The Big Brewers try to disguise their affiliation with their craft brands.

The Wall Street Journal on 10/26/07 has an article about how the major brewers generally avoid using the parent company’s name on the labels for their craft beers. Anheuser-Busch, for example, lists Green Valley Brewing Co. as the maker of its Wild Hop Lager, an organic beer. “Any brand put into the marketplace with an intentional lack of affiliation with the brewery brewing it, I consider that a faux craft,” says Tom McCormick, executive director of the California Small Brewers Association. “It’s intentional deception.”

Miller Brewing reportedly has been the most aggressive of the three big domestic brewers in trying to expandi ts craft beers over the past year, introducing its Leinenkugel’s portfolio of brands into 17 new states, giving it a presence in 42. Mr. Leinenkugel says “[c]onsumers are so willing and wanting to try new things, especially in beer styles.” He also credits the mobility of American society and the “power of the Web” for raising awareness of the brand.

Blue Moon apparently began to attract fans in the Midwest because of some hard working Coors distributors who taught bartenders to serve Blue Moon in a glass with a slice of orange, which caught drinker’s attention. This year Blue Moon, led by the Belgian White variety, increased sales by more than 80% at U.S. grocery, drug and convenience stores, according to Nielsen data.

Anheuser-Busch lacks a star craft brew but it owns big stakes in several craft brewers, including approximately 40% in Oregon’s Widmer Bros. Brewing Co.

The article concludes: “Some craft brewers say the giants’ move into the category is a good thing because they’re bringing new legions of craft drinkers into the fold. Even if the independent brewers’ market share falls, they may enjoy higher sales and profits as the category grows. “Go Blue Moon,” says Greg Owsley, chief brand officer at Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing Co., the maker of Fat Tire Amber Ale, a leading craft beer.”