What is Craft Beer?

There’s been a lot of discussion on the internet around a definition for what is Craft Beer and what is a Craft Brewer. So I thought I’d give my penneth worth too!

This is a discussion that’s been rumbling on for a while. In essence the small craft breweries want to hold on to the notion of “Craft”, while the big multi-national breweries want to cash in on it. As an immediate thought you would link ‘Craft’ to size, with only small breweries qualifying. This immediately hits a snag that some small breweries are producing rubbish beer and “craft” is supposed to be linked with quality. It also hits the problem that when good breweries grow, their beer suddenly cannot be called craft beer, despite no difference in the product or process involved.

A good discussion of the issues can be found on the Brew Dog blog HERE. Their post addresses some of the issues and problems, so I don’t think it is worth repeating them all here.The comments are worth reading though as it's a good discussion of what matters to people about this.

Personally, I think the “Craft” moniker should be indicative of an approach to brewing. A Craft brewery should seek to brew the best beer they can and approach their recipes with that in mind. Unfortunately, this is difficult to quantify, evidence and regulate. There is talk of outlawing the use of some adjuncts, such as rice, which are used to reduce the cost of the brew by industrial brewers. But these can be legitimately used in craft brewing too, and I think the last thing we need to do is stifle creativity with a modern day Rheinheitsgehbot. Again, the impact of these ingredients on a brew, and whether or not it is a craft brew, comes down to the intentions of the brewer.

Ownership of breweries is another area that has been explored as a way of classifying which breweries are “Craft”.  Brew Dog suggests no greater than 20% of a company can be owned by a large industrial brewery before it stops being Craft, but this leads back to the argument about brewery size. Just because one of the big-bad-breweries comes in and buys 40% of Kernel, does that mean that their beer becomes a different product? I’m not so sure, though I recognise the danger.

I think the key to the debate lies in what we want “Craft” to stand for, and for me that is quality. Craft beer is a quality product that is made using the brewer’s skill, experience and judgement. When I read “craft beer” on a bottle or can, I want that to indicate a high quality product that is made with a high degree of human input. I don’t think craft beer can be made in an automated process because the craft elements of skill, experience and judgement, are not present. I do agree with the Brew Dog proposal that all ingredients should be listed on the packaging, so any unnecessary adjuncts and fillers are clearly shown, however there are plenty of mass-market beers which can quote their ingredients as barley, hops, water and yeast just like a craft brewer would.

Ultimately, I’m not too worried about which beers “craft beer” is applied to because I suspect that it has more to do with marketing than anything else. What I believe matters is producing a great product and educating consumers. If the idea of craft beer as a product created by craftspeople with skill, experience and judgement, and on a smaller scale, is something that appeals to your consumer then you need to get out there and tell them that’s what your product is! Engagement with consumers is key in this; let them visit your brewery and see how you work; let them know what you are doing through social media and let them feel part of the process; and allow them to compare that to the big industrial brewers. That is how you hold onto the term craft: you educate people, make them care, give them the information to make decisions, and let your intelligent consumers judge for themselves.