Poll: should we continue using the term "craft" to describe beer?

I've used to term microbrew with my macro drinking friends enough to know that this term doesn't send a message. When I say "microbrew" they think it's beer brewed in little tiny tanks and this makes the beer really hoppy.

 

Don't really care if/how it is used (which IMO is more as a marketing term than anything else); but I do find it interesting that even the Brewers Association definition doesn't mention that "craft" beer is specifically about a better crafted product -- probably because frequently it is not.

 

I don't like the term "craft."

I don't really care to get into why linking it to brewery size/ownership or to the quality of the final product runs into its own problems, but to me, it feels like the vestige of some sort of backlash against the big guys – this need to partition off what you're drinking against what the other 9/10 of people are drinking, lest someone hears you say "I like beer" and thinks you've got a cooler of Bid Lite in your trunk. They're fundamentally the same product and happen to vary in character. I don't think there's any reason to differentiate anything categorically – some of it's just better than others.

Edit: Can anyone weigh in on the term's use in other countries? My intuition is that it's regions with newer quality brewing traditions (US, Scandinavia, Italy, Japan) that like to adopt it versus those with older ones (UK, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic).

 

"we" can't do that because "we" are a small minority of beer drinkers. When you tell a non Ba that you drink craft beer they know what you mean. That's why we should keep the term.

 

I would be fine with microbrew, but A. That wouldn't solve all the definitional issues B. People who are NOT beer nerds know the terms craft. It will be very confusing if sites like this use a different term from the rest of the world.C. The fact that there are grey areas does not make a term meaningless. Most categories have grey areas. D. The usage of the word does imply that there is something distinctive about it - that it is either better, or more authentic, or more socially/environmentally desirable. There are clearly many people who care a lot about beer, who do not think craft beer (by the definitions based on size, ownership, etc) is any of those things. They are free to not use the word of course, as the attribute it describes is not important to them.

 

I dislike the "craft" differentiation (a lot), but "macro beer" is what a majority of the people consume. "Craft beer" is the other. It's fine that you wish it wasn't the other, but it is, and it's labeled as such.

 

I like the term. When I see it on a menu, I know what to expect. Most BA people also know what it means even if they don't like it. It's like the word "shit" - its not the best word and it is not always appropriate but everyone has a pretty good idea what you mean when you use it.

 

It's a bit pretentious. Just call it beer.

 

I believe those are called high end or gourmet burghers. You could use those words for beer rather than craft but A. Why? B. Many craft beers are barely more expensive than macros, so it would give an inaccurate message

 

I don't mind calling it "craft beer," but I'll admit that a more universally descriptive term would be "expensive beer."

 

99% of the time I avoid the term, but sometimes a situation arrises when you want a beer that isn't from the big boys, and you need to use an adjective or two to find out if the not so trendy bar has something you'd like to drink.

 

It's "beer" plain and simple. If someone asks if I want a beer and I say yes, the follow up will always be what kind and the reply will get more specific (i.e. brand name and/or style). If you walk into the vast, majority of bars and say I want a "craft beer" you are probably going to get a quizzical look from the bartender and be considered quite the douchebag by everyone working at that particular establishment.

 

Where I live (which isn't too far from the OP), it's just "beer". We know that if we get a beer at the bookstore, the bike shop, the hair cutter, it's most likely to be "craft" beer. Sure, the hipster barbershop hands folks a Peeber, but they wanna live in PDX anyway. Craft beer has near 30% share of the market in the NW, and growing. I cannot think of a single bar/restaurant in my county that at least doesn't have a few craft options on it's menu.

@draheim and I both know that where we live is still different than in the rest of the U.S.A., but y'all are catching up. The sooner that we (as active participants in beer) stop differentiating ourselves, the sooner everyone else accepts it for what it is. Just beer.

 

I couldn't agree with your opinion and desire for change more but I feel you're spitting into the wind.

 

No or Don't Care.

There's beer I drink and beer I don't drink.

 

"Macros" are the "default" because they have dominated the market so thoroughly and for so long. They are tied into everything from sports to politics and all the media in-between. And they're also powerful enough to prevent that control from being wrested away.

 

I don't care.

But I must admit, I don't think I've ever used the term "craft beer" in an actual conversation. I just sounds odd to me.

Now I do use the term "good beer" quite often.

 

I voted yes just because I think the word 'Craft' is alienating some people and making it seem like something eccentric and snooty, instead of what it is, which is just better tasting beer.

 

doesn't mean anything.