Size Doesn't Matter... or Does It?

Manassas, VA 

Oh no! He placed a double entendre in the title of the blog post! That can’t be a good sign.

Last weekend, in what can only be categorized as a stroke of brilliance on my part, I ventured off to Manassas, Virginia in order to pop in at the BadWolf Brewing Company. For those not from our area, BadWolf is a small, relatively new brewing operation that opened on June 28, 2012 and brews beer in one barrel batches. They describe themselves as a family-owned and operated nanobrewery (don’t worry – we’ll get into this term in a minute).

BadWolf’s business model is an interesting one. As I mentioned, they brew using a one barrel system, a barrel equaling 31.5 US gallons. When they finish a batch, it replaces a batch on the tap line that just kicked, ensuring that there are always six craft-brewed choices for us to drink. What makes it interesting is that BadWolf is constantly changing recipes and brewing new things. There is very little repetition, and the odds are, if you go in there 10 times, there will be six beers you never had before all ten times you go in. They are almost like a home brewery in this way, except with a professional-grade rig and a store front.

The tap room is small and intimate, and doesn't offer much in the way of seating, but the people are friendly, and the atmosphere is inviting. There is an oversized chalk board on the wall where the brewers list what’s on tap, as well as various other scribblings of interest. And as the name may have given away, they have a Dr. Who theme going on throughout their operation, to include the door to their office which is painted to look like a TARDIS. Honestly, you can’t help but feel like you’re part of the group when at BadWolf.

Don't blink, just drink.

I helped myself to a flight of six tasters while I was there, which included a rye saison called The Rising Sun, a dry Irish stout called Irish Wrist Watch, an American blonde ale called Ahtnum Gold, an American amber/red ale called Jesse’s Girl, an adjunct American pale ale called Jezzebell, and a scotch ale/wee heavy called Scotty’s Heavy. With the exception of the Jezzebell, which had a dominant lavender note that detracted from the otherwise good pale ale, all of the beers were amazing. I was exceptionally impressed with the rye saison, being that I am a professed fan of rye beers, and filled my trusty growler with it.

And now to shift gears, what’s the deal with this word “nanobrewery?” We've all heard the word “micro” in front of a brewery, but “nano” is still relatively unknown. Quite simply, “nano” and “micro” (and even “peco” believe it or not) are all words referring to the size of the brewery. As best as I can manage, the words only refer to the yearly output in total volume, or to the size of the batch, and have nothing to do with the physical size of the building or staff or operation. So when BadWolf refers to themselves as a “nanobrewery,” they are merely drawing attention to the fact that they don’t make as much beer as other breweries do.

The counter, in the tap room of BadWolf Brewing Company

The problem is that there are no universally accepted criteria for determining whether a brewery is macro, micro, nano, peco, or whatever. The feds (as in the US Department of Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB) do mention nanobreweries in their regulations, but only in terms of whether or not home brewers are subject to taxes, based on how much beer they make. There is no attempt made at defining what a nano brewery is.

There are a few folks within the industry who have defined the term, but none that are universally accepted. For example, when Rogue Brewing Company hosted a festival and competition for “nanobrewers,” they arbitrarily cut off the nano-breweries at a yearly production of 996 barrels. It’s hard to figure out why they chose number, but it has nothing to do with any nationally discussed and agreed upon cutoff point. Interestingly enough, BadWolf would have to brew almost 1000 batches of beer in one year in order to hit that threshold.

BadWolf's giant chalkboard - perfect for announcements, beer menus and random shenanigans

The term “nanobrewery” is also causing a bit of a stir within the brewing world. Not only can we not agree upon what the criteria are, we can’t even agree on how to measure it in the first place. Many brewers think it should be gauged by how much beer one makes per batch (IE: 3 barrel system or lower is NANO; over 3 barrel is MICRO) and others on how much beer one makes annually. There are others in the community who are upset at the intentional misuse and coopting of the term from a strictly marketing stand point. There was a small brewer a few years back that claimed that many microbreweries were calling themselves nanobreweries in order to create a “mom and pop” appeal in the minds of their consumers. He likened the effect that this was having on “actual mom and pop” nanobreweries to what happens when Budweiser tries to market one of their lines of beers as “craft.”

BadWolf's store front. Dentist's office?

The interesting thing is that many years ago, “craft beer” was not a buzzword – the word used to describe small, artisanal brewing operations with proper ingredients and love in every pint was “microbreweries.” Eventually, that term was for all intents and purposes replaced with “craft” because it was decided that the size of the brewery doesn't matter as much as the quality of their operation. I have a feeling that when the dust settles, nanobreweries and pecobreweries will embrace the craft label and not worry too much about their size labels. Microbreweries still exist, but nobody worries about whether they’re a microbrewery or not – as long as they make good craft beer.

If needing to sell yourself as a tiny mom and pop operation is critical to your marketing campaign, and I certainly appreciate that aspect of craft marketing, you can still do that without relying on an industry-approved size label. Customers do care about supporting their local economy, personal interaction with the brewers, being part of a community, and so on. What they don’t care about, and probably don’t understand either, is a buzzword like “nanobrewery” or “pecobrewery” which seem gimmicky at first, and quickly become nothing.

All of that being said, here’s to BadWolf Brewing Company! Their brews are delicious; their business model ensures a world of possibilities, and their outlook on brewing and life in general is tremendous. Plus, they’re Whovians – what else needs to be said?

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!