'Craft Brewing'????

[Dennis King]

Marketing, call it a craft beer and add a few, or several in London, pence to the pint.

[Padalac]

In my mind it means that the production of it is controlled by people who care about what they are doing, doing it because they enjoy it and do it because they want to make the best beer they can, or at least to make the beer that they like. or at least that this was true originally and the output is maintaining that tradition, as with older, more traditional breweries.

This is as opposed to something which it churned out based on marketing and volume. For this reason I wouldn't consider, for example, Camden brewery to be craft beer, even prior to their buyout. Marketing isn't enough to make it craft beer, it's about the people and the process by which they arrive at their product.

Having said that, I'm not a huge fan of the term- and use it SPARINGLY. I'd rather be just call it beer, or good beer. At the end of the day, regardless of the process, the end result is beer. The differences after that are perceptual.

[millmaster]

A couple of people here define the term craft beer/brewing as I would like to think how it should be "...production of it is controlled by people who care about what they are doing, doing it because they enjoy it and do it because they want to make the best beer they can..."

Or, with the rose tinted specs off, in my cynical mind how the marketing people want you to react when you see the term

Others define it in the devalued state it is - meaningless - ( and I'm with them in that )

The term Real Ale, as defined by CAMRA, whilst not a guarantee that the beer is any good, at least can reasonably be expected to tell you something about the beer, craft beer tells you nothing, nowadays, except perhaps that the price has been jacked up

[aamcle]

Real Ale is joke 2, yes it tells you how it as stored and dispensed but so what?

I don't care it, doesn't matter, I don't drink the cellar equipment I drink beer !

CAMRA really need to get their thumbs out of their collective bums and get to the point " In Glass Quality".

The beer in the glass is what its all about not the delivery system.


Aamcle

[bacchus173]

Its a con...a marketing tool used by manufacturers to extract even more coin from your pocket...for exactly the same thing...they add `Crafted` or `Craft made`..etc. and then charge you an extra quid for the privilege. And in my experience the ale inside invariably is sub-standard.

[Hairybiker]

On this subject there was a BC comic this morning:

[Capped]

I think it's cobblers.

[Pinto]

I think it's cobblers.

BrewDog did well enough out of it

I'll agree to the sentiment that the phrase these days is meaningless. At the start of the real ale revolution, it did mean something - but the money men at the big names took the hint and used it to market mass produced cr*p. After all - they imply that "craft" is involved in the making of Bud......

[Padalac]

Its a con...a marketing tool used by manufacturers to extract even more coin from your pocket...for exactly the same thing...they add `Crafted` or `Craft made`..etc. and then charge you an extra quid for the privilege. And in my experience the ale inside invariably is sub-standard.

Any examples? Genuine question

[Pinto]

Its a con...a marketing tool used by manufacturers to extract even more coin from your pocket...for exactly the same thing...they add `Crafted` or `Craft made`..etc. and then charge you an extra quid for the privilege. And in my experience the ale inside invariably is sub-standard.

Any examples? Genuine question

Doom Bar. Bought in the drinks aisle, £1.49 - same thing in cookery aisle, labeled "Tescos Value Gravy Browning" is 29p.....

[Padalac]

Haha, ya well. Doom bar is more 'real ale' than craft beer. It isn't even marketed as craft beer, and as a concept, really predates craft beer. So....

[Pinto]

In more serious nature, a quick look at the beer aisle of supermarkets right now will reveal a whole swathe of heavily marketed, colourfully decorated "craft" ales and lagers - the trend seems to be to sell them in 330ml cans at the moment - some of which i've tried on a whim and found them just as disappointing as the forementioned Cornish churn wash; I cant even give you the names as they were purchased as single cans for curiosity and dismissed within the first few sips as another low quality ale oft badly disguised with chemical-weapon doses of nasty american citrus hops.

I'd also guess the "brewery" dissapeared as soon as the production run was complete.

[aamcle]

All too often

Craft Beer = Chew a Hop Bline.

Aamcle

[MTW]

Bumping this thread due to a very interesting contribution from Boak and Bailey, and following the news that SIBA are trying to start a certification scheme for 'craft' breweries:

http://boakandbailey.com/2016/08/siba-s ... raft-beer/

http://www.indiecraftbrewers.co.uk/

[Kev888]

It will be interesting to see how that goes. Even if the craft horse has not already escaped, it looks like marketing interests are at the reins - which may or may not coincide well with the requirements of beer enthusiasts.

It has the potential to be beneficial, I just hope that they avoid applying restrictions/rules for compliance like a blunt instrument, stifling innovation and overlooking niche requirements, whilst ultimately still doing very little to guarantee the actual quality of beer being served.