Hopefully, this can lead to some constructive discussion about marketing guiding preferences.
As homebrewers and beer geeks, we are uniquely positioned to make beer solely for our own preferences and interests. But, who among us hasn't seen our preferences shift over time? And who among us hasn't spent time educating friends on why beer is good?
My opinion is that the Craft industry is short sighting itself by labeling everything as "IPA." To me, it's the same thing as when the majors educated everyone that crisp, clean, no aftertaste was the pinnacle of beer. Not everyone brews, but everyone takes in information to form preferences.
Tony Magee, founder of Lagunitas, is sort of a Zen Master about this very topic. To paraphrase several things he's said, "You, the Craft Drinker, conjured this whole industry. You drive it's growth and direction. The Majors don't get that. They want to define you as simple demographics that can be understood by bean counters. You're more complex than that and don't have permanent preferences. The success of Blue Moon and Shocktop are simply signs of demand that is greater than our whole industry can supply, for now."
Hate on the majors all you want, but until recently, only they could pay top notch brewers a solid wage. Now, we regularly see brewers coming to work for craft from that industry. As far as I'm concerned, Craft has nothing to worry about until we see big names cross back over.
Fifteen years ago, barrel aged beer was a once-a-year specialty from a few breweries. Now, not only barrel aged, but sours can be an entire brewery concept. The majors are just now coming to grips with more bitterness and aftertaste. We are sooooo far ahead of them. And we're still pioneering this stuff.