An American craft brewer is:
Small
Annual production of six million barrels of beer or less.
Independent
Less than 25 percent 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 percent of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.
Visit the Brewers Association for more information about the craft brewer definition and details on the four distinct craft beer market segments: brewpubs, microbreweries and regional craft breweries.
What’s different about craft beer?
If you like to go to bars and different restaurants to taste different types of brew, you should also request a sample of any craft beer they have available. Regardless of what your preferences are, this type of brew is distinctly different than anything else you have tasted thus far. There are several reasons why you may develop a preference for this type of drink over any other.
First, you should be aware small and independent breweries exclusively make that craft beer. This means that there are different processes that go into the creation of their brews. You don’t have to worry about getting a product that is mass-produced with a generic taste. Since the facilities that make this type of drink are smaller, they can commit more time to developing a better product. This commitment to producing a better product of course makes it impossible for them to produce large amounts of their product and may also cause their product to cost more over the others that are in the market. Of course at this point in your life, you should be accustomed to paying more for quality products.
Did you know that there is more alcoholic content in a craft beer than there is in some of the more popular and mass-produced ones? Since there is more alcohol, there is less water and filler content. This means that instead of you buying watered down drinks, you can purchase drinks that give you an even bigger reason to feel good. The taste is more pronounced and unique. Since you won’t need to drink as many in order to get that “buzz” you seek, you don’t have to worry about needing to go to the bathroom or taking a break as much.
Recent research shows that craft beer is healthy for you to enjoy. Just like there are some health benefits to drinking certain types of wine, you can get more of those benefits from this special type of brew. It has fiber, which can help with digestive issues. It has silicon in it that can help to fight the development of osteoporosis. And it has a great deal of vitamins and antioxidants that will help to improve your overall health. If course this doesn’t mean that you should forgo all of your other drinks and foods in an effort to incorporate this drink into every segment of your life. Drinking responsibly and having a few drinks every now and then certainly won’t cause any problems with your health.
Believe it or not, you also have a much larger selection of drinks to choose from. Just because craft beer is made by independent breweries and doesn’t mean that you are limited in flavors. There are thousands of independent breweries that produce this type of drink. Take a trip to your favorite bar and find out if they have any of these drinks in stock. Once you have had the opportunity to taste one, you will be hooked.