year, with a commitment to spend $30 million over the next decade.
     
    #12 jesskidden, Oct 25, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2018
  12. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Early craft beer without Cascade? I wonder how that would have gone?
     
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  13. Crusader

    Crusader Pooh-Bah (1,651) Feb 4, 2011 Sweden
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I thought this interview with Al Haunold was quite interesting to listen to, he talks about Cascade and its use by Coors starting at 7:20. The same story is probably available elsewhere but I figured I would link it here for anyone interested in the topic, plus it has alot of other interesting tidbits about hops.
     
    drtth likes this.
  14. Tamarack

    Tamarack Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2016 Massachusetts

    This but unironically
     
  15. BeerDrinkinGuy

    BeerDrinkinGuy Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2018 Minnesota

    Those are the only beers in the world ......
     
  16. LocalBeerGuy

    LocalBeerGuy Zealot (635) Apr 17, 2018 Canada (SK)
    Deactivated

    the miller and coors beers are not that good.
     
  17. Jugs_McGhee

    Jugs_McGhee Grand Pooh-Bah (5,956) Aug 15, 2010 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Makes sense from their perspective. I'm surprised they had a hand in it to begin with.
     
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