When we say ‘craft beer’ we mean…
The purpose of this page is to save us the trouble of explaining what we mean each time we use phrases like ‘craft beer’, ‘good beer’ or ‘craft brewery’. We find those phrases useful even if others find them irritating, or rail at their imprecision.
This page is likely to change as we have our prejudices challenged and learn more about beer and brewing.
Short version
When we say craft beer, we mean a group of beers, including many real ales, which, in our view, are a good thing and deserving of respect.
Calling something a craft beer doesn’t necessarily mean we like the beer in question; just because it isn’t to our taste doesn’t mean it isn’t well made.
Specifics
This post sets out a list of things which might make us feel warmer towards a beer or brewery and thus consider them craft beers or ‘craft brewers’. We’ll use that as a starting point for a new list here.
Craft breweries and craft beers will have some of the following characteristics.
- They’ll use malts like Maris Otter or even Plumage Archer because they want a particular flavour in their beer, rather than higher-yielding, cheaper varieties. This fact is mentioned on the packaging or on the website.
- They’ll produce single-hop beers or beers which prominently feature specific hops. Their choice of hops is driven by something other than the market price of hops. It is possible/easy to find out which varieties are used and in which forms (extract, whole leaf, pellet).
- It is easy to find out where the beer is made — ideally because it is mentioned on the packaging. It does not pretend to be from somewhere else. (I.e. Belgium, Denmark, Newcastle.)
- The brewers have their names and/or faces on the website or packaging. There are identifiable individuals making the beer. They might even be contactable on Twitter or through their own blogs.
- They lager or age beer for extended periods even though it’s expensive to do so.
- Their beers have vintages and change from year to year: they are not entirely focused on consistency.
- There are signs of innovation led by the brewers rather than marketers or management.
- The brewers are the management.
- They brew beer that makes you say “wow”, not “meh“, or “not bad”. (A beer can be 3.8% abv, brown and hopped with Goldings and still make you go “wow”, by the way.)
- They make a dark beer: they haven’t ceded this ground to Guinness.
- They don’t use clear bottles.
- They make cask- or bottle-conditioned beer.
[...] *. Actually, we’re not going to footnote ‘craft beer’ every time we use it. We’re going to link to this new permanent page. [...]
[...] market for craft beer bars isn’t saturated yet. If there’d been another one a few doors down, we reckon that [...]
I don’t think box ticking will work when defining these beers or brewers.
http://www.northernbeer.co.uk/?p=742
Not wishing to be rude, but this list seems arbitrary and subjective, and hence rather pointless :
1. Marketing. I would bet the vast majority of drinkers are unable to distinguish between beers brewed with any decent malt. We use MO, but not primarily for taste.
2. I view hop blending as being a primary part of the brewer’s skill. Single-hopping with masses of overblown varietals is no great achievement. Our choice of hops is driven by desired aroma and flavour balance rather than the market price.
3. Agree
4. Maybe they are shy, or humble, or like their privacy, or are hideously disfigured, or dislike personality cults.
5. No opinion.
6. Consistency is more important than variety – in my humble opinion. “Vintages” is pretentious for beer – wines have vintages because of crop variability, but this is much less significant for beer.
7. Generally agree, but the reality is that brewing is a business, and all parties have a contribution to make.
8. Agree
9. Agree, with the qualification of “some” – all these “wow” beers are supported by a base of “not bad” beers – hyperbole is terribly tiring.
10. Why just Guinness? Must they also make a lager to avoid ceding this ground to Carling?
11. Agreed, on a superficial level.
12. No objection.
Gregg — doesn’t seem rude! (Although we are getting a bit fed up of people telling us things we do are “pointless” — expressing what we think/feel about beer *is* the point.)
Anyway, I don’t think we could be much clearer here that we’re not trying to provide a universal catch-all definition of craft beer. These are *some* indicators that work for *us*.
The definition of craft beer continues to be redefined and updated all the time as it continues to grow and evolve.