Is anyone else getting really tired of the use of the words "Craft beer"??

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Rev2010

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This isn't a vent post, I'm seriously curious to know if seeing that word being slung around nowadays annoys anyone else. IMO it's such a silly misnomer and I really wish it would stop being used entirely to make one's product somehow sound more special than another. Let's first address the applicable definitions of the word craft itself:

noun, plural crafts or for 5, 8, craft.
1.
an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill:

verb (used with object)
9.
to make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail.

Judging by the very definition of the word BMC beer fits within the "craft" definition. Matter of fact, I would say those pro brewers probably have more skill and "attention to detail" than the average "craft" brewer. I know for sure with many of the microbreweries (which should be the proper term that seems to be now obsolete) each year seasonal releases can vary in taste to the point where people who once loved a release don't like it "this year". BMC and major breweries beer is so incredibly consistent with all the methods they use to achieve consistency (blending batches and such, sourcing consistently from the same suppliers, etc) that it would seem to me by the definition of the word that they are more craft brewers than the smaller guys.

Now, before I finish up I want to state outright that I am NOT defending the product produced by BMC companies. I don't drink Bud or Coors though I have drank beers under their umbrella that were very good. I'm just really getting annoyed seeing all these news articles about "Craft beer" when it simply refers to smaller scale breweries, many of which use the same mechanical brewing tech as the larger one's. I mean, most of these companies aren't small time home brewers using coolers for mash tuns and stirring the mash by hand, etc. If you have distribution throughout the USA you are producing on a big enough scale and using modern technology to aid in production... so why do YOU get to be dignified as a "Craft beer" when the bigger dogs get vilified for being so successful?? Just human nature to support the underdog then turn on them when they become wildly successful?


Rev.
 
Wow, it must bother you a lot for you to write this up. The way i see it is, who cares. its just a term to define smaller scale breweries. Don't let it get your jim jams all rustled.
 
"Craft" to me is way better than "artisanal" at least, that word makes me all stabby. And I know some small micros that do stir the mash by hand...I've tried it once, trying to stir 500lbs of grain makes your shoulder sore :mug:

This country loves the under dog though, just look at almost every summer blockbuster movie ever.
 
Wow, it must bother you a lot for you to write this up. The way i see it is, who cares. its just a term to define smaller scale breweries. Don't let it get your jim jams all rustled.

LOL, no it doesn't grind my gears that much, but this is a forum and we discuss stuff no? I figured why not post to see if anyone else feels the same way. I've got no one else with a passion for beer like I have to discuss this with in person. ;)


Rev.
 
Ha, I actually hadn't even seen that other thread about "Craft beer outselling Bud". Just noticed it and see it's basically mostly a thread where people are debating just what I'd posted about here! LOL.


Rev.
 
Ha, I actually hadn't even seen that other thread about "Craft beer outselling Bud". Just noticed it and see it's basically mostly a thread where people are debating just what I'd posted about here! LOL.


Rev.

The best thing about that thread is the link to a Q&A with a Brewing Scientist from AB Inbev. Very informative and further raises my respect for a company that makes a product that doesn't wow me, but that I can enjoy.
 
You're thinking too hard. Have a homebrew, man! :)

I plan to when I get home. Also going to try my Coconut Porter tomorrow (first time brewed) and am VERY looking forward to it!!!

That said, why are you guys getting the impression that I am angry or sincerely upset over my post? I'm not, I'm more curious to know how many of you all roll your eyes seeing the term "Craft beer" being thrown around so much lately as if it's somehow more special.

Maybe I just don't care for titles. For example, I consider myself a brewer, not a homebrewer. What difference does it make where I brew? I won't call myself a pro brewer no matter how many years and how good I get at it if I am not making an income on my beer. I make beer, I don't tell a single person that I am brewing "craft beer". I dunno, just sounds so unnecessarily foofy to me.


Rev.
 
LOL, no it doesn't grind my gears that much, but this is a forum and we discuss stuff no? I figured why not post to see if anyone else feels the same way. I've got no one else with a passion for beer like I have to discuss this with in person. ;)


Rev.

lol well im indifferent. The thought never even crossed my mind.
 
yes it bothers me alot...i contemplated suicide for years cause of it:p..No it does not bother me..its just 2 words put together
 
Maybe I just don't care for titles. For example, I consider myself a brewer, not a homebrewer. What difference does it make where I brew? I won't call myself a pro brewer no matter how many years and how good I get at it if I am not making an income on my beer. I make beer, I don't tell a single person that I am brewing "craft beer". I dunno, just sounds so unnecessarily foofy to me.

This is actually something I see people reacting differently to. On the one hand, and I am in this camp, I see the difference of "brewer" and "homebrewer" being a title earned through experience, in this case commercial.

For example, you could teach a class at a college, but that doesn't make you a professor. Or you can work with wood but not be a carpenter. I feel the same way about brewer and homebrewer. I know a lot about brew science, but I could never run it large scale. Putting it on a resume would be irresponsible. I think there's more to being a brewer than what home brewers do.

Ultimately, none of it probably matters.
 
When I'm sipping a homebrew, the thought of it being "craft" or not, or who else refers to their beer in whatever way, never crosses my mind.
 
I see the difference of "brewer" and "homebrewer" being a title earned through experience, in this case commercial.

But see, you there are putting your own additive definition to the word to make it something more than it is. Pro-brewer is what the commercial guys are, they even have a forum for it :). I'm a musician, but I don't earn an income off my music so I wouldn't take on the title of Pro-Musician. By every definition of the word I am a brewer:


brew
[broo]

Synonyms
Examples
Word Origin

verb (used with object)
1.
to make (beer, ale, etc.) by steeping, boiling, and fermenting malt and hops.
2.
to make or prepare (a beverage, as tea) by mixing, steeping, soaking, or boiling a solid in water.
3.
to concoct, mix, or cook (a beverage or food, especially one containing unmeasured or unusual ingredients):
She brewed a pot of soup from the leftovers.
4.
to contrive, plan, or bring about:
to brew mischief.
verb (used without object)
5.
to make a fermented alcoholic malt beverage, as beer or ale.
6.
to boil, steep, soak, or cook:
Wait until the tea brews.

Call it nitpicking, I prefer to call it a good interpretation of the English language - and not saying that to be a wiseguy towards you or anything, honestly not, so I do apologize if that was worded in a way that might come off as insulting.


Rev.
 
I really never thought about it. That's just what it's called.
Now that you mention it though, I think it's a fairly apt description. Certainly the smaller breweries being referred to as "craft" take care in making their smaller-than-macro beverages. Although they may not all achieve a level of quality you'd expect from something that's marketed as "hand crafted" (as is the case with any craft), it's still made on a small enough scale to use the term, dontcha think?
 
I totally understand where you're coming from, Rev.

Before I moved to Japan in 2005, I had only heard this kind of beer referred to as "microbrew" and to the companies that make them as "microbreweries." This in Japanese was referred to as "ji-beer" (地ビール). But sometime around 2008 or 2009, I started seeing this new Japanese term "craft beer" ("kurafuto biiru" - クラフトビール) and I assumed that it was a Japanese-made English phrase that didn't exist in English. But sometime later I found out that "craft beer" was a term used in English (which I don't know if it was necessarily new or not, but I had never heard or seen it used in English until around 2008 or 2009, a couple months after I first saw it used in Japanese).

At the time I was sincerely confused as to why they decided to create a new term ("craft beer") for something that already existed ("microbrew" and even sometimes "local beer").

By now I've just accepted the term "craft beer," but it honestly does have a kind of "looking down on mass-produced beers" kind of mentality behind its creation.
 
No, not really, it's just a description of a type of beer, basically one that doesn't suck. That said, I don't get too hung up on how big or small a company is, I usually just buy what tastes good; it just so happens that the big breweries in the US make garbage in a can or bottle.
 
I'm pretty sure the "craft beer" moniker was developed because "microbrewery" sounds dumb when it's applied to juggernauts such as Boston Beer, Stone, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, etc. So they came up with a catchall term for "not macro lager." I personally think it's ridiculous that the "micro" threshold keeps getting moved to whatever Boston is producing.
 
I don't mind the term. "Microbrew" doesn't adequately cover the quality beers made by larger breweries (Sam Adams, etc.). Craft beer reflects the added thought and care put into the making of better beer, regardless of who makes it.

The term is cromulent, IMO.

Now I do get a kick out of waitstaff in bars and restaurants who think I said "crap beer" when I ask what craft beers they have. :)
 
The term "craft" beer makes me want to get out my scissors and start scrapbooking but I'm not allowed to have sharp objects while I'm drinking.
 
I'm thinking about how to craft a response to all of this, but I that I can think of saying is that I'm a journeyman beer drinker...

No - it doesn't bother me. I asked a friend if he liked beer and he replied that he likes "craft beers." I said that I'd bring him a sample of mine the next time we see each other.
 
I'm annoyed with the term in as much as it has been co-opted by PR and marketing types as a means of manipulating consumers.

However, I'm even more annoyed when I ask an uninformed server at a restaurant or pub what beers they have and get "We have all of them" as a response. This actually happened to me several weeks ago.

I said "Really? All of them?"

"Yeah. You know: Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Coors..."

This is why, unfortunately, descriptive terms like "craft beer" are still somewhat necessary.

I'm shocked that there are still owners out there who haven't realized the revenue potential from catering, if just a little bit, to "craft" (or as this particular server put it "fancy") beer drinkers. Especially at a higher end place, like this was, that actually had a decent selection of beer. If you can't be bothered to train your staff to rattle off a small beer list, at least have it in print on the table or in the menu.
 
I don't mind the term. "Microbrew" doesn't adequately cover the quality beers made by larger breweries (Sam Adams, etc.). Craft beer reflects the added thought and care put into the making of better beer, regardless of who makes it.

The term is cromulent, IMO.

Now I do get a kick out of waitstaff in bars and restaurants who think I said "crap beer" when I ask what craft beers they have. :)

Cool! I was listening to a friends new stereo the other day and he asked me how I thought it sounded. I told him it had a little cromulence. He didn't even question what it meant; he just wanted to know what he could do about it!

More on topic, I understand and agree with the OP, although I won't lose any sleep over it. On the other hand, I similarly get tired of the idea that Sam Adams beers don't deserve the same level of respect as the "microbrews because they're not a small company. Good beer is good beer.
 
This isn't a vent post, I'm seriously curious to know if seeing that word being slung around nowadays annoys anyone else. IMO it's such a silly misnomer and I really wish it would stop being used entirely to make one's product somehow sound more special than another. Let's first address the applicable definitions of the word craft itself:

noun, plural crafts or for 5, 8, craft.
1.
an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill:

verb (used with object)
9.
to make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail.

Judging by the very definition of the word BMC beer fits within the "craft" definition. Matter of fact, I would say those pro brewers probably have more skill and "attention to detail" than the average "craft" brewer. I know for sure with many of the microbreweries (which should be the proper term that seems to be now obsolete) each year seasonal releases can vary in taste to the point where people who once loved a release don't like it "this year". BMC and major breweries beer is so incredibly consistent with all the methods they use to achieve consistency (blending batches and such, sourcing consistently from the same suppliers, etc) that it would seem to me by the definition of the word that they are more craft brewers than the smaller guys.

Now, before I finish up I want to state outright that I am NOT defending the product produced by BMC companies. I don't drink Bud or Coors though I have drank beers under their umbrella that were very good. I'm just really getting annoyed seeing all these news articles about "Craft beer" when it simply refers to smaller scale breweries, many of which use the same mechanical brewing tech as the larger one's. I mean, most of these companies aren't small time home brewers using coolers for mash tuns and stirring the mash by hand, etc. If you have distribution throughout the USA you are producing on a big enough scale and using modern technology to aid in production... so why do YOU get to be dignified as a "Craft beer" when the bigger dogs get vilified for being so successful?? Just human nature to support the underdog then turn on them when they become wildly successful?


Rev.

.....
 
More on topic, I understand and agree with the OP, although I won't lose any sleep over it.

Perhaps I should've titled the thread "does anyone else dislike the term craft beer", cause just as you noted I too am not losing any sleep over it nor do I get very upset over the use of the term. It merely annoys me a little.

Funny how sometimes people read further into things than what they are. Took me only a minute or two to write up my post. Was just curious to see if others are irked by the modern use of the term to some degree. I still see it as a way for smaller breweries to "specialize" their beer using a clever marketing term.


Rev.
 
It does bug me to a certain extent. When I hear it around here, it's usually getting tossed around by a bunch of hipsters. I see a lot of it on FB from the local beer groups. Many of the hipster kids need to one up the next guy with the obscure craft beer he just had. I find myself getting caught up from time to time but I still don't like to call it craft beer.

I've always referred to beer as good beer or crap beer. I must be getting old.
 
Disclaimer: Posting without reading the whole thread, so if this has already been said, deal with it.

I don't take issue with "craft beer" as a concept, but I do take issue with the politicization of it. I take issue with the Brewer's Association's definition of "craft" being changed to keep Sam Adams under the umbrella, but they'll kick Goose Island or Kona or RedHook (or now 10 Barrel) out of the club.

To me, "craft beer" means a beer that's crafted, that's meant to be enjoyed. It's a beer you can describe as something other than "it's a beer", and the words "less filling" or "lower carbs" or any of that stuff doesn't apply. As in, it's about the beer, not the marketing or the rest of it. And beyond that, it's letting the beer speak for itself.

Point being, I don't put much stock in the "craft vs crafty" idea. Because it stinks of that same politicization.
 
I recently was at a nice restaurant, and asked what kind of beers they had. The guy asked what styles I liked. Nice. I thought this guy will be able to recommend me something good. I told him I was in the mood for an english style, like a mild or ESB. He looked at me strange for a second and then asked "do you like microbrew?" I said "sure I do." He said "Well, we have Peroni and Sam Adams. And we also have Shock Top." Oh boy.

I don't mind the term craft beer because I think it is a better descriptor than microbrew. This guy clearly thought that anything besides BMC was microbrew. I think the term microbrew lost its meaning because companies like Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Stone and Deschutes all produce GOOD beer, but are hardly micro.
 
Perhaps I should've titled the thread "does anyone else dislike the term craft beer", cause just as you noted I too am not losing any sleep over it nor do I get very upset over the use of the term. It merely annoys me a little.

Funny how sometimes people read further into things than what they are. Took me only a minute or two to write up my post. Was just curious to see if others are irked by the modern use of the term to some degree. I still see it as a way for smaller breweries to "specialize" their beer using a clever marketing term.


Rev.

Yes, it is funny how "people read further into things than what they are". I said I "understand and agree" with you. The "losing sleep" comment is just an expression. Lighten up, ferchrisake!
 
I would say it is craft as in craftsman. To me an artist is someone like a painter or musician...someone who uses his or her imagination to create a thing of beauty. A technician is someone who is involved in a mechanical process. A craftsman is someone who bridges the gap between the two...in beer brewing, they can exercise independent thought and come up with many process improvements and recipes that are mighty tasty, but only a few are truly artists (imagining something COMPLETELY different). Craftsmen are also equally skilled at the brewing mechanical process (technician).

Big breweries have quite a few technicians who are involved in the process of brewing beer but only a few craftsmen and fewer still artists. A craft brewery is staffed by many more craftsmen and quite a few true artist.

I see "Craft Beer" as a term of art that differentiates us from the big beer companies. Kind of like the difference between Wonder Bread and what the local bakery produces. More attention to detail, higher quality ingredients and more concern with the final product. Craft breweries are focused on producing high quality products with a certain level of artistry while BBC's are focused on mass producing a consumer item for people to stick in their mouth.
 
Yes, it is funny how "people read further into things than what they are". I said I "understand and agree" with you. The "losing sleep" comment is just an expression. Lighten up, ferchrisake!

Dude, I know you agreed with me! I wasn't directly commenting back on the lose sleep comment, hence why I started a new line of sentencing - I was making a point that some OTHERS read too far into it and I probably should've worded the original post differently.

Never knew having a discussion on a homebrewing forum about today's mis-use of the term craft beer would be such a problem.


Rev.
 
Dude, I know you agreed with me! I wasn't directly commenting back on the lose sleep comment, hence why I started a new line of sentencing - I was making a point that some OTHERS read too far into it and I probably should've worded the original post differently.

Never knew having a discussion on a homebrewing forum about today's mis-use of the term craft beer would be such a problem.


Rev.

you silly silly home brewer! haven't you been on the interwebs before?
 
I would say it is craft as in craftsman. To me an artist is someone like a painter or musician...someone who uses his or her imagination to create a thing of beauty. A technician is someone who is involved in a mechanical process. A craftsman is someone who bridges the gap between the two...in beer brewing, they can exercise independent thought and come up with many process improvements and recipes that are mighty tasty, but only a few are truly artists (imagining something COMPLETELY different). Craftsmen are also equally skilled at the brewing mechanical process (technician).

Big breweries have quite a few technicians who are involved in the process of brewing beer but only a few craftsmen and fewer still artists. A craft brewery is staffed by many more craftsmen and quite a few true artist.

I see "Craft Beer" as a term of art that differentiates us from the big beer companies. Kind of like the difference between Wonder Bread and what the local bakery produces. More attention to detail, higher quality ingredients and more concern with the final product. Craft breweries are focused on producing high quality products with a certain level of artistry while BBC's are focused on mass producing a consumer item for people to stick in their mouth.

This was what I was getting at, just worded much more eloquently.

I will say that the BMC "technicians" are also concerned with producing a high quality product, and their technical ability and quality control is far beyond most (I would even go as far as to say all) craft breweries, but yes, the ultimate goal is a consumer item to be poured down the throat.
 
This was what I was getting at, just worded much more eloquently.

I will say that the BMC "technicians" are also concerned with producing a high quality product, and their technical ability and quality control is far beyond most (I would even go as far as to say all) craft breweries, but yes, the ultimate goal is a consumer item to be poured down the throat.
I was afraid of some misunderstanding when I wrote it...Not saying that brewers at BMCs are not concerned with quality or that they don't have technical ability. They are and they probably do. But it's kind of like having Michael Angelo come over to paint your house...He ain't in your house to paint a world renound masterpiece, he's there to slap the frikin' beige paint on the wall. Same with brewers at BMCs...They ain't there to innovate or make Bud taste better. They are there to make sure Bud tastes EXACTLY the same as every other Bud for the last 50 years. I would imagine that that takes a lot of technical skill sometimes but I'd hardly call what they do a craft. Maybe they have the ability to be a craftsman or maybe even an artist, but all Bud want's them to do is make sure the beige paint matches the beige paint from yesterday...and the day before...and the day before...etc...etc...etc...
 
I was afraid of some misunderstanding when I wrote it...Not saying that brewers at BMCs are not concerned with quality or that they don't have technical ability. They are and they probably do. But it's kind of like having Michael Angelo come over to paint your house...He ain't in your house to paint a world renound masterpiece, he's there to slap the frikin' beige paint on the wall. Same with brewers at BMCs...They ain't there to innovate or make Bud taste better. They are there to make sure Bud tastes EXACTLY the same as every other Bud for the last 50 years. I would imagine that that takes a lot of technical skill sometimes but I'd hardly call what they do a craft. Maybe they have the ability to be a craftsman or maybe even an artist, but all Bud want's them to do is make sure the beige paint matches the beige paint from yesterday...and the day before...and the day before...etc...etc...etc...

I knew what you were getting at, and I agree entirely.
 
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