Craft beer is a part of history every bit as much as it is the new thing sweeping the nation. The irony is that craft beer isn't new at all. It was just recently defined and now it's a buzz word because many of the home brewers find themselves in a nationally recognized brewing category.
But, the fact of the matter is that craft beer has gone through its own historical changes just like everything else. A few centuries ago, each town had its own brewery or they carted brew in from a town next door. Then of course, as in all things, someone gets the bright idea to mass produce beer and sell it to everyone for less than what the craft breweries could.
Cost effectiveness comes with mass production. When you have tons of supplies onboard and can produce beer day and night in mass quantities, then ship it out to all the major cities and all the pubs across the nation are stocking it, you can run the prices down and craft beers become obsolete. So, how have they managed to stay in business throughout the centuries?
You are always going to have your beer enthusiasts who want a taste of something new, something different, something distinct. Mass production of beer has to satisfy the majority appeal. It has to be made mainstream so that everyone likes it. But, there isn't anything distinct about it because then you run the chance of a majority of beer drinkers not liking it.
So, craft beer has survived. It is not new. But, it feels new because now it's in a nationally recognized market as a cause of its growth. More and more pubs are stocking craft beers. Microbreweries and brewpubs are popping up all over the place. Contract breweries are filling more orders. Regional breweries are getting more attention. Thus, craft beer is actually starting to get more attention than traditional brewing companies that have stood the test of time.
What defines craft beer is actually several things. The first thing is the amount of beer that is brewed yearly, and this is where all home brewers get their first distinction. A craft brewer produces 6,000,000 barrels of beer or less a year. Anything more than that and you are considered a large brewery.
The next item gives the home brewer its second distinction, a craft brewer is independent. That means that the brewer itself has most of the ownership, thereby having all of the control. Home brewers have all the control, thereby fulfilling the second criteria. The final criteria is that the brewer must have an all malt beverage as its flagship, which means that is has an all malt beverage that represents the most volume of all of its brands. Of course, unless the home brewer is making more cider or wine than he is beer, then he is a craft beer brewer.
Obviously, each criterion has specifics that needed laid out in full detail because of the complexity between different breweries and what constitutes an actual craft beer. But, I'm taking broad strokes here as they apply to the home brewer. The home brewer can now feel confident as he walks among other brewers because now he has a distinction and a market.
Don't hesitate to find your taste and chase it! Brew your beer until you finally find the one you like or several you prefer. Put them in shows and take them to your local bar. Let them stock it and give your locals a taste of what you can do. That's the way it's done. That's the way it has always been done. Nothing has changed!
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