Homebrewer vs. Craftbrewer

I am no longer a homebrewer. I was thinking in the car today and I decided that I didn't like the label "Homebrew" and I didn't like the label "Homebrewer". It gives people the image of some homely jed clampett type character cooking up some moonshine in his garage. Sure, it's an accurate description in my case, but it's also not the most flattering.

So from now on, I'm referring to myself as a Craft brewer. And my beer will be called "Craft Brewed". and anyone who knows me will obviously know that I don't own a brewery or have employees that run around making beer for me. Everyone will still know I made it.

It just has a nicer ring to it though, don't you think? So...... who's with me?

I guess it does.

Are you a AGer or an Extracter?

edit.
Just looked at the gallery and saw your Mash tun. :rockin:
I wish I was drinking some of my Hob Gobblin!

I suppose you could if you want, this comes from the Brewer's Association at Beertown.org:

Brewer's Association said:

CRAFT BREWER: An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Craft beer comes only from a craft brewer.

Small = annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. FMB’s are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.

Independent = Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.

Traditional = A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

CRAFT BEER : Craft beers are produced with 100 % barley or wheat malt or use other fermentable ingredients that enhance (rather than lighten) flavor. Craft beers only come from craft brewers.

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I'm pretty sure as far as the BA is concerned this applies to commercial brewer's, but we as homebrewers could probably hop on board. I'm content being a homebrewer, though, its just semantics.

There was an interesting podcast on Basic Brewing Radio at the beginning of the year on this topic. Whether one considers what we do "homebrewing" or "craftbrewing" depends on where you are located; in Australia, for example, "homebrewing" implies kit-and-a-kilo brewers, low quality, essentially hooch-makers. "Craft brewer" is the term used for what we do, trying to make very high quality beers, not just going for the cheapest buzz.

But, that's not how the terms are used in the U.S. Calling yourself a craft brewer in the U.S. implies that you are selling beer commercially. Personally, I don't get any negative connotations from the people I meet who know that I homebrew. So, I'll stick with the terms as defined in the U.S., i.e. - I'm a HOMEBREWER, and damn proud of it!

I'm so new to this i'm not certain that i should be called a brewer yet... I think i need to earn my stripes first!

I dare say, a proper "Craft Brewer", in the non-professional sense, shall be he who "crafts" recipes and "brews" them.

You take a recipe and modify it based upon your (or others') tastes. You find a beer that you or someone else likes and you try to figure out how to make it better, stronger, hoppier, tastier, fruitier, maltier, whatever! You taste the beer in mid-process to ascertain how it is coming along and how you might make it better.

When you do this, you are crafting beer. You are, in my eyes, a craft brewer.

I, for one am simply a brewer. I make beer. Where it brewed is not important.

Incedently I am both I brew at home my craft beer as so are you. I'm with The Bird I am a homebrewer and DAMN proud of it :rockin:. especially when people try my brew. I get to look at them and say "yep I brewed THAT in my garage... Want another?"
JJ

I prefer Domestic Ethanol Manufacturer.

When I hear of people speak of crafts, I think of macrame and scrapbooking or that annoying James Lipton droning about, "The Craft".

I like Brewer, but if you're hungry for an adjective, I say go with Artisan.

Did you go out and grab CraftBrewTalk.com or something?

I brew.

In my home.

You can refer to your hobby however you like, but does it really matter?

By the way DamnSquirrels... props.

I can see this thread being very popular over the next few days.
You seem to have a knack for it lately.

olllllo said:

Did you go out and grab CraftBrewTalk.com or something?

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Nah. My Net-Fu isn't strong enough to run a site like TxBrewer does! I was just thinking that I'm starting to get a little bit beyond prepackaged kits and wishing I could differentiate myself from the "prime with table sugar" Mr Beer folks.

I'm not knocking anybody's interest in making beer of any type. But I sort of wanted an adjective that goes beyond, "I make beer in my home" and says instead, "I strive to make GOOD beer. Period."

It's not exactly the same as being an EAC (though the two would fit together nicely ). It's more about reading, talking, experimenting, putting in the blood and sweat and tears (hopefully less blood and tears than sweat) not just to make a drinkable beer, but to actually make something of inestimable quality and uncommon goodness.

Evan! said:

I brew.

In my home.

You can refer to your hobby however you like, but does it really matter?

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Would the impressionist paintings be as good if the artists were not lumped together and called, "Impressionists"?

Certainly!!!!!


However... it tells you something about them. It conveys a message beyond "These people paint". It tells you what they do, how they do it, and why they should be respected. It tells you that they aren't making a bunch of fuzzy out-of-focus pictures without detail, they are aiming for something else.

Similarly, I don't want people thinking I make out-of-focus, fuzzy, beer-like beverages. Does it alter the end product? Not one bit. But if you don't like my hefeweizen because you think it tastes like your grandmother's attic, maybe the term "craft brewer" will get you to realize that it's not my beer that's the problem... it's your taste buds. Or... it's not the painting that sucks... you just don't appreciate it.


I have dumped perfectly fermentable wort after missing my mash temps and getting lousy efficiency. Because I know what I want to make... I know what I am aiming for... and I want to make it. I am making more than a beverage, I am making a statement, a culinary delight.

I'm a Garage Brewer.

Cheesefood said:

I'm a Garage Brewer.

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For a minute I thought you said you are a GARBAGE brewer. I thought, "Well, whatever you want to do"

I've brewed from my home for 13 years and I make my own recipes. So I am actually a homebrewer that makes craft beer.

I would rather attend a "Homebrew Festival" rather then a "Craftbrew Festival" because I know for sure all of the beer is made by people like me and not a brewpub.

I'm a homebrewer. Trying to change the name sounds too much like political correctness, which I abhor. So I'm a homebrewer and damned proud of it!

Bernie Brewer said:

I'm a homebrewer. Trying to change the name sounds too much like political correctness, which I abhor. So I'm a homebrewer and damned proud of it!

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Don't be niggardly.


See? That SOUNDS like a bad word.

It isn't. But it sounds like one.


I understand the hatred of political correctness, but if you hate something because it SOUNDS like political correctness, then isn't that as dumb as political correctness itself? It'd be like hating a word because it SOUNDS like a bad word. See? How dumb is that?

i'm a homebrewer. i'm a craft brewer. i'm a badass brewer. all of the above, thx

Evan! said:

I brew.

In my home.

You can refer to your hobby however you like, but does it really matter?

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Thank you for saying this before I do.

I'm proud to be a homebrewer, I know that the beer I make is good (finally!!), and I could give a flying &$#& if someone thinks I'm some hickdicky rustlin up some hooch.

Why don't you put on your label, "homebrewed craft beers" and then you get the best of both?

Rook said:

Thank you for saying this before I do.

I'm proud to be a homebrewer, I know that the beer I make is good (finally!!), and I could give a flying &$#& if someone thinks I'm some hickdicky rustlin up some hooch.

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Hickdicky???

Damn Squirrels said:

Don't be niggardly.


See? That SOUNDS like a bad word.

It isn't. But it sounds like one.


I understand the hatred of political correctness, but if you hate something because it SOUNDS like political correctness, then isn't that as dumb as political correctness itself? It'd be like hating a word because it SOUNDS like a bad word. See? How dumb is that?

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Isn't that why you started calling yourself a "Craft Brewer" in the first place? Cuz you hated the sound of "Homebrewer?" Hmm, how dumb is that??

Bernie Brewer said:

Isn't that why you started calling yourself a "Craft Brewer" in the first place? Cuz you hated the sound of "Homebrewer?" Hmm, how dumb is that??

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I never said I thought political correctness is dumb. As someone who has studied English, I believe we SHOULD use the words which, in the modern lexicon, most accurately describe the thing we seek to describe. We should use dictionaries, even if inconvenient, and strive to use the most accurate words possible. We should take into consideration both the denotations and connotations of words. That, after all, is the beauty of language. And if, over time, the modern perception of a word changes to such a degree that the perception no longer comports with reality, well then, it is time to reassess the definition.

Language, you see, is an ever-evolving thing.

Like I said, I make beer, everything after that is filler.

I went to a winemaker's club meeting the other day. They are just plain old "winemakers". I can be a beermaker, then, I guess. But "homebrewer" and "winemaker" does really describe what I do.

I think I'll just refer to my self as "Supreme Brewmistress". It does suit the avatar.

Brewpastor said:

Hickdicky???

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Didn't he call everyone here EAC's

Yooper Chick said:

I think I'll just refer to my self as "Supreme Brewmistress".

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*bowing* Oh hail to the Oh Great One....




...I am a Cellar Brewer

Yooper Chick said:

I think I'll just refer to my self as "Supreme Brewmistress". It does suit the avatar.

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Indeed.

Evan! said:

I brew.

In my home.

You can refer to your hobby however you like, but does it really matter?

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I guess that makes me a garagebrewer. Dang Cheese beat me to it. Since I have a batch of his famous Vanilla Cream fermenting right now, I'm worried we may think in a frighteningly similar manner.

I consider myself a Zymurgist because it extends to my other fermented passions.

zoebisch01 said:

I consider myself a Zymurgist because it extends to my other fermented passions.

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Would that be ZYE-merge-ist?

Or Zim-URGE-ist?

or ZIM-urge-ist?

Homebrewer or Craft brewer, i have been called worse.

As the reverend says...

"Just because i don't care dosen't mean I don't understand." -Homer Simpson

I brew on my lanai...some people call it a patio or porch.

In the end I'm a homebrewer and I drink all my beer that is not infected, I don't give a rip about efficiency - I fill up my brew pot and boil away

I'm a BPEEAC.

Barley Pop Engineer, EAC

While I do brew at home, my All Grain Craft Brews are better than most commercial ones I find in the stores IMHO.

I don't think most guys who drink beer think home brewing is some guy making cheap hooch in his kitchen.

If they do they're flippin' morons. I once had somebody tell me on I only do it so I have an excuse to drink. The F-wad was a recovering alcoholic. I think he's been brainwashed into thinking everyone who drinks is an alky-in-denile. He's probably just jealous. The guy is an obsessed workaholic now.

Frankly, when most people hear that I make my own beer, they are impressed and ask a bunch of questions. I think they are figuring out if they could do it themselves.

I usually don't say I'm a home brewer. I usually say "I make my own beer."

Craft Brewing sounds cool. I should ask SWMBO to make my beer labels, using newspaper clippings, maybe glue some yarn on the label with some sprinkles of glitter. I could have her make a bottle drying rack from a bunch popsicle sticks. If she takes the pottery class she's talked about maybe she could make me a big crock for primary open fermenter. Now that's craft brewing!!!

I am a brewer.

I am a grain steeper and hops boiler nothing more nothing less. The yeast on the other hand...

I'm all of the following, and I don't really care which one you choose to use as my label:

homebrewer
craft brewer
brewer
zymurgist
guy who makes beer
DIY guy
fermentation enabler
yeast encourager
EAC
arrogant bastard