Ever wonder just what is meant by craft beer? I know I have. I found the answer and it is far more complex than I had imagined. It’s about the money and the size of the brewing company, at least that’s my take on it. See what you think, does it clear things up for you?
Let’s visit BrewBound for a craft beer definition.
To refresh, to be considered a craft brewer in the eyes of the BA, a brewery must be small (produce less than 6 million barrels), independent (less than 25 percent owned by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer), and traditional (the majority of a brewery’s total beverage alcohol volume is in beer, instead of alternative products like flavored malt beverages).
Hugh Sisson, founder of Clipper City Brewing (d/b/a Heavy Seas Beer), said it “sets a bad precedent” to strip a company of its craft title simply because it struck a deal with a larger strategic partner.
“We have to be very careful because, yes, this started as a cottage industry, but it’s an industry that’s now in full blown adolescence,” he told Brewbound. “There’s no reason to go penalizing companies because they’ve been successful.”
Read the whole article here.
So you start out as a craft beer, and if you make it big, you are a beer company, or something like that.
I guess one of comments on the page sums it up the best.
It matters not what they are called. The foolishness of the BA and its naming convention is beneath the sensibility of thinking people. If the beer is good, we will drink it.
Leave a Reply