Craft beer

[Tongs ya bas]

What actually is it? A bottle of beer is a bottle of beer surely

[chuffer]

beer that has flavour usually.... flavour being the thing that large, commercial breweries seem to forget to add to their product. Careful selection of hops (usually from foreign shores) assists in imparting flavour but this tends to add more expense to the end product

[Kayakman]

Better beer than the run of the mill stuff...different combinations of hops/grains...usually much better but sometimes a miss...a booming market in Canada...costs a little more but usually worth it...still got a long way to go until we get to the British standard though...but its coming along nicely in Canada and the USA.

Nice to support local brewers too!

[Kayakman]

Just now, chuffer said:

beer that has flavour usually.... flavour being the thing that large, commercial breweries seem to forget to add to their product. Careful selection of hops (usually from foreign shores) assists in imparting flavour but this tends to add more expense to the end product

Don't make your own and think its craft beer standard though...Garnet did and listen to what happened to him and his!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI8P5Fhc5yU

[Mark S]

I recommend Beavertown Gammeray, you need a 2nd mortgage to be able to buy a pint of it in a bar but you can get it in shops at a reasonable price. I also like Samuel Adams.

[Tongs ya bas]

10 hours ago, chuffer said:

beer that has flavour usually.... flavour being the thing that large, commercial breweries seem to forget to add to their product. Careful selection of hops (usually from foreign shores) assists in imparting flavour but this tends to add more expense to the end product

Surely all breweries are commercial breweries. There were tasty interesting bottled beers before this 'craft' nonsense.

 

[corvusxiii]

It's never been as good for beer at the moment. As an aside the local cheapy warehouse type thingy must have 20-30 different Gins. Didn't use to be like this.

[Bob8]

Craft is a brilliant example of working out how to do decent ales without the infrastructure that we have in the UK.  I know some craft beer people in the UK look down as cask beer and should should dismiss their views.  But, craft beer has been very good at marketing, kudos to Mikkler and Brewdog for that.  Meanwhile, the traditional ale seems to be marketed to dungeons and dragons fans.

[Just Browny]

There are lots of tasty blonde, craft beers. They have all got cool labels and are very drinkable.

My gripe is that the difference in flavour is actually is pretty small: most of them taste the same. As I say, I am happy about that because I like the taste, but I do think it is a bit of a swizz.

[Stevo]

Craft beer is a pale ale that tastes mostly of grapefruit, rather than beer.

Some nice ones around, but there are plenty made by chancers who chuck in a load of north American hops and hope for the best.

Echo the thought above that the UK beer scene is great at the moment - I can't remember there being as big a range of styles available in my time in pubs - and there are some outstanding small UK breweries.

 

[Padge]

Craft beer is a meaningless term as nobody in the brewing industry can agree with what it actually is.

It started as a marketing term used by small independent breweries in America who were 'crafting' flavoursome beer using new blends and types of hops, they used the term to distinguish their products from the tasteless p!$$ produced by the giant breweries.

In the UK the independents have in main always relied on producing cask beer, "real ale", which over recent years has seen an explosion in take up, especially with the advent of the micro-brewery and the micro-pub.

Real ale has a limited cellar life and an even shorter shelf life, because of this some of the small breweries here started to look at how other countries were doing things. They couldn't use traditional 'kegging' as real al outlets would just not touch it in the main and it alienate them from the likes of CAMRA.

As an alternative they picked up on what was going on across the pond and started to use some of the American kegging techniques and branding their real ales when kegged as Craft. This technique uses pressure to force the ale from the keg but the gas used never comes into contact with the beer so doesn't make it gaseous other than what occurs naturally.  

Then some of the producers of real cask ale saw that craft was a good marketing term and they started to use it for cask beers.

Worse still I have seen pubs advertising the likes of Heineken as 'craft' beer, as the brewery chains try to jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Kayakman]

7 minutes ago, Padge said:

Craft beer is a meaningless term as nobody in the brewing industry can agree with what it actually is.

It started as a marketing term used by small independent breweries in America who were 'crafting' flavoursome beer using new blends and types of hops, they used the term to distinguish their products from the tasteless p!$$ produced by the giant breweries.

In the UK the independents have in main always relied on producing cask beer, "real ale", which over recent years has seen an explosion in take up, especially with the advent of the micro-brewery and the micro-pub.

Real ale has a limited cellar life and an even shorter shelf life, because of this some of the small breweries here started to look at how other countries were doing things. They couldn't use traditional 'kegging' as real al outlets would just not touch it in the main and it alienate them from the likes of CAMRA.

As an alternative they picked up on what was going on across the pond and started to use some of the American kegging techniques and branding their real ales when kegged as Craft. This technique uses pressure to force the ale from the keg but the gas used never comes into contact with the beer so doesn't make it gaseous other than what occurs naturally.  

Then some of the producers of real cask ale saw that craft was a good marketing term and they started to use it for cask beers.

Worse still I have seen pubs advertising the likes of Heineken as 'craft' beer, as the brewery chains try to jump on the bandwagon.

 

And now some of the major brewers over here are buying out the small guys because they understand that they are losing huge market share.

[Futtocks]

23 minutes ago, Stevo said:

Echo the thought above that the UK beer scene is great at the moment - I can't remember there being as big a range of styles available in my time in pubs - and there are some outstanding small UK breweries.

Not just the beer scene - independent distillers are also cropping up all over the country. A few wine-makers, too. Interesting times for us boozers!

[chuffer]

craft ale is not necessarily kegged, nor is it always pale.

[Padge]

6 hours ago, Kayakman said:

And now some of the major brewers over here are buying out the small guys because they understand that they are losing huge market share.

 

That is happening the UK as well.

 

[Padge]

3 minutes ago, chuffer said:

craft ale is not necessarily kegged, nor is it always pale.

 

That was the point in my post earlier, it has no definition, its just a marketing label. Its a bit like 'home made' in catering, it means nothing.

I have just had a pint of cask real ale and on the pump clip it was described as 'craft beer'.

 

[chuffer]

9 hours ago, Tongs ya bas said:

Surely all breweries are commercial breweries. There were tasty interesting bottled beers before this 'craft' nonsense.

 

such as? I find a lot of the traditional English beers pretty bland and so welcome this influx of exotic hop use, beers with a Citrus twang compared to our boring old earthy flavour

[Padge]

6 minutes ago, chuffer said:

such as? I find a lot of the traditional English beers pretty bland and so welcome this influx of exotic hop use, beers with a Citrus twang compared to our boring old earthy flavour

I just had a Peach Melbear from Beartown Brewery, its taste notes said Peach and Elderflower, it was a really nice smooth beer. The boss, who avoids the hoppy dry pales that I normally like, was very impressed when she had a taste. It was far from your 'normal' flavour.

[chuffer]

I was working away in Cardiff this week and came across a brewdog bar in the city. Had a "Hazy Jane". £5 for 2/3 a pint. Stinger but well worth it, it's a Vermont / New England style IPA where the focus is on low bitterness and high fruit flavour/aroma, mainly done by dry hopping, they also add torrified wheat to the mash (which you would normally put in guinness to get that creamy head) which results in an opaque appearance. 7% too so Jane wasn't the only thing hazy when I was done. But its things like this (experimentation) that I like about beer right now

[Griff9of13]

18 hours ago, Padge said:

Craft beer is a meaningless term as nobody in the brewing industry can agree with what it actually is.

It started as a marketing term used by small independent breweries in America who were 'crafting' flavoursome beer using new blends and types of hops, they used the term to distinguish their products from the tasteless p!$$ produced by the giant breweries.

In the UK the independents have in main always relied on producing cask beer, "real ale", which over recent years has seen an explosion in take up, especially with the advent of the micro-brewery and the micro-pub.

Real ale has a limited cellar life and an even shorter shelf life, because of this some of the small breweries here started to look at how other countries were doing things. They couldn't use traditional 'kegging' as real al outlets would just not touch it in the main and it alienate them from the likes of CAMRA.

As an alternative they picked up on what was going on across the pond and started to use some of the American kegging techniques and branding their real ales when kegged as Craft. This technique uses pressure to force the ale from the keg but the gas used never comes into contact with the beer so doesn't make it gaseous other than what occurs naturally.  

Then some of the producers of real cask ale saw that craft was a good marketing term and they started to use it for cask beers.

Worse still I have seen pubs advertising the likes of Heineken as 'craft' beer, as the brewery chains try to jump on the bandwagon.

 

Couldn't have put it better myself.

As has already been said there is much more to the "new" beer scene than just hoppy pale beers. There has been something of a revival of porters and stouts in both keg and cask plus a rise in continental styles and sour beers (not my thing personally); a huge range of flavours and styles if you know where to look.

[Trojan]

19 hours ago, Padge said:

Craft beer is a meaningless term as nobody in the brewing industry can agree with what it actually is.

It started as a marketing term used by small independent breweries in America who were 'crafting' flavoursome beer using new blends and types of hops, they used the term to distinguish their products from the tasteless p!$$ produced by the giant breweries.

In the UK the independents have in main always relied on producing cask beer, "real ale", which over recent years has seen an explosion in take up, especially with the advent of the micro-brewery and the micro-pub.

Real ale has a limited cellar life and an even shorter shelf life, because of this some of the small breweries here started to look at how other countries were doing things. They couldn't use traditional 'kegging' as real al outlets would just not touch it in the main and it alienate them from the likes of CAMRA.

As an alternative they picked up on what was going on across the pond and started to use some of the American kegging techniques and branding their real ales when kegged as Craft. This technique uses pressure to force the ale from the keg but the gas used never comes into contact with the beer so doesn't make it gaseous other than what occurs naturally.  

Then some of the producers of real cask ale saw that craft was a good marketing term and they started to use it for cask beers.

Worse still I have seen pubs advertising the likes of Heineken as 'craft' beer, as the brewery chains try to jump on the bandwagon.

 

I agree with most of this.  However, when I went to New York I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of craft IPA style beers.  Same thing in Amsterdam last year, found a couple of bars selling craft ales.  Including something called "sour beer" which was excellent. Funnily enough on the same visit to Amsterdam we went round the Heineken Brewery, there's no way that could be described as "craft beer."  In the UK however, I see no need for craft ale.  Not when we can buy the likes of my favourite Taylors Landlord Bitter from the cask.  Ossett also have a good range of ales, their Treacle Stout is delish.

[Kayakman]

Just now, Trojan said:

I agree with most of this.  However, when I went to New York I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of craft IPA style beers.  Same thing in Amsterdam last year, found a couple of bars selling craft ales.  Including something called "sour beer" which was excellent. Funnily enough on the same visit to Amsterdam we went round the Heineken Brewery, there's no way that could be described as "craft beer."  In the UK however, I see no need for craft ale.  Not when we can buy the likes of my favourite Taylors Landlord Bitter from the cask.  Ossett also have a good range of ales, their Treacle Stout is delish.

I agree..England is so far ahead that their run of the mill stuff is super duper premium over here...but I guess its always wise to keep improving...you just never know what will 'h'op up...just like the TWP!

"Run With The Pack!"

[Padge]

3 hours ago, Trojan said:

I agree with most of this.  However, when I went to New York I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of craft IPA style beers.  Same thing in Amsterdam last year, found a couple of bars selling craft ales.  Including something called "sour beer" which was excellent. Funnily enough on the same visit to Amsterdam we went round the Heineken Brewery, there's no way that could be described as "craft beer."  In the UK however, I see no need for craft ale.  Not when we can buy the likes of my favourite Taylors Landlord Bitter from the cask.  Ossett also have a good range of ales, their Treacle Stout is delish.

I first encountered sour beer beere in Brugges about 5 years ago. Not impressed, however my wife loves the stuff and there is more and more of it coming to market. She reckons the best sours are from Chorlton Brewery and Buxton Brewery.

I wasn't slagging off American craft ales, far from it.

My point was that 'Craft' has just become a marketing term used by all and sundry and has become meaningless in this country.

 

[shaun mc]

Spot on with the 'craft beer' terminology Padge. 

It annoys me that some of the larger, low cost, low quality, low taste breweries are now trying to put 'craft' and/or 'IPA' on their labels, pumpclips and marketing as they are losing market share to the garage, micro and low volume breweries who actually care about what they put out to the public

A lot of the UK breweries are being very experimental with their beer styles and ingredients but at the end of the day if you want a good pint, then for me, can't go wrong with these :

Blonde Ale - Oakham Citra or Lancaster Blonde

Bitter/IPA - T Taylor Landlord

Stronger % IPA - Worthington White Shield

Porter - Titantic Plum Porter

Stout - Hawkshead Dry Stone Stout

[Kayakman]

Just now, shaun mc said:

Spot on with the 'craft beer' terminology Padge. 

It annoys me that some of the larger, low cost, low quality, low taste breweries are now trying to put 'craft' and/or 'IPA' on their labels, pumpclips and marketing as they are losing market share to the garage, micro and low volume breweries who actually care about what they put out to the public

A lot of the UK breweries are being very experimental with their beer styles and ingredients but at the end of the day if you want a good pint, then for me, can't go wrong with these :

Blonde Ale - Oakham Citra or Lancaster Blonde

Bitter/IPA - T Taylor Landlord

Stronger % IPA - Worthington White Shield

Porter - Titantic Plum Porter

Stout - Hawkshead Dry Stone Stout

Very hard to get your hands on any of that stuff over here.