Define craft beer in 50 words or less
“There is a spiritual side to craft brewing which is difficult to define but I think you know it when you see it.” - Hugh Sisson, Clipper City.
Amen. That’s Hugh speaking about big beer incursions into craft brewing, a la Miller Brewing’s so-called Lite Craft line. In his latest newsletter, Hugh notes that the Brewers Association has attempted to define craft brewing, basically by saying you can’t make authentic craft beer if you’re a megabrewer. There was a lot of harrumphing over that, with some suggesting that size doesn’t matter. If A-B can make, say, a pale ale that is as good as Sierra Nevada’s, shouldn’t it qualify as a craft?
I don’t think so, and neither does Hugh: ”I believe that much of what has happened to US beer in the last 25 years has more to do with entrepreneurs reacting against the ‘beer status quo,’ as well as a passion for fuller flavor, than it does with technical definitions.”
Craft beer implies craftsmanship. There is a big difference between a rocking chair made by Thos. Moser and the knockoff you can buy at Pier One. For me, it’s not just about the end product, it’s about the motivation and, yeah, spirituality.