How important is being "Craft" really?

That response was well crafted.

 

I've seen Siera Nevade Pale Ale at the LCBO, but of course due too their agreement with the beer store they can only sell six and it costs 13Bucks. I really do hope that things can become more reasonable up here.

 

Up here in Canadaour prices will always be higher due to taxes. Just be glad you can get Sierra Nevada. In AB we seem to be able to get pretty much everything but SN. And if you can get it for 13 bucks a sixes - well that's pretty good up here especially with the weak CDN dollar! :-)

 

Craft matters. Craft is about small, independent breweries that are supporting their local neighborhood, city, state and region. Around 90% of craft breweries make less than 1500 bbls per year.

Craft is also about providing choice to the consumer. The BA is our trade organization and it is how we as a group along with our state guilds lobby for fair business practices that provide open and equal access to markets. The craft beer industry has supported major changes in laws at the national and state level that have helped create the atmosphere that has encouraged new micro breweries and brewpubs over the last 30+ years.

Big breweries do make some great beers and frankly most people in the craft industry enjoy a lot of those beers too. The distinction in craft & not-craft is more about promoting fair and open access to markets for the small, independent breweries that in some cases only can compete on the quality of their products and do not have a multi-million dollar marketing budget each month.

Because of the craft beer industry consumers have far more choices and this has encouraged even more growth and more breweries.

 

Something to think about is that 'craft' doesn't necessarily mean 'good'. You can be a sh*tty craft beer maker, in this over saturated category.

I've eaten at many crummy restaurants labeling themselves "farm to table", "molecular gastronomy", "local and sustainable farm driven cuisine", "chef inspired". And so many places like to plate their dishes in an exaggerated and unnecessary way, while the taste of the food is so mediocre. Well who cares if your vegetables and meat come from local sourcing, if those farms suck, and your restaurant's cooking does too?

And so, the 'craft' beer terms is tarnished in that way too. When really crappy small production breweries think they are making something special, but can't even make something that is enjoyable as a Bud Light.

You may as well use the term 'craft' and go back to pre-school, when kids are 'crafting' shapes out of colored paper, using scissors, without knowing what they're really doing.

So I guess in the end, the term is not important. I'd rather be called a "good tasting beer" than a "bad craft beer".

 

No it isn't (though some misinformed writers might think so).

There is only a Federal Excise Tax "Reduced Rate" of "...$7 on first 60,000 barrels for brewer who produces less than 2 million barrels". Any US brewer below that yearly barrelage qualifies for that lower rate, regardless of the type of beer(s) they brew or their partial ownership or "independence".

The Reduced rate was introduced in the mid-1970s (a time when there was only one of what are typically considered "craft brewers", Anchor), and applied to all the 35-40 or so oldline brewers still in existence at that time.

 

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. --- George Santayana

 

My sentiments exactly, and there is certainly no shortage of those.
It is also becoming quite clear that more and more consumers are starting to feel the same way and no longer blindly buying into the hype.
Personally I've found that as of late, when trying out a new 'craft' beer for the first time it has devolved to a less than 50/50 chance that the product will not be one I would ever purchase again .
In fact, a lot of beer lovers with whom I've spoken seem to be in agreement that while there was significantly less choice 25-30 years ago, the choices that were available in the 'craft' segment more were far more consistently satisfying in terms of quality and value.

 

Its all about the beer. AS long as it is a good product who cares how much they produce.

 

Which is one of the very good reasons for including the reviews, etc., on this site as a factor in the decision to buy or not buy. In a crowded market it can help reduce the misses and increase the hits.

 

You are absolutely right. I just searched the entire Code of Federal Regulations and the term "craft beer" shows up nowhere. My bad.

 

If there were over 6 million barrels produced yearly of BCBS, Founders CBS, or Maine Brewing Co.'s Dinner....somehow, some way...I would force myself to still enjoy that non-crafty beverage

 

I forced myself, at one point in my life, to enjoy Corona paired with a lime in it... as if the lime made a difference.