What is craft beer, exactly?

 

Many people out there consume and enjoy craft beers on a very regular basis without really knowing what makes them craft beers, as opposed to….well, other beers. It occurs to me that I'm here writing a column about the subject, but have never actually defined the subject in this forum, so here goes.

As defined by the Brewers Association, an American craft brewery is small, independent, and traditional.

Small:  Produces less than 2 million barrels of beer per year (1 barrel = 31 gallons).

Independent: If any alcoholic beverage industry member (who is not a craft brewer) owns or controls 25% or more (or equivalent economic interest) of the brewery, then it’s not a craft brewery.  In other words, if Anheuser-Busch owns 25% of the place, then it ain’t a craft brewery.

Traditional: To be a craft brewer, one must have either an all malt flagship brew (the beer which that brewers sells the most of) or have at least 50% of its production in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.  Adjuncts like corn and rice are sometimes used to replace barley in brewing. These adjuncts contribute miniscule to nothing in the way of flavor and are cheaper than barley, thereby making a thin, inexpensive brew which tastes thin and near-flavorless. (Sound familiar?) Craft brewers may use other adjuncts, like fruit, spices, rye, or oatmeal, to enhance the flavor, mouthfeel, etc of their beers without jeopardizing their status as craft brewers.

Here are some other terms, as defined by the Brewers Association, that you may have heard:

Microbrewery: A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels (17,600 hectoliters) of beer per year. Microbreweries sell to the public by one or more of the following methods: the traditional three-tier system (brewer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer); the two-tier system (brewer acting as wholesaler to retailer to consumer); and directly to the consumer through carry-outs and/or on-site tap-room or restaurant sales.
 
Brewpub: A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more of its beer on site. The beer is brewed primarily for sale in the restaurant and bar. The beer is often dispensed directly from the brewery's storage tanks. Where allowed by law, brewpubs often sell beer "to go" and /or distribute to offsite accounts. Note: The Brewers Association re-categorizes a company as a microbrewery if its off-site (distributed) beer sales exceed 75 percent.
 
Contract Brewing Company: A business that hires another brewery to produce its beer, or to produce additional beer. The contract brewing company handles marketing, sales, and distribution of its beer, while generally leaving the brewing and packaging to its producer-brewery (which, confusingly, is also sometimes referred to as a contract brewery).
 
As for the latter, Boston Brewing Co (Samuel Adams) started as a contract-brewed only beer back in 1984, when Jim Koch rented unused capacity from other breweries (like Iron City in Pittsburgh) to brew all of his beer. BBC now owns some brewing facilities of its own, like the former Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery in Cincinnati, but still has some portion of its production brewed by contract breweries.

 

For more info: Check out the Brewers Association web page - there's a link in my list of Great Craft Beer Links on the right side of this page.