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&amp;quot;Barry M&amp;quot;:l6vsni9o wrote: "A great brewery flogs delicious and dirt cheap grog" <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->
[/quote:l6vsni9o]

Well I laughed at first but that hits the nail on the head

&amp;quot;Barry M&amp;quot;:l6vsni9o wrote: But, can you have a great brewery that makes crap beer then?
[/quote:l6vsni9o]

Tin hat on......Yes, in ways the Guinness brewery achieved greatness in that a brewery from a backwater like Dublin spread its product around the globe in the pre-gloabalisation era

&amp;quot;Barry M&amp;quot;:l6vsni9o wrote: if a large proportion of output from a particular brewery happens to be beers that I personally think are great, then does that make it a great brewery?
[/quote:l6vsni9o]

No, you'd need a critical mass of like minded fans

&amp;quot;Barry M&amp;quot;:l6vsni9o wrote: Can you have a crap brewery that makes great beers? <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
[/quote:l6vsni9o]

Yes, if they make great beers but can't get anyone to drink them, they're a crap brewery.

Good responses.

one more regarding:

&amp;quot;Diablo&amp;quot;:3inxdx03 wrote:

&amp;quot;Barry M&amp;quot;:3inxdx03 wrote: if a large proportion of output from a particular brewery happens to be beers that I personally think are great, then does that make it a great brewery?
[/quote:3inxdx03]

No, you'd need a critical mass of like minded fans
[/quote:3inxdx03]
So, can there be no such thing as a personal great brewery? Does it need broad consensus to make it great in one's own sphere of interest?

Or does [i:3inxdx03]great[/i:3inxdx03] imply a kind of transcendent notion?

I've only had one beer BTW <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

I would agree with Muirgheasa's definition except I would add the requirement that constantly "pushing the envelope" and not being afraid to experiment is also a requirement.
(According to this definition a "great brewery" WILL produce some individual beers that aren't that good, and sometimes a beer that is even bordering on bad; this is a part of furthering the art and a requirement to me...)

Hmm.. Even after reading this immediately I can think of exceptions to my own "rule" above... I guess more accurately, I believe that Muirgheasa's definition+ showing a true passion for beer and the brewing art is a requirement; for some brewers this is manifested as constant experimentation, for some this is manifested as an unwavering devotion to quality regardless of cost, for some it's reviving lost/dying beer styles, and for other's its striving to master one beer style or the styles from a particular culture and provide as accurate of a "reproduction" as possible. (Actually, I think "great" breweries probably would show multiple of these traits.) -In a nutshell; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) brewers are the best brewers in my book....


Adam

I would define the Erdinger brewery in Germany as a great brewery. Why? Because for €6 they per person they gave us a tour of the brewery, 5 pints of Erdinger, as much pretzels and German sausages as we could eat and a free souvenir photograph. Did I mention that even though the tour was supposed to be in German they translated everything into English for us. The beer was good too.