After all, this is the same person who just last year said Boston Beer has lost market share "as new craft brewers enter the market and more existing craft brewers are expanding their regional distribution."

So which is it? The big, evil conglomerates or the upstart little guys? It sure sounds like both, especially when Koch cites "variety and innovation" created by direct craft competition as inspiration to push Sam Adams to launch products like their nitro line of beers while rapidly expanding and changing its Rebel IPA series.

But why now? What is it about this moment that has created such worry for one of the most famous, wealthy, household names in beer?

While reading Koch's column, a couple answers immediately came to mind:

• The annual Craft Brewers Conference is this week, an ideal time to sound the rallying cry for the 5,300+ Brewers Association-defined "craft" brewers. The same kind of conversation was created during last year's event, even though it's pretty clear craft has arrived, prominently and definitively.

• On April 26, Boston Beer will have its Q1 earnings call. The last one was...not good. In fact, the company projected a 2017 decrease in the amount of its beer getting to consumers: as low as -7% and high (best case!) +1%. Is this a way to get ahead of that upcoming performance report? A chance to show how and why Boston Beer isn't up to par?

Maybe that’s all conspiracy-theory thinking, no better than the rise Koch is looking to get from his own words. For years, he’s talked warmly about how the U.S. market could support up to 10,000 breweries. But as the industry as a whole has grown and supported so many businesses, all those new breweries and brands have slowly chipped away at Boston Beer's share, not just Bud, Miller and Coors.

There was the 15% decline in shipments to start 2017, which found Boston Beer pointing at a poorly performing seasonal release, Hopscape. Meanwhile, it's been a minute since I've seen or heard anything about the Nitro Project, even if those beers were among some of the top new brands of 2016. Koch has noted consumer interest is now more focused toward “new, small and local.” Maybe that’s why Sam Adams is now releasing a special beer just for Cincinnati, where the company has long brewed its beer.

In his Times op-ed, Koch talks about distribution advantages held by big brewers like AB InBev and MillerCoors, but fails to mention key points applicable to both he and his "craft" brothers and sisters:

• Boston Beer already has "more clout than most when it brings a new product to market. That has worked in its favor in the past, but its size may be working against it now."

• The distribution system is changing for the smallest brewers in the country. "Own-premise" sales at breweries continues to reach record highs and distribution laws are changing or being fought to allow for greater flexibility for breweries themselves, whether for self-distribution or adjusted contracts. In Boston Beer's home state of Massachusetts, there are potential changes for which Koch himself has lobbied.