Have you ever been in a grocery store (most good craft beer shops don’t have this issue) and wondered if the beer in front of you was a “phantom” craft beer? Well help has arrived from app creators Barrett Garese and Rudy Jahchan the folks behind Craft Check, an app whose sole purpose is to warn you if a beer is craft or not.
You can find it in this app store or search engine it.
Once downloaded you just shoot a photo of the barcode and you will either get “Congratulations! What you’re looking at is a genuine craft brew from a genuine craft brewery. This is as good as it gets (when it comes to beer).” or “Careful! What you’ve got there is an imitation craft brew from one of the big guys. It’s got all the soul of a spreadsheet. Crafty, but not Craft.”
This can be helpful if used correctly. If someone uses it as a blanket condemnation and will not buy anything that is painted with the corporate brush, that would be bad. We already have too many people who won’t drink Widmer or Goose Island or (now) Blue Point because of that reason. But if used to educate, this app can be a powerful way to show how deceptive the monolithic brewers are in trying to cash in on craft via labels and brand names.
Kudos to Garese and Jahchan for building an app that will help create transparency in beer buying.
