The intention of this blog is to help define what I believe “craft” in “craft beer” means, so that if you are new to the category, you don’t feel intimidated when you go to the market.

It is December, 2018. At this point on the timeline craft beer is nearly everywhere, which is incredibly exciting. As the amount of great beer on the market grows, so does the information – and misinformation – and the number of “experts” that are there to help everyone find their way into this wonderful beverage.

Unfortunately a lot of people are getting scared or turned off by the category. The problem for me is bias, the bias of the “Influencers” who are constantly working to influence the direction of the industry and drive selection, both at the bar and and the store.

My opinion is that “craft” is an undisputed term. It is synonymous with “artisan”, which by one definition is: “pertaining to or noting a high-quality or distinctive product made in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods”. That means that any beer you drink where that definition can be applied is “craft”.

The problem is the “experts” have hijacked the word “craft” and instead, infer the word “maverick” every time they say it, which by one definition is: “a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates”, or “unorthodox, unconventional, nonconformist” – which is the definition that I think really applies here.

My perspective is a staggeringly large percentage of beer experts and enthusiasts seem to think that “craft beer” is defined by “maverick” brewing techniques – that in order to be “craft”, the brewer must brew “unorthodox, unconventional, nonconformist” styles. Many even think “craft” beer means “IPA”, which is nothing more than a style trademarked by exaggerated hop levels.

Things like bread and cheese get preceded by the word Artisan all the time. Does that mean artisanal, or “craft” bread or cheese (not to be confused with Kraft cheese) is something weird, exaggerated, or strange that only some bread or cheese enthusiast could understand? Of course not. An artisan loaf of bread could be a simple rustic loaf using all-purpose wheat flour, and simple cheddar or Parmesan cheese could equally be artisan as well. We would never say that in order to be artisanal, the bread must be of the sourdough variety, or cheese of the blue variety. Because that’s all they are, “varieties”.

Likewise, there are very simple and very easy beers that absolutely qualify as “craft”. These are the beers I drink on a regular basis. Nothing strange, or exaggerated, just GOOD. This was the norm for decades, when you would go to the store to buy Sierra Nevada “Pale Ale”, Stone “Pale Ale”, Pete’s Wicked (a Brown ale), Sam Adams Boston Lager (Amber lager), New Belgium Fat Tire (Amber ale), etc.

None of this is to say that “maverick” brewing isn’t absolutely fun and amazing and delicious. It definitely can be. But there is no rule book that says that you must like IPAs or Sours, or Barrel-Aged beers in order to consider yourself a craft beer drinker, or even dare I say Enthusiast.

So don’t be intimidated and turned away from the entire category that is craft beer, just because the would-be experts and enthusiasts champion maverick beers at every turn. I would go so far as to say that holding your ground as an enthusiast that likes to drink simple, classic styles is quite maverick in itself!