Apparently, WNYmedia is now responsible for the economic struggles of the American craft beer industry.
Who knew we had that kind of power?
A recent Facebook post by “someone” still not worth mentioning by name decided to re-lease the rent-free space we’ve occupied in his empty head for the past decade.
Instead of intellgently making a point, this conservative used it as an opportunity to re-launch his ridiculous attacks against this website, myself and a former colleague.
I Don’t Even Drink Beer.
CBW wasn’t born as some political operation. It began as an idea among Buffalo friends and craft beer enthusiasts who believed this city deserved a stronger local brewing culture.
People like Ethan Cox, Dan Conley, and Chris Smith helped turn that vision into something tangible. What began as a small brewery on Buffalo’s West Side in 2012 eventually became one of the recognizable names in the city’s craft beer renaissance.
WNYmedia’s connection to that world was rooted in the same thing that has driven much of our work over the last 20+ years… a genuine interest in Buffalo, its creative people, and the ideas that make this community interesting.
There were conversations, connections, and a shared enthusiasm for the growing local beer scene. There was a beer podcast and the simple idea that local media could help tell the stories of the people building something new in Buffalo.
Supporting and documenting the growth of a local industry doesn’t mean controlling the businesses within it, endorsing every decision, or sharing every political position they express.
It means recognizing when people are trying to build something worthwhile and believing their stories deserve to be told.
Somewhere along the way, this clown and his associates decided that any connection between individuals who don’t share their fucked up political views automatically represents some coordinated ideological conspiracy.
Sometimes a beer podcast is just a beer podcast. And sometimes an idea is simply an idea worth supporting.
The Craft Beer Industry Was Struggling Long Before a Stupid Facebook Rant
Let’s introduce some actual economic reality into the conversation.
For years, America’s independent craft breweries have faced a difficult and changing marketplace. What was once an explosive growth industry has become increasingly saturated. Consumer habits have changed. Younger drinkers are consuming less beer, alternatives have captured market share, and operating expenses have continued to climb.
Buffalo hasn’t been immune.
Our region experienced a remarkable craft beer renaissance over the past decade and a half. Independent breweries became neighborhood gathering places, revitalized old industrial buildings, created jobs, supported local musicians and artists, and contributed to the cultural identity of Western New York. But the boom couldn’t continue indefinitely.
As the market matured, local breweries faced many of the same pressures affecting their counterparts nationwide: rising costs, fierce competition, shrinking margins, and changing demand. Some adapted. Some struggled. Others closed.
These are real economic challenges, not evidence of some imaginary political conspiracy. And the suggestion that a local news publisher somehow engineered those economic conditions is as ridiculous as it sounds.
Republican Economic Policies
Here’s where the clown argument becomes particularly ironic.
If he insists on injecting politics into the struggles of local breweries, perhaps he should start by examining the policies coming out of his own party.
Trump’s tariffs on imported aluminum and steel have created additional cost pressures for industries that rely on those materials, including American breweries.
Beer doesn’t magically appear in a can.
Packaging, equipment, transportation, ingredients, energy, and distribution all contribute to the cost of producing and selling it.
Tariffs and trade disruptions can make an already challenging business environment even more difficult, especially for smaller independent producers that don’t have the purchasing power or financial flexibility of multinational beer corporations.
That doesn’t mean Trump’s policies single-handedly caused the craft beer industry’s downturn. The industry’s problems are broader and predate his current administration.
But federal economic policy matters. Trade policy matters. Production costs matter. Those are legitimate subjects for discussion if we’re going to examine why small breweries struggle.
What isn’t a legitimate economic explanation is blaming us because you don’t like our political coverage.
Trump’s trade policies have contributed to cost pressures facing breweries. We have not.
But sure, bud…Blame us.
All Fiction. No Fact
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s another rather significant problem with his ridiculous narrative.
Chris hasn’t been involved with Community Beer Works for more than two years.
That’s an important detail to leave out when you’re trying to make someone personally responsible for a brewery’s current circumstances.
And while we’re at it, let’s address something else.
Community Beer Works chose to embrace a progressive identity and position itself as a socially conscious business.
That was their decision. Not ours.
How CBW chose to operate, market itself, engage politically, or express its values was never my concern. We didn’t own the brewery. WE didn’t manage it. We didn’t determine its business strategy. And WNYmedia certainly wasn’t some secret political consulting operation directing its decisions.
Businesses are free to express their values, just as customers are free to support them or take their money elsewhere. That’s how a free marketplace works. But inventing a coordinated political conspiracy between a brewery and a local media outlet is something else entirely.
It’s fiction.
I’ve spent years covering Western New York’s politics, government, culture, businesses, music, and communities.
Sometimes that reporting makes people uncomfortable. Sometimes elected officials don’t appreciate scrutiny. Sometimes political supporters don’t like what gets published about their preferred candidates.
That’s journalism. Holding public officials accountable isn’t character assassination. Reporting on political controversies isn’t economic sabotage. And criticizing a conservative politician doesn’t mean someone is engaged in a systematic campaign to destroy conservative-owned businesses.
You don’t have to agree with our politics. You don’t have to like our opinions and reporting. Hell… You don’t even have to like me. But disagreement isn’t evidence of wrongdoing. And journalism doesn’t stop being journalism because the subject of the reporting happens to be someone you support.
Celebrating a Buffalo Business Closing Isn’t Standing Up for Buffalo
Perhaps the ugliest part of this entire episode is the apparent joy some people take in watching a local business fail.
Think about that for a moment.
Behind a neighborhood brewery are employees, bartenders, suppliers, distributors, contractors, musicians, and families. There are people who invested their savings, careers, time, and energy into building something here. When a local business closes, the consequences extend beyond the owners. People lose jobs. Suppliers lose customers. Neighborhoods lose gathering places. The local economy loses another independent business.
And somehow, we’re supposed to celebrate that because somebody involved with the business once expressed progressive political views?
That’s not standing up for Buffalo.
That’s rooting against Buffalo because you don’t like somebody’s politics. And it’s particularly rich coming from people who regularly lecture everyone else about supporting small businesses and protecting the local economy. Apparently, those principles only apply when the business owner votes the right way.
Community Beer Works’ reported closure deserves to be understood in the context of the very real challenges facing independent breweries, not weaponized as another chapter in someone’s personal political grievance.
I’ve spent much of my professional life telling the stories of this community, documenting its challenges, celebrating its successes, and holding people in power accountable.
I’m never going to apologize for that.
WNYmedia was there when Community Beer Works was just an idea. We helped give that idea a voice. And I’m proud of it.
Conservatives like them can take pride in watching something die.
I’ll take pride in having helped bring something to life.
Marc Odien is the publisher of WNYmedia Network, covering news, politics, music, culture, and community in Western New York.
