We all have our breweries that we treasure. Our little havens of sanity and peace. Taprooms that we love to show our friends and talk about within our circles. Brewers that can seemingly do no wrong. Their moral compass points towards good, they are unwavering in their commitment to the community, and daggum it, if only more folks knew about them they would be the next big thing.

In the craft industry we are all about supporting local. Supporting our friends and other breweries, even if they aren’t our favorite folks or make our favorite beer.

All of the local guys help one another. Need some grain? Here. Need some hops? I’ll give you a box for some beer.

However, with over 4200 breweries in the United States now, are there any breweries that you cannot support? You don’t need to vocalize specifics, but think about it internally. Are there any breweries whose moral compass may point towards greenbacks over quality. Any breweries whose business practices leave an acetic taste in your mouth? Any breweries whom you cannot in good consciousness recommend to out of towners or your friends in other states? It is okay if there are. Not every brewery will be a shining example of what the craft beer movement is all about.

I will always encourage you to drink local, to drink quality, and to support those whose missions you can stand behind. In this day and age it is perfectly OK to not support every one. Now, I’m not going to say go shout from the mountains why you don’t like x brewery or refuse to support y brewery with any of your consumer dollars. But I assure you, it is OK to have breweries that you refuse to drink their products.

What are some of the choices that a brewery can make that will turn you away from their products? For myself, it is business practices. How they treat their employees internally, how they treat the others in the marketplace. How they treat their home city. Can you think of any examples of a brewery that makes a solid beer but treats their staff like spent mash? Think of a brewery whose employees are always joyous. Compare them in your mind. Come to your own conclusions where you choose to spend your consumer dollars.