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What is Craft Beer?

Great article explaining the terminology behind craft beer

What is craft beer ‘called’?

September 29, 2010

By Pete Mitcham

I read with interest a recent editorial in US beer magazine, BeerAdvocate, in which the editors pondered the following: “what should we really be calling this thing that we call ‘craft beer’.“

‘Drink more beer’. There’s something in that for all of us

Now, call me crazy, but I thought we had only just settled on the term ‘craft beer’ and that everyone who mattered was happy with that.

In Australia back in the 80s we used the term ‘micro’, but that gave the impression that size was everything. Then we had ‘boutique’ for a while which, as everyone knows, is where you go to buy an evening gown, not a beer. So it was decided – more by common usage than any sort of vote or referendum – that the term ‘craft beer’ meant anything that DIDN’T come out of one of the two big breweries in the country. The two camps were neatly defined and the drinkers in each were content.

Not so our brewing and beer drinking friends over in The Land of The Free. It appears that some sections of the Beer World in the US are already over the term ‘craft beer’ and have decided it doesn’t mean what it’s supposed to mean. They are happy to admit that ‘craft’ literally means something created with skill or someone who creates with skill but that the common understanding of the term is applied only to small breweries.

It seems that part of the problem with using the word ‘craft’ is that it allows large brewers to produce “craft-like beers” and, as a result, the purity of real craft beer is undermined. Is this the point at which we realise there is a big difference between the scenes here and in the US or is this just nit-picking over semantics?

In this case I’m happy to concede that the craft beer scene in the States is way ahead of us in many respects – I offer as Exhibit A the fact that you can buy a beautifully brewed 8 per cent IPA in a can over there – but I won’t concede on the terminology front. I believe we are able to judge a beer by the way in which it is brewed and by the integrity of the ingredients and by its adherence to style, regardless of the size of the brewery from which it is brewed.

In a country with a beer drinking population as small as ours we probably need to promote the difference between something that is crafted to a recipe, not just produced to a budget. We need to recognise the beer that is crafted to be drunk over the one that is distributed to be sold. We need to appreciate the love that has gone into perfecting the taste as different from the one that is used to advertise a major event.

It’s not about claiming that one is more of a beer than the other or that one is more important to our cultural identity than the other or that one has a more valid place in the beer landscape. It’s just being able to identify the difference. The difference between a ‘craft beer’ and a ‘mainstream beer’.

Let’s just keep it simple, shall we?

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Little Hell ESB

LITTLE HELL E.S.B is now available at selected points across Tassie.

The New Sydney will have it on tap shortly.

Only 775 bottles produced, 5.9% ABV.

Hellishly Good.

Beer Levels LOW!!!

The cool room is looking awfully empty at the moment.

Despite the cooler Tassie weather and an expectation of a reduction in sales, beer has been steadily moving out the door.

Rest assured we have brewed heavily and will bottle and have more available in the very near future.

Just keep drinking it up and we'll keep supplying your favourite beer

We're also working on the Spring Limited release recipe right now....mmmm

Will

Medals in the Australian Interntional Beer Awards

Our Ragged Jack Pale Ale was last week awarded a bronze medal in the Australian International Beer Awards in the British Style Pale Ale section.

Jacobs Ladder Amber Ale was also awarded a bronze medal in the Amber Ale section.

Not bad for just over 12 months in production. Try some award winning beers today.

Check out the stockists under the BUY tab on the website

Giblin Imperial Stout

Giblin Imperial Stout is Van Diemans' first limited release for 2010.

Bottling occurred last week and its now conditioning ready for release in June/July, and limited to only 700 bottles.

Its hangs itself out there as a seriously smooth drop, coming in at 7.7% ABV, mastering raisin and maple sweetness with port-like characteristics, bottled in 500ml bottles.

Start something dark - Giblin

Batman Bridge Festival

Come and taste the beers at the Batman Bridge Festival - 23rd May 2010.

More Info - http://www.puretasmania.com.au/default.asp?pID=181&eID=93

Welcome to Van Dieman Brewing

Welcome to the new Van Dieman Brewing website.

Keep updated here with all the things at the brewery, limited release beers and festivals to feature Van Dieman Brewing.

Sit back, chillax, and crack open a Van Dieman

Cheers

Welcome to Van Dieman Brewing.

More posts to come shortly

Cheers