Interesting discussion. Its nice to see people bring up legitimate points on both sides of the issue. Since I'm pretty well tuned in to the workings of the beer market place, I thought I would share some of my opinions. Apologies if I go a little long...
First, as it relates to the beer being discussed here, we will most likely never see this product in the local market place. If so, it will be years before it ever happens. AC Golden is a subsidiary that was created by Coors prior to their JV with Miller in order to explore new ideas and be a brand incubator for above premium brands. Currently they only brew and sell one other beer and I believe only in Colorado.
Whether or not this is viewed as a craft brand or a "faux craft" most likely depends on how you define craft. I imagine that David follows the definition provided by the Brewer's Association (
http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/craft-brewer-defined). That definition eliminates it by way of the brewery's ownership. Following that logic, there are lots of other "crafts" that should be judged accordingly - Goose Island, Widmer, Kona, Blue Moon, etc. For me, while ownership is an important consideration in my consumption, I ,like most consumers, ultimately judge a beer by how it tastes. I think the response on the ProBrewer forum that was included earlier nails a lot of the issues on the head.
Now, regarding the decision to label the beer as a Coor's product. I can see how some would see it as deceptive but, as mentioned by a few people, it is a pretty common practice in the alcohol industry. There are even a bunch of craft brewers who do the same thing. I don't think creating private labels brands is very different.
When it comes to choices, or lack thereof, for consumers the blame falls almost entirely on the retailer. They determine what brands and products they stock. There is no way to force someone to carry or not carry any certain item. Any brewer or distributor that tries to strong arm a retailer usually has that back fire on them. DanB mentioned Kroger and Meijer... The cooler's in these stores are "set" at a corporate level and usually have very little, if any, local input into what gets stocked. Most items have to meet a certain sales threshold to be considered for placement. That said, you should be able to find BBC in most Krogers in Jefferson Co.
I think in the next year most major retailers will look at expanding their "above premium" offerings to capitalize on consumer trends and preferences for more flavorful beer. Their whole m.o. is to sell consumers what they want. Typically they are not leaders in this matters but rather react to trends in the overall market. That is why independent retailers usually do a better job of catering to new and emerging trends. Think of the beer offerings at Liquor Barn, Keg Liquors, Valu Market and others. They are all successful by offering a unique experience for the shopper. They also have the ability to react to new products instantly whereas the chains usually take a few months. The struggle for any retailer is to find the balance between offering a wide choice while still maintaining enough space for your high volume brands. It takes serious commitment on a retailers part to devote a lot of space to products that don't turn quickly or generate enough revenue relative to others in the category.
Finally, regarding the "oligarchy of big distributors". To my knowledge, there are 6 different beer distributors that service Jefferson Co. 5 of them have a pretty decent presence in the market and only 2 of those carry "major" brands. I'm fairly certain that any brewer interested in coming to the market can find a distributor who would be willing to sell their brands. If there is someone else who thinks they want to get into the distribution game I'm pretty sure all that is required by the palm-greased politcos is a clean record, a completed license application and the $2k license fee.