My company[1] builds quality control tools for artisan beverage producers; we know that craft production is a batch process relying on agricultural grains with inherent variation.
That doesn't mean it shouldn't be produced.
Craft production is undoubtedly higher quality than any continuous production - it just takes more skill (or software tools..) to do correctly and consistently.
Furthermore, the use of certain ingredients to reduce noticeable inconsistencies came at a time before process control was a known science. For example, hops were originally added to beer being shipped from England to India (hence the name India Pale Ale or IPA). Now, that practice didn't survive because of quality control - it has survived because people like the taste of IPAs and there is demand in the market for that flavor profile.
Consumers don't think of skill of production when rating beers or whiskeys; they judge only the resulting flavor profile and are influenced by contextual clues such as age statements or 'hand made batch numbered artisan spirit' promises.