Citing a conflict of interest, Dogfish Head founder requests removal from RateBeer site

The Daily Times

Sam Calagione, Founder, Dogfish head Brewings & Eats speaks during a sneak peak opening on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 in downtown Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Eyebrows were raised Friday when Good Beer Hunting, a website fully entrenched in the world of beer, broke the news of a partnership between RateBeer and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

RateBeer founder, Joe Tucker, the same day announced on his website’s forum that ZX Ventures, an Anheuser-Busch InBev-backed venture capital fund, had purchased a minority stake in RateBeer.

RateBeer, founded in 2000, has grown into one of the more popular beer communities online, with thousands of reviews and grades for beers across the world. The site publishes yearly rankings of the top breweries and beers.

Terms of the deal were not announced, so it’s unclear how much of a stake ZX Ventures has in RateBeer.

Dogfish Head founder and CEO Sam Calagione appears to be the first one taking public issue with the deal, citing a conflict of interest.

In a “Message From Sam” that appeared Monday on the Dogfish Head blog, Calagione spoke out against the deal and requested that RateBeer remove all mentions of Dogfish Head and all its reviews from the RateBeer website.

“It just doesn’t seem right for a brewer of any kind to be in a position to potentially manipulate what consumers are hearing and saying about beers, how they are rated and which ones are receiving extra publicity on what might appear to be a legitimate, 100 percent user-generated platform,” Calagione said in his statement. “It is our opinion that this initiative and others are ethically dubious and that the lack of transparency is troubling."

Calagione cited the “Act Independently” section of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which warns against conflicts of interest, financial favors, special treatment and more.

He pointed to Pallet, a magazine that launched with him as an executive editor. Dogfish, he said, held no financial stake, and neither did he.

Dogfish isn't alone in its stance.

Burley Oak Brewing Company founder Bryan Brushmiller said Tuesday morning he submitted a formal request to RateBeer to have all mentions of Burley Oak, based in Berlin, removed from the website.

Burley Oak owner Bryan Brushmiller holds a glass of his beer.

Brushmiller echoed Calagione's statement and took issue with RateBeer's lack of transparency. In Tucker's announcement, he subtly mentioned the deal had happened in October but wasn't announced until June.

Brushmiller said the partnership was just another way for big beverage to attempt to drive a stake into the smaller craft brewing industry.

“This is another tool for them to basically continue their anti-competitive pricing and shady distribution practices,” Brushmiller said.

“They continue to have powerful lobbying at the state and local level against logical and almost universally-favored reform that would basically level the playing field and help craft brewers and independent businesses."

Brushmiller said he expects others in the community to take on the same stance Burley Oak and Dogfish have.

“I think the beer community is beginning to recognize independent beer and these shady practices," he said. “The people that support us are going to basically not support them. Our demographic of beer drinkers is highly-intelligent.

“This is just another example of how the craft beer industry is actually getting smaller while getting larger. Because we’re getting tighter. It’s just like if a village was attacked, all the villagers would come together to support the village."

RateBeer has not yet removed Dogfish or Burley Oak from its website.

ABI has yet to respond to an inquiry seeking comment.

Calagione is encouraging other independent breweries — just like Burley Oak — to join his effort to “ensure consumers continue to get the best and most accurate information about their beers.” He also asked that consumers and reviewers shift to another platform other than RateBeer.

Dogfish's stance was lauded on social media. Others in the RateBeer community have raised questions, as well.

More from Dogfish's statement

“Dogfish Head has been part of the RateBeer.com network for quite some time. In fact, we’re fans of almost all websites, magazines, newsletters and blogs that help educate the public and inspire the consumption of great beer; publications that are passionate about sharing the love for our vibrant craft brewing renaissance that is now gaining traction around the globe. For many years, RateBeer, along with entities like BeerAdvocate, All About Beer, Draft, Celebrator, Ale Street, Brewing News and many more have championed this burgeoning and blossoming craft beer community in ways that are consistent with journalistic integrity.

“We were troubled by the announcement last week that ZX Ventures, which is fully owned by the global conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev, has purchased a portion of RateBeer. We believe this is a direct violation of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics and a blatant conflict of interest.”