There is no hard and fast definition of craft beer. The term appears to have been coined by Vince Cottone, author of Good Beer Guide: Breweries and Pubs of the Pacific Northwest (Homestead Book Co., Seattle, 1986). Cottone had a very narrow definition in mind, saying that craft beers are produced by “a small brewery using traditional methods and ingredients to produce a handcrafted, uncompromised beer that is marketed locally.” Cottone’s definition was so strict that that he excluded pasteurized beers, as well as brewers that use malt extracts.
The Brewers Association says simply that a craft beer can only be made by a craft brewer, then goes on to define craft brewers using a three-pronged approach. The brewery must be small, with an annual beer production of less than two million barrels. It must be independent, with less than 25% of the brewery owned or controlled by a member of the alcoholic beverage industry that is not also a craft brewer. And it must be traditional, with either an all malt flagship beer, or with at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or beers that use adjuncts to enhance flavor.
Probably most beer enthusiasts would agree that craft beer is more about an attitude or an approach to brewing than it is about a specific definition. Craft brewers produce smaller batches and use traditional brewing methods, although they often interpret traditional styles with new twists, and may develop new styles. And craft brewers generally insist on using premium, traditional ingredients, producing only all-malt beers. In the end, craft beer is about creating a flavorful, high-quality beer which in most cases is very different from the mass-produced beers most Americans are familiar with.
But are these beers better? Maybe, maybe not. There’s a tendency to assume that a craft beer must be better than a mass-produced beer, but it’s worth remembering that premium ingredients and traditional brewing methods don’t automatically produce a great beer.
Perhaps the best comparison would be to home cooking. For most of us, when someone says “home cooking” or “just like Mom used to make,” we get a very definite mental image – Mom in her apron slaving over a hot stove, spending hours making everything from scratch before calling us to the table for supper. Of course, if you think about it, you also know the mom who couldn’t boil an egg or make toast. Home cooking isn’t good because the food is made at home, it’s good because of the skill and care taken by the cook.
And the same principle applies to craft brewing. A big company with an attentive and talented brewmaster using quality ingredients can produce an excellent beer. And in turn, an unskilled or inattentive brewer with a poor recipe can still produce a flavorless or even bad beer. The only way to decide whether a beer is good, in the end, is to taste it!
