Craft beer: definition, formation, evolution

Beer culture, like drinking culture in general, does not stand still. In the post-Soviet space, unfortunately, the pace of its development is far behind the Western ones, but the first seeds of the “beer revolution” are already beginning to sprout. Beer enthusiasts and experts are starting to emerge, and small private breweries are opening up that work closely with themed beer bars and pubs. Not the last role in this revolution was played by craft beer, which will be discussed in this article.

Craft brewing is a craft in the literal sense of the word (“craft beer” can be translated as “craft beer” or “craft brewing”). More specifically, craft beer is a fresh take on traditional brewing and a reimagining of historic beers. In more familiar terms, craft beer is beer brewed by a small, independent brewery using a traditional recipe. I don’t know how to characterize this newfangled, American term even more precisely. Perhaps it should be added that brewing craft beer is about adhering to a certain philosophy: making beer better than others.

But do not focus on the definition of the term. To understand what a traditional craft beer is, you need to plunge into its history a little. Surprisingly, this story begins in the USA, the most “non-beer” country, which 30 years ago was associated with the faded taste of light foam. But it is in the United States that small breweries led by beer enthusiasts have created serious competition for beer giants, who, in the pursuit of profit, have completely forgotten about the originality of a single beer brand. They simply turned away from their customers in pursuit of profit.

There was light beer … there was!

The first call came in 1965. A long time on store shelves in the US was ruled by an exceptionally light Eurolager (which, in principle, is not bad, if you do not believe the myths about beer). Imported beer was rare and could only be drunk in select bars. Huge budgets for advertising campaigns did their job – Americans preferred the faded, low-calorie, watery beers that beer giants had been serving them on a silver platter for more than a decade.

Interesting beer – this is how craft brewery products are usually called.

By the end of the 70s, there were only 44 brewing companies operating in the USA, of which only 5-6 were really successful. But even then, beer enthusiasts appeared on the market from time to time, who tried to stir up the beer revolution and thereby inspire other “artisans”.

In 1965, a certain Fritz Maitag became a pioneer of craft brewing. He bought a small brewery in San Francisco, where he and his team undertook to do great things – resurrect the original beer tradition. Maitaga Brewery really stood out from its competitors. The team tirelessly brewed those beers that were irretrievably lost during Prohibition in the United States.

Before Prohibition, there were more than 2000 breweries in the US brewing self-sufficient, interesting beer. These were thousands of immigrants from Europe who did not want to part with their favorite drink of their homeland.

The next hero of the beer renaissance was John “Jack” McAuliffe. In 1976, he equipped a mini-factory in his garage, where exclusively traditional, European beers were brewed, and all kinds of experiments were also carried out. His business is called New Albion Brewery, located in Sanoma, California. Jack’s brewery has only been around for 6 years, but his experience and desire to improve the beer range has served as a great example to hundreds of other brewers.

In 1984, Charlie Papazian’s wonderful book The Complete Joy of Homebrewing was published, the relevance of which is not lost today. This is a detailed guide to brewing beer at home. Earlier, in 1978, Charlie founded the American Homebrewers Association, which provides all possible assistance to all those who want to learn the art of craft brewing. For example, they help beer enthusiasts with the design of a home brewery and it’s absolutely free.

By the way, 1978 is another turning point in the craft beer revolution. This year, U.S. President Jimmy Carter legalized homebrewing, which played into the hands of the emerging “microbrewing”. And while the beer giants refused to recognize craft brewers as something serious, they gradually conquered local markets. Since the mid-90s, they could no longer be ignored. The volume of craft beer sales increased at a tremendous pace and reached 58% per year. Microbreweries quickly found an approach to consumers in their regions, offering residents really high-quality and interesting beer, which quickly became the property of the community.

By 1980, there were only eight such breweries registered in the US. In 1994, there were already 537 of them, and by 2010 – 1600. To date, this figure has long exceeded 2000 and is constantly growing. You can travel the length and breadth of the country, and in almost every corner of the United States you can come across a unique interesting beer that will be very different from the foamy other cities.

The definition of “craft beer” according to all canons

Of course, craft brewing quickly spread to other parts of the world. Thus, two radically different approaches to the definition of craft brewing appeared: “American” and “European”.

American approach

The definition of “craft beer” in the US is dictated by the American Brewers Association. Here are the criteria for a craft brewery:

1. The brewery should be small and produce no more than 703,8 million liters of beer per year (6 million barrels).
2. The brewery should be independent. At least 75% of the capital of the brewery must be in its ownership. In other words, if more than 25% of the company’s shares were sold to outside investors, then such a plant cannot be considered a craft brewery.
3. The brewery should be traditional. The basis of beer should be malt (at least 50%). If a brewery uses other additives (sugar, flowers, spices, vegetables, fruits and other raw materials) to reduce the cost of beer, and not to improve its taste, then such a brewery is deprived of the right to be called a craft brewery.

European approach

In Europe, it is less and less regulated, but the definition of craft beer is still found in some literary sources. The essence of this definition boils down to the fact that beer is considered craft, the main motive for creating which was not profit, but inspiration and the creative process. Everything is clear and simple here.

Perhaps because of this simplicity, this definition is very popular with domestic consumers. It has its share of romance and high ideals. However, this definition has a huge drawback: the criterion is very conditional. There is no way to reliably record and evaluate the fact of inspiration in this or that sort of beer. And if we continue the logic of the “non-commercial” origin of such beer, then the perfect craft variety should simply be distributed free of charge: inspired – brewed – distributed.

The first (American) definition looks logical. It is quite clear and measurable. This is really a criterion that can be met or not met.

Craft beer is considered to be the main motive for creating which was not making a profit, but inspiration and the creative process.

User position

In addition to complying with the formal conditions for being classified as a “craft group”, relations with its audience are important for a brewery. And here it is necessary to have in the arsenal such tools as:

Innovation

A craft brewery’s range of varieties should include varieties that can be classified as innovative. At the same time, the significance of innovation can be important even at the level of a local audience and may depend on the level of development of brewing in a particular country and a particular city. Of course, the aerobatics will be the creation of varieties that will be innovative in relation to beer in general. But this, as you understand, is from the realm of genius.

Community

In addition to creating beer and delivering it to the customer’s bar, the craft brewer must educate his audience and form a community of craft beer savvy people. If you just create an unusual brand of beer and put it in a bar, then most likely it will just stand there. It takes a lot of work to get this kind of beer poured into glasses. If you like, you will have to become not only an enthusiast, but also an “evangelist” of your beer and, perhaps, stand behind the counter yourself and personally communicate with each client.

Individuality

A craft brewery is not only production and communication with the audience. In addition to beer, it has its own character, its own face, its own history and its own mission. It’s not easy to explain, but communicating with a craft brewery goes much deeper than the seller-customer relationship. Behind the name of the brewery is not a legal entity, not a company, not a brand, but real living people.

When writing the article, material from the FurFur website was used.