Craft beer definition

[HopheadSean]

The brewers association recently came up with a definition of a craft brewery. Well that sounds good, but if you read it you will see there are some problems with it. Goose Island is one brewery that doesn't fit it. Whoa that sucks or if Boston Beer grows over 2 million barrels they won't be by definition a craft brewery. Now I have a real problem with that when a large brewery like Boston Beer who promotes craft beer be pushed aside. The brewers association should of thought a little harder when they came up with this idea.

[dparsons]

RDWHAHB. You and I know what a craft brew is. The definitions are for the politics in the market. Perhaps it will keep BMC from calling their specialty beers "craft" if the official definition excludes them. You can't draw a perfect line that cuts right for every circumstance. The way I see it a beer is either good or it isn't. It really doesn't matter what names you give it. You don't drink the name; you drink the beer.

[Stahlsturm]

I have a very simple definition myself. If it's advertised on national TV it's not craft.

[steveh]

Well, that would nix Sam Adams these days, and while growing greatly - they still keep their spot on the side of making some good brews...of the type A-B can only stab at and fall short.

S.

[steveh]

Here (http://www.beertown.org/education/craft_defined.html) Is that definition, I don't see where Goose Island doesn't fit under either Independent or Traditional Craft Brewer.

S.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by steveh
Well, that would nix Sam Adams these days, and while growing greatly - they still keep their spot on the side of making some good brews...of the type A-B can only stab at and fall short.

S.

Well, don't get me wrong, I like some of their beers but the moment a brewery tries to be present nationwide (and we're talking about a pretty big nation here...) you can't possibly brew Craft Beer. Craft beer to me is something done hands one, with love and understanding and once you produce the amounts SA does it's not a craft anymore, it's a mass product. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad beer (yet).

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
Well, don't get me wrong, I like some of their beers but the moment a brewery tries to be present nationwide (and we're talking about a pretty big nation here...) you can't possibly brew Craft Beer. Craft beer to me is something done hands one, with love and understanding and once you produce the amounts SA does it's not a craft anymore, it's a mass product. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad beer (yet).

Stahlsturm...have you taken the tour of the Sam Adams brewery in Boston? If not, try to next time you're over. It's a rather small place where they experiment, formulate recipes, do some barrel aging and work on QC and other issues. Yes, they still utilize contract brewing and own a large brewery in OH, but I still think of Sam Adams as a craft beer brand.

Cheers!

[ClockworkOrange]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Stahlsturm...have you taken the tour of the Sam Adams brewery in Boston? If not, try to next time you're over. It's a rather small place where they experiment, formulate recipes, do some barrel aging and work on QC and other issues. Yes, they still utilize contract brewing and own a large brewery in OH, but I still think of Sam Adams as a craft beer brand.

Cheers!

I just took the tour of Sam Adams in Boston in October and really enjoyed it. And yes the two brewers that say a few words in the commercials were there going about their business as the tour took place.

[HopheadSean]

I took the Sam Adams brewery tour in March and saw a craft brewery at its finest. I suggest the Utopia.

[Mill Rat]

My rough definition of a craft beer is one where the flavor and quality of the product becomes the primary criterion instead of cents per can or buzz for the buck.

[newportstorm]

I know I've linked this before, but....here's what craft brewing means to those that are in the industry:

http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/399

Cheers!

[steveh]

Don't know if my link wasn't obvious enough so:
http://www.beertown.org/education/craft_defined.html

And since it's the Brewers Association's definition, I'll take it as seriously as the quotes at BA. And I still say Goose fits 2/3 of the definition.

Stahl - I appreciate the heart behind your skeptisism, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

S.

[ratman03]

Originally posted by dparsons
The way I see it a beer is either good or it isn't. It really doesn't matter what names you give it. You don't drink the name; you drink the beer.

Agreed. Very well stated.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by steveh
Don't know if my link wasn't obvious enough so:
http://www.beertown.org/education/craft_defined.html

And since it's the Brewers Association's definition, I'll take it as seriously as the quotes at BA. And I still say Goose fits 2/3 of the definition.

S.

I do NOT agree with this definition. Craft brew has to do with quality, not politics.

1. Small
Small or big, you can make good beer.

2. Independent
It doesn't matter who owns the stock. If they make good beer they make good beer. It is a matter of how the beer is brewed not how the books are kept.

3. Traditional
Really a bad term for what they want to say. This basically means they use ingredients to create flavor rather than maximize profit. This one kills BMC in my opinion, not 1 or 2. This is the only item that has to do with quality.

Note the definition of craft from the dictionary includes:
Skill in doing or making something, as in the arts; proficiency.
To make or construct (something) in a manner suggesting great care or ingenuity.

Skill, proficiency, great care, ingenuity. Sounds right to me.

[steveh]

Originally posted by dparsons
Craft brew has to do with quality, not politics.

I think it's safe for us to assume that the biggest corner stone of the Brewers Association is quality beer, whether from a Small, Independent, or Traditional craft brewer.

If you read that whole essay on Craft Beer, you'll see all the definitions combine and you'll find the support for quality you'd expect - even in home-brewing.

S.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by steveh
I think it's safe for us to assume that the biggest corner stone of the Brewers Association is quality beer, whether from a Small, Independent, or Traditional craft brewer.

If you read that whole essay on Craft Beer, you'll see all the definitions combine and you'll find the support for quality you'd expect - even in home-brewing.

S.

The definition is for small, independent, AND traditional. Its very narrow. If you sell too much you are excluded. If you have too much outside investment then you are excluded. My read is that craft beer can be quality, really should be quality, but it isn't necessarily so. To me if you are a craftsman you know what you are doing, are conscientious, and produce a quality product. Its your craft.

M observation is that it is a whole lot easier to exclude BMC from the term craft with the size and outside investment clauses. It make it easy to exclude companies that are mass production and profit oriented. You're not stuck making quality arguments over Michelob's Amber Bock and the like.

This brings us back to the point. You and I know what craft beer and craft brewing are. Perhaps the term has become big and desirable enough in the market that a political definition is necessary to keep the word from being decimated by marketers. Amber Bock is all malt with flavor enhancing adjuncts. Is it craft? Nope. The reason: some combination of money motivation and perhaps a lack of know-how result in a mediocre beer. Is it fair to exclude other breweries that actually make excellent beer but they are too big or have 26% outside investment? No it isn't.

Quality is very hard to specify. The third item address it, but not completely. Its possible to make an all malt beer with flavor enhancing adjuncts that isn't particularly good. That certainly describes my initial attempts. The reason was I didn't know what I was doing very well. I hadn't developed my craft.

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by dparsons
Amber Bock is all malt with flavor enhancing adjuncts. Is it craft? Nope. The reason: some combination of money motivation and perhaps a lack of know-how result in a mediocre beer. I greatly doubt that "lack of know-how" would be an issue for any macro-brewing operation. They not only have their extensive knowledge of their own current processes, but they also possess records and research going back well over a century not only from their own brewing heritage but that of the other companies that they acquired.

I completely agree with the financial motivation, and I will add one: equipment capacities and lack of flexibility. From my engineering consulting work, I know that their grain handling, milling, mashing, brewing, and lagering equipment is optimized to make American light lager. This is a major reason why a 30-pack can sell for 10 to 12 bucks. Maling a significantly different beer in the same equipment will be a far less efficient process.

When the possibility of producing something besides an American light lager with this equipment is made, not only is the cost of making the alternate product factored in, but the loss of production of the usual product, and its usual net revenue, is also part of the equation.

[steveh]

Just to post my own observations/interpretations:

Small = annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. FMB’s are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.

Covers many, if not all, brew-pubs.

Independent = Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.

This covers Red Hook & Goose Island, among others.

Traditional = A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

Sam Adams fits here, as does Goose Island, and maybe Sierra Nevada.

CRAFT BEER: Craft beers are produced with 100 % barley or wheat malt or use other fermentable ingredients that enhance (rather than lighten) flavor. Craft beers only come from craft brewers.

Which of our favorite breweries don't fit into any of these categories or aren't producing craft beer? I suppose if you're Sandlot Brewing, you have the biggest beef. Otherwise, even Spaten & Guinness fit the Traditional definition and their beers follow the Craft Beer definition.

Perhaps the term has become big and desirable enough in the market that a political definition is necessary to keep the word from being decimated by marketers.

DP - I think you've probably hit on something here, and maybe the Brewers Association is making the first move before A-B starts calling its shadow breweries "craft breweries."

If I felt that the big breweries were more passionate about beer than money, I might be on your side with this argument. As is, none of the US Macros has proven any consistency with brewing good beers - Michelob's Weizen being the closest, but I can count numerous better Weizens I'd be more inclined to drop good money on.

And, if something on that front changes, who is to say the BA won't alter their definitions?

S.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by steveh

Which of our favorite breweries don't fit into any of these categories or aren't producing craft beer? I suppose if you're Sandlot Brewing, you have the biggest beef. Otherwise, even Spaten & Guinness fit the Traditional definition and their beers follow the Craft Beer definition.

If they produce over 2 million barrels they aren't craft beers. If they have 26% or more outside ownership they aren't craft beers. The definition is such that they have to meet all three conditions, not just one or two.

I don't know how many barrels Sierra Nevada produces. Their Pale Ale is in my local Costco in cases, so its a good bet they exceed the limit. To me, they are a craft brewery brewing craft beer and I really don't care whether they break 2 million barrels or not.

The only reason that much production might be of concern goes back to Mill Rat's point about equipment geared to large volume, efficient production. That comes down to a decision of quality vs. $. If they did compromise the quality, compromise their craft, I think we would recognize it.

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by dparsons
The only reason that much production might be of concern goes back to Mill Rat's point about equipment geared to large volume, efficient production. That comes down to a decision of quality vs. $. If they did compromise the quality, compromise their craft, I think we would recognize it. It is certainly possible to build a large scale brewery to produce craft-quality beers. If you look at it from an "ingredients and processes required standpoint, breweries like Guinness and Pilser Urquell could produce craft-quality beers with their existing facilities in a manner not dissimlar to what they use for their own production. It is really the BMC-class breweries with the large amounts of adjuncts to compensate for the 6-row and the minimal hops usage that are not as suited to craft-quality beer production.

[steveh]

Originally posted by dparsons
The definition is such that they have to meet all three conditions, not just one or two.

No, don't see that specified anywhere.

S.

[Stahlsturm]

What is a "barrel" in liters ?

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
What is a "barrel" in liters ? 31 gallons. Gallon's just slightly less than 4 liters, so roughly 120 liters.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
31 gallons. Gallon's just slightly less than 4 liters, so roughly 120 liters.

Ah, oki. An american Gallon is 3.8 liters so a barrel is 117.8 liters.

Originally posted by steveh
Just to post my own observations/interpretations:

Small = annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. FMB’s are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.

So breweries with an output up to 2,360,000,000 liters are considered a craft brewery ? That's a bit over 2.3 MILLION hektoliters. If that isn't industrial brewing I don't know what is... And you can either produce something industrially or as a craft. There is no such thing as industrial craftmanship.
I'm not saying breweries that size make bad beer but they sure as Hell are not Craft beer.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by steveh
No, don't see that specified anywhere.

S.

On the web link you gave

"CRAFT BREWER: An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Craft beer comes only from a craft brewer."

The underline is mine.

[steveh]

Originally posted by dparsons
"CRAFT BREWER: An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional."


I'm not reading that to mean a brewer has to fall into every category. I'm reading it as a statement of many characteristics of the American craft brewer.

Stahl, there are many breweries producing good, "craft" beer in large quantities. I can't agree with you that there is no such thing as industrial craftsmanship; look at Porsche or Beretta.

S.

[Stahlsturm]

Well Steve, if you want to live an illusion, be my guest :) Nobody over here would think of a production line Porsche as craft. I guess the definition I've learned for "Craft" (= Handwerk) is different. To me "industrial craftmanship" is an oxymoron. Once you produce something by industrial standards and quantities you may still want to pass off your product as "craft" but it just doesn't qualify anymore. And I stress again that that doesn't mean it's a bad product, it just isn't craft anymore.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
And I stress again that that doesn't mean it's a bad product, it just isn't craft anymore.

So you're picking nits over your own interpretation of the definition. I guess I am too, but I'm being a bit more forgiving. I believe there are still craftsmen in big companies who take pride in their "craft," and it often shows. I'm not living an illusion, just being a bit less pessimistic in my old age.

DP and I are arguning the same point (that a large brewer can and should be called a craft brewer if they are making a good product), we are just disagreeing over the interpretation of the Brewers Association's meaning behind their definition -- and whether or not they agree with our belief. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they can't shrug off good beer, whether it's from a small or large brewery. To that point, and e-mail has been sent their way.

S.

[Stahlsturm]

Maybe it's nitpicking and maybe it's just experience of having seen good small privately owned breweries being sucked into industrial conglomerates. They still make good beer for a while but ever so gradually they start adjusting their beer towards the lowest common denominator like all industrial brews do.

To me if a brewery goes beyond a certain yearly output that's the beginning of the end. Call me a bitter cynic but I've seen it happen many times here in Bavaria and I have learned not to give anyone the benefit of doubt anymore.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by steveh
DP and I are arguning the same point (that a large brewer can and should be called a craft brewer if they are making a good product), we are just disagreeing over the interpretation of the Brewers Association's meaning behind their definition -- and whether or not they agree with our belief. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they can't shrug off good beer, whether it's from a small or large brewery. To that point, and e-mail has been sent their way.

S.

I'm glad we agree on some things at least. :confused:
Big does not mean they can't be good.
The definition, taken literally, is not right.

[ratman03]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
Maybe it's nitpicking and maybe it's just experience of having seen good small privately owned breweries being sucked into industrial conglomerates. They still make good beer for a while but ever so gradually they start adjusting their beer towards the lowest common denominator like all industrial brews do.

To me if a brewery goes beyond a certain yearly output that's the beginning of the end. Call me a bitter cynic but I've seen it happen many times here in Bavaria and I have learned not to give anyone the benefit of doubt anymore.

You have a point here. Most of the time, the better quality "craft" product comes from a smaller operation. If the product is a commodity, the difference can be negligible; but craft beer isn't a commodity, really. There exceptions, but I think most of us can agree that, in a perfect world, our beer would be made by artisan brewers in small production breweries.

However, big brewers can make a great product; examples that immediately come to mind are Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada. I think Stahlsturm's point is that, inevitably, when a company is answering to stockholders and corporate parents, compromises are often made.

When I visited the Sierra Nevada brewery, I was amazed at the high quality of the pub food -- even better quality than your average brewpub, which is usually decent. The pint prices were the lowest I have seen anywhere, and I suspect that this is in no small way due to the fact that one of the original founders owns the company. What I'm saying is this: You cannot, as a businessperson, justify charging $3 per pint when the market will pay $5 -- unless your top priority is something other than making the most money. Perhaps he is doing it for marketing purposes, or to give thanks to loyal Chico customers; whatever the reason, if a corporate parent owned the brewery, the pint prices would be market rate -- I can guarantee you that.

To sum it up, I'll say this: I prefer small craft brewers, but I give thanks for large craft brewers, because while they may be the exception, their dedication to making a good product should not be overlooked.

[steveh]

Originally posted by ratman03
I think Stahlsturm's point is that, inevitably, when a company is answering to stockholders and corporate parents, compromises are often made.

I don't know that "inevitably" is true -- common, maybe, but it doesn't have to be the rule.

To that note, it appears that the Brewers Association believes much the same as friend Stahl, much to my disappointment:

Thanks for your question and support of craft brewers and beer culture in America. The answer to your question is yes, a brewer must meet all three criteria to be a part of our statistics for the commercial craft brewing sector. We conduct our survey of all American breweries in early January, then compile the data for a preliminary estimate on craft beer growth in February. We'll be reviewing the status of individual breweries for whether their 2006 production data should be included as part of the craft sector that we publish in The New Brewer in May 2007.

The compiled statistics are available at: http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html.

Paul Gatza
Director
Brewers Association

To which my reply will be:

"Paul,
Thank you for your reply. By your answer (and the definition) I must then ask if the Brewers Association doesn't endorse that Goose Island or Sam Adams brews craft beer (although, I'm unsure that Goose Island produces more than 2 million barrels)?"

S.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by steveh
I don't know that "inevitably" is true -- common, maybe, but it doesn't have to be the rule.

To that note, it appears that the Brewers Association believes much the same as friend Stahl, much to my disappointment:

Thanks for your question and support of craft brewers and beer culture in America. The answer to your question is yes, a brewer must meet all three criteria to be a part of our statistics for the commercial craft brewing sector. We conduct our survey of all American breweries in early January, then compile the data for a preliminary estimate on craft beer growth in February. We'll be reviewing the status of individual breweries for whether their 2006 production data should be included as part of the craft sector that we publish in The New Brewer in May 2007.

The compiled statistics are available at: http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html.

Paul Gatza
Director
Brewers Association

To which my reply will be:

"Paul,
Thank you for your reply. By your answer (and the definition) I must then ask if the Brewers Association doesn't endorse that Goose Island or Sam Adams brews craft beer (although, I'm unsure that Goose Island produces more than 2 million barrels)?"

S.

Sam Adams most definitely should be included in the craft beer definition. They brew less than 2 million barrels and though they have stockholders, they are not owned or controlled (in part or in whole) "by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer." Stockholders - yes. BMC - no.

Unsure of Goose Island's "status" as they are owned in part by Widmer, whose association with A-B may make Widmer fall outside the BA's craft brewer definition.

But if Goose Island doesn't "qualify"....BFD. Their Honkers Ale tastes far better than many "craft beers" on the shelves.

Cheers!

[steveh]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Unsure of Goose Island's "status" as they are owned in part by Widmer, whose association with A-B may make Widmer fall outside the BA's craft brewer definition.

Their holding percentage is less than 25%, IIRC.

Their Honkers Ale tastes far better than many "craft beers" on the shelves.

Agreed, but then the BA's definition needs a little re-work.

Sam Adams really brews less than 2 million barrels annually? I can't imagine Goose is brewing more than Sam.

S.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by steveh
Sam Adams really brews less than 2 million barrels annually? I can't imagine Goose is brewing more than Sam.

S.

Yup. They've never eclipsed the 2 million bbl mark that I know of - and that includes all beverages (Twisted Tea, etc.). I think last year they were in the 1.4 million barrel range.

GI brewed just over 100K barrels in 2005 on 17% growth. No clue how much they've grown this year.

Here's some interesting stats to browse (major brewers):
http://www.beerinsights.com/docs/brewersimportship.html

Cheers!

[steveh]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Here's some interesting stats to browse (major brewers):
http://www.beerinsights.com/docs/brewersimportship.html


Where'd you get the Goose & Sam info?

Edit: Found the Sam, funny that Goose isn't in that mix with Sam, Bell's, Sierra Nevada - et al.

S.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by steveh
Where'd you get the Goose & Sam info?

Edit: Found the Sam, funny that Goose isn't in that mix with Sam, Bell's, Sierra Nevada - et al.

S.

Back up....nix my comments about GI's production. I was scanning some old articles about A-B's pursuit of craft beer partnerships and mixed up Boulevard's production numbers (100K+) with Goose Island.

This article estimates Goos Island produced about 50K barrels last year.

http://www.probrewer.com/news/news-002817.php

Cheers!

[dparsons]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Sam Adams most definitely should be included in the craft beer definition. Yada yada yada ...

Like I said earlier, we know what craft brew is. We also don't need a political definitiion to tell us either.

[Mill Rat]

Maybe we need to distinguish craft brew from good brew. Is there a positive correlation between these two traits? I would argue that my own unscientific research says that there is strong positive correlation. This does not mean that every craft brew is good, nor does it mean that once a brewer violates one or more of the BA criteria, their product quality takes a dive.

If someone were to place two randomly-selected beers in front of me, one identified as brewed by a craft house and one identified as brewed by a macro-brewer, and ask me, without tasting either one, which one was better, I'd certainly pick the craft brew. Would I be right 100% of the time? No. Would I be right 90% of the time? I think so.

Of course, once we get into discussing what makes a "good" brew, we wade neck deep into a subjective morass. Where's Bighead when you don't need him?

[dparsons]

Good point. I would just reiterate that craft has to do with skill. It is well made.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by dparsons
Like I said earlier, we know what craft brew is. We also don't need a political definitiion to tell us either.

I read what you wrote earlier...and agree. But the topic is here for exploration and questioning.

Cheers!

[steveh]

Maybe we ned to come up with some RealBeer definitions of our own? BeerAdvocate has done it, why not us?

S.

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by steveh
Maybe we ned to come up with some RealBeer definitions of our own? BeerAdvocate has done it, why not us?

S. Sounds too much like work to me.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by dparsons
Good point. I would just reiterate that craft has to do with skill. It is well made. It also has to do with "hands on" and is the opposite of industrial production.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by steveh
Maybe we ned to come up with some RealBeer definitions of our own? BeerAdvocate has done it, why not us?

S.

I don't think we could agree on a definition :D

[dparsons]

How do you define quality? The BA definition item 3, tradition, defines what goes into a quality beer. Its pretty good for that. How do you deal with the end result? That's the difficult part.

[liammckenna]

Had to jump in here. My first post.

Craft beer. To me, having brewed professionally for more than twenty years now, craft beer has little or nothing to do with the size of the brewery. However, it has been my experience that larger brewers are the first to turn to various and sundry tools that most (not all) small brewers wouldn't even allow in their breweries.

Crap, I call it. To name a few:

1/ Non-mash sources of enzymes - not limited to the following: alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase, amylase, glucamylase, glucanase, pentosanase, protease, ficin, bromalain, papain, pepsin,
2/ Preservatives and antioxidants - sulphites, ascorbates, erythorbates, etc. (and chelating agents like EDTA - ethylene diamine tetra-acetate - to make the ascorbate function as an antioxidant as opposed to an oxidant in its absence)
3/ Foam enhancers - Alginates - other than Irish Moss
4/ Viscosity enhancers - non-mash sources of dextrins, methylcellulose,
5/ Hop extracts containing traces of solvents like methylene chloride or hexane
6/ Non fermentable sources of colour - Caramel, tannins
7/ Other processing aids - dimethylpolysiloxane, hydrogen peroxide, Acacia gum/gum Arabic, yeast food(s), clouding agents, synthetic fruit essences etc.

Interesting that this thread doesn't refer to this aspect of 'craft brewing'.

Also, the need to have an all malt product kind of sticks in my throat. To me it's a little like telling a baker he/she can only make white bread. For instance, no legitimate Irish stout is 'all-malt'. By definition, there must be a significant portion of roasted barley (unmalted) in the mash. I've had many excellent craft brewed, stylistically accurate stouts in my time.

Beer is an elegantly simple thing. Generally, perhaps over-generalizing here, large brewers corrupt its inherent simplicity.

My two cents.

Liam

[Mill Rat]

Welcome to the board, Liam. I appreciate your sharing of your professional opinion. I'd agree that when the brewing chemistry moves beyond the range of ingredients that someone with a fair degree of determination and simple equipment couldn't gather or make for themselves, and instead requires the industrial version of the deluxe chemistry set, it's really not a craft product anymore.

[dparsons]

Thanks for the input Liam. The chemical manipulation is something that isn't a part of our brewing experience and, you're quite right, much of that wouldn't be allowed in my kitchen.

Regarding the all malt portion of the definition, there is allowance for adjuncts that enhance the flavor. This would include roasted barley and other unmalted grains (such as oats or wheat). I think it would even cover Candi sugar used in some Belgian brews, but I'm not sure. It depends on how you interpret "enhance." It would be ridiculous to say that Westmalle wasn't a craft brewery.

[ratman03]

Originally posted by liammckenna
Had to jump in here. My first post.

Craft beer. To me, having brewed professionally for more than twenty years now, craft beer has little or nothing to do with the size of the brewery. However, it has been my experience that larger brewers are the first to turn to various and sundry tools that most (not all) small brewers wouldn't even allow in their breweries.

Crap, I call it. To name a few:

1/ Non-mash sources of enzymes - not limited to the following: alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase, amylase, glucamylase, glucanase, pentosanase, protease, ficin, bromalain, papain, pepsin,
2/ Preservatives and antioxidants - sulphites, ascorbates, erythorbates, etc. (and chelating agents like EDTA - ethylene diamine tetra-acetate - to make the ascorbate function as an antioxidant as opposed to an oxidant in its absence)
3/ Foam enhancers - Alginates - other than Irish Moss
4/ Viscosity enhancers - non-mash sources of dextrins, methylcellulose,
5/ Hop extracts containing traces of solvents like methylene chloride or hexane
6/ Non fermentable sources of colour - Caramel, tannins
7/ Other processing aids - dimethylpolysiloxane, hydrogen peroxide, Acacia gum/gum Arabic, yeast food(s), clouding agents, synthetic fruit essences etc.

Interesting that this thread doesn't refer to this aspect of 'craft brewing'.

Also, the need to have an all malt product kind of sticks in my throat. To me it's a little like telling a baker he/she can only make white bread. For instance, no legitimate Irish stout is 'all-malt'. By definition, there must be a significant portion of roasted barley (unmalted) in the mash. I've had many excellent craft brewed, stylistically accurate stouts in my time.

Beer is an elegantly simple thing. Generally, perhaps over-generalizing here, large brewers corrupt its inherent simplicity.

My two cents.

Liam

Thank you for this information. The demands of large-scale production corrupts a lot of things, as it often goes with the territory. One of the things I enjoy so much about beer is what you so eloquently call its 'inherent simplicity'. I posit that any practice that threatens this should not be supported.

[Jim Dorsch]

It's been mentioned that this might be a 'political' definition. At a minimum it's a statistical definition, because each year the BA issues statistics (as Paul Gatza alluded) on sales of craft beer.

The BA represents a wide variety of smaller, independent brewers. I expect it's quite a balancing act to keep them all happy, and I applaud them for publishing what I think is a fairly stringent definition in that context.

[Stonch]

Surely the definition is irrelevant?

Sometimes big brewers produce good beers. Sometimes smaller brewers produce very bad ones.

What we can be sure of is that without small, new brewers, the beer scene globally would be getting progressively worse. That's why we support smaller brewers and are wary of the big boys. However, good beer is good beer - it isn't "craft beer". Craft beer is a daft expression.

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[dparsons]

Originally posted by Stonch
Surely the definition is irrelevant?


When you're buying a good beer you like, the definition certainly is. When you're marketing a beer it isn't.