What Is Craft Beer?
- Bonnie and Clyde Urban Tours
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
What does Craft Beer even mean?
Craft Beer. Two words & a passionately debated topic amongst beer drinkers, around tables & bars stools all over the world. The discussions brew with varying opinions, definitions & common myths that all play their role in the debate of what Craft Beer really means.
To shed some light on this burning question, this article aims to demystify the definition of Craft Beer as a brewing phenomenon; where it emerged, what makes it unique in brewing history & why is Craft Beer beloved by so many.
BEFORE CRAFT BEER: A BRIEF HISTORY
To begin, we must examine why the craft beer movement emerged in the 1960's in U.S.A.'s Golden State: California. Craft Beer begun as a revolution to the profit-driven, big beer industry. Craft Beer's genesis was to make beer great again in the U.S.A.
For roughly 6,000 years, human beings have been brewing grains to extract their spirituous virtues, socialize & trade. Brewing is directly linked with the birth of civilization & a key factor in why nomadic human tribes shifting into settlements. Emerging in Mesopotamia, ancient beer moved along to Egypt & with time crossed the Mediterranean Sea to mainland Europe, where brewing traditions thrived over the course of centuries A.D. (Germany, Belgium, England, the Czech Republic, Ireland amongst others).
As for North America, beer was introduced in the 1800's by immigrants from Germany & Bohemia who arrived to The New World. These beer-loving pioneers rebuilt their beer culture from scratch in a land where hard liquor & its reckless drinking culture prevailed. By the mid-1800's, rich Munich-style lagers were commonplace & by the end of the century, the crisp Pilsner was the prevalent style at brewpubs.
During Prohibition in early 1900's, German brewers were forced to go underground & alcohol was temporarily outlawed. Post-prohibition, beer production shifted away from fresh draft beer toward bottled brews. Innovators like Colonel Pabst, August Busch & the Schlitz brothers with visions of national distribution & hefty profit margins were finally able to make their dreams true, thanks to industrialization, the birth of the aluminum can & refrigeration. Beer history took a major shift & by the end of World War II, beer was being drank mostly in bottles at home, instead of on draught at a pub.
THE BIRTH OF CRAFT BEER!
California, U.S.A. 1960's-1970's. Craft beer is born!
This brewing revolution humbly began for the love of beer, as an opposition to Big Beer. Pioneer brewers in various states of the time, such as Lagunitas, Anchor Brewing Company, New Albion Brewing Co., set out to make beer great again!
Local. Fresh. Interesting. Small scale. Community driven. Flavourful.
First spreading North from California to Washington State, then from West Coast to East Coast, craft beer determinately inspired new brewers through the 1970's, 80's & peaked in the mid 1990's across Colorado, N.Y., Illinois, Massachussetts, Vermont & Maine.
ON THE RISE
Craft brewers had to patiently & persistently educate bars owners, distributors & communities about fresh, unfiltered beer, unfamiliar flavours & styles like IPA's or barrel-aged beers.
The movement took off thanks to breweries like Sierra Nevada, The Alchemist, Allagash, Russian River, Dogfish Head, Sam Adams, Goose Island, Tree House, New Belgium, among many more. Their impact helped craft beer gain momentum in pubs, bottle shops & festivities across the country.
Another major element in the origin of the Craft Beer Movement: hops (the lovely aromatic flower used in brewing) were being re-invented. Up until this point, hops were used for their preservative & bittering qualities in beer making; their aromas being besides the point.
This all changed in Washington State U.S.A. with a hop breeding program by the Oregon State University. Through studies & experiments, they introduced new hop varieties with remarkable aromatic qualities (pine, fruit, citrus, bubble gum, dank, etc.) & hearty agricultural capabilities.
Hello Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe & Mosaic hops!
Beer drinkers began to delve slowly into hop-forward beers which also meant hazy/cloudy & mind-blowing aromatic beers.
CRAFT BEER IN GREECE
The Craft Beer wave has been rippling across the world since the 1990's and early 2000's. In Greece, the first craft brewery emerged in 1997, followed by others in early 2000's & the movement properly exploded in 2017.
We now count over 120 independent micro-craft-nomad breweries in the country!
Following in the Craft Beer phenomenon, homebrewing has become accessible with equipment & easy to find ingredients. Greek beer drinkers are now thirsty for more flavour in their brews, having tasted styles from North America & Europe. The local taste buds are shifting away from ice-cold pale lagers to a wider range.
Let it be known that Greek Craft Beer is top notch; Greece is a must-visit beer destination!
Read more about Greek Craft Beer
WHAT IS CRAFT BEER?
Contrary to mainstream beer hype, craft beer does NOT mean the IPA style, nor is it always bitter or good-tasting either!
Craft beer is essentially about the love of beer. That's how it emerged in the first place, as a counter-movement to cheap, dull, commercial beer.
CRAFT BEER DEFINITIONS
CRAFT : to make or produce with care, skill, or ingenuity
/ A carefully crafted story
This legendary association defines an American craft brewery as “a small & independent brewer”.
According to them, a craft brewery must be:
SMALL: having a maximum annual production of 6 million barrels of beer (about 45 million pints or 364 olympic-size pools).
INDEPENDENTLY OWNED: only up to 25% can be controlled “by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.”
BREWERS: they must have a federally issued permit & naturally, brew beer.
The awesome UK-based beer geeks, define craft beer as:
"Craft beer is a race to the top. It is brewed with the intention of putting flavour & process above cost. It can be innovative or traditional, served in any format & does not have to come from an independent or small brewery – but it must not do damage to the industry’s reputation or any other brewery’s freedom to produce beer to the best of its ability".
4. My very own beer lover & specialist assessment:
As far as my research, experience & discussions have taken me, Craft Beer boils down to: innovation, craftsmanship & mindset.
INNOVATION
As far back as brewing goes in human history, brewers have had little control over the magical natural process of fermentation. Until the 1850's when microbes were discovered along with their function in beer-making, humans didn’t quite know what was responsible for creating alcohol (it was the microscopic yeast all along!). It was crucial for them to find creative brewing solutions in order to succeed.
Innovation in today's brewing comes through the spectrum of new styles & ingredients; re-inventing historic recipes, cutting-edge technologies, imaginative ingredients, pushing the boundaries of flavours & always looking for ways to make the best beer possible.
CRAFTSMANSHIP
Craft beer was born as an opposition to beers without soul. Passion drives craft brewers forward. Although most modern breweries of all scales use machines & automated systems, a craft beer can not be defined without the craft itself: the care for the process & product.
A craftsman is someone who is proud & passionate about their creations; the same way Mozart & Coco Channel were about theirs.
MINDSET
Craft beer takes a page from beer production pre-industrialization, when fresh beer was made by the people, for the local people. Craft breweries support their local community.
Not only they provide employment & a friendly place for patrons to gather at the pub/taproom; they also often collaborate with other brewers, local organizations, festivals & projects.
At the ownership level, there must be a spirit of togetherness, of “more is more” mentality, of give & take. It’s for the greater good.
CRAFT BEER MYTHS
"All large breweries are bad":
While some mega companies take advantage of their position, sometimes they have more resources to care more for their people & make a positive impact.
"Craft Beer is the best kind of beer!":
Craft beer doesn't always taste good! Sometimes, it just doesn't work out. It's in Craft Beer's nature to be experimental & it is common for certain brews to be unpalatable or plainly spoiled. In fact, one of the most significant achievements in brewing, the ability to control the product & offer stable, consistent taste, isn't always the case in Craft Beer.
"Cool Branding = Craft":
Be careful not to be fooled by the beer branding or design! Just because it "looks craft" doesn't always mean it is craft. There's a fair chance it could be owned by a multinational beverage company who only measure things in money. How to find out who owns what? Simply look up the brewery online & see beyond the marketing.
Craft beer is important.
Craft beer is interesting.
Craft Beer has delicious potential.
Great Craft Beer is worth every penny.
Those are the types of beers we pick for our Craft Beer Tours in Crete & Athens - Greece.
We experiment on our tours with food pairings, new beers to present, changing the beer tasting menu often to welcome epic brews, for travellers to discover and enjoy!
Let us know in the comments below which is YOUR definition of craft beer!
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Love & beer!
- Bonnie
P.S. Here is what the awesome beer geeks have to say about it.
// References:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/craft Merriam Webster
https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/craft-brewer-definition/ Brewers Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D_0OKzYhYM Craft Beer Channel
Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink, Randy Mosher
Hear hear!!
I mostly agree with these definitions of what craft beer means. I find the most important as you write is the MINDSET. The values for community and looking out for local people, building local employment and support is most important in craft.