There’s a reason this blog isn’t called East Bay Craft Beer. Part of it is that I’ve been around long enough to remember when beers I liked were called “microbrew,” and if I’m still running this site in 15 years I don’t want to have to change the name. But beyond my big-picture musings about the evolution of industry jargon, “craft beer” is generally not a phrase I use. Increasingly, it’s not a phrase I like.
This isn’t an assault on anyone with “craft beer” in their organization name, Twitter handle, etc. Caring if you use the phrase “craft beer” would be quite a self-inflicted first-world problem. This is an explanation of why I don’t often use the phrase “craft beer” and why I’d like to see our language and beer culture evolve past the point where it serves any purpose.
So what do I like to call it? “Beer.” Here’s why.
“Craft” has become an unregulated marketing term, not a real adjective
Any restaurant can call itself “authentic.” Similarly, though it’ll result in uproar on the Internet, anyone can use the word “craft.”
Abracadabra! You’re craft beer!
The closest thing we have to an “official” definition of craft comes from the Brewers Association. They’ve (several times) changed the definition of “small” and more recently changed the definition of craft to include some popular adjunct lagers. Does this latter move make Yeungling better than Budweiser? No, it does not. The Brewers Association does a lot of great work for the industry, but craft or crafty or who cares.
Some say a different definition of craft would help. Personally, I’d rather ditch the word than regulate it. I’m done with the amateur beer industry sport of arguing about what “craft” means.
Why should I have to change my name?
In the movie Office Space, the character Michael Bolton (“no, it’s just a coincidence”) is asked why he doesn’t go by “Mike” instead of “Michael.”
He replies, “No way. Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.”
I call it beer. I don’t see why I should change it, because my beer doesn’t suck. (Not all macro beer sucks, and some craft beer does, but that’s a whole ‘nother post.) Belgian and German and English beer of all styles existed long before American beer culture got screwed up by Prohibition and our beer ceased to have flavor for decades. Trappist monks didn’t need to call it craft and I don’t think we do either.
I like to be specific
What do you like about “craft” beer? That it tastes good? That the brewers and/or owners are our friends and/or neighbors? That it’s “small”? (or smaller than a company you don’t like?). That it’s creative? That it’s family-owned with a succession plan in place? That it has ethical business practices? Does it need to be low-budget and DIY? Does it need to be strongly flavored or high in alcohol? “Craft” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I like to say exactly what I like about a beer instead of using a blanket term that implies that an entire business category is better than another. “Local,” “small” and “yummy” aren’t perfect either, but they get closer to an actual description.
It sounds like an ad
I know, time is money and sometimes you’ve got to take a shortcut to get your point across succinctly: “20 craft beers on tap,” “craft brewed in [insert city here],” whatever. But I find that most of the time you need a quick soundbite, it’s an ad. If I’m giving free advertising it’s going to be for a brewery or beer I like, not for an entire business sector.
I can’t speak to what the value of the word “craft” is for a brewery or a bar that has a brand involving that word. I only know that as a bartender I’ve never once been asked if a beer is craft or not, and as a consumer the phrase “craft beer” does not roll trippingly off my tongue. I’m gonna ask my husband if he wants to grab a beer after work, not if he wants to grab a craft beer. And I personally enjoy writing the way I speak.
Wishful thinking
There’s a bit of utopianism going on when I call both Natty Lite and 3 Fonteinen Gueuze “beer.” For too long in America, “beer” mostly meant one flavor. I think we should get that word back and have it mean all flavors. When most Americans think “beer,” they think the lite yellow stuff that still dominates the market. I want to do my part to change that. Won’t Joe Macro Drinker be more likely to try one of our beers if we don’t make it sound all fancy and different?
It’s yet another image problem beer has but wine doesn’t. Wine is generally called “wine.” It’s subpar (or perceived to be subpar) wine that gets an adjective, like “cheap wine,” “box wine,” “jug wine,” or “chateau de screw top.”
And in 100 years we’ll all be dead anyway
In short, I’ll know what you’re talking about it if you call it beer. I think I’ll also know what you’re getting at if you call it craft beer (or microbrew). We could argue about it all day, but enough of this and let’s drink one! Cheers.
Agree with many points you make. The ad aspect of craft was driven home to me by my local Albertson’s “craft beer mix and match” fridge, which generously allows one to choose Smirnoff Ice varieties (in all, only about about 10-15% of the beers in the fridge are made by “craft brewers”).
I’ve never used the term to refer to or even think about the beer I actually drink. I am often on the look-out for “good beer,” not necessarily or exclusively “craft beer.” It so happens that the descriptions often coincide, but as you mention, not always.
Nicely done. I do usually say “hey let’s go to X because they have a large selection of good beers” but I will admit that I sometimes find myself saying “hey let’s go to X because they have a large selection of craft beers” when I am speaking to someone who recently discovered that there is beer better the Bud.
Ditto what Stephen said. And I love all your points.
I’m so glad to have found this article! I was actually searching for why ANYTHING can be called “Craft” when it’s not an adjective. It’s a verb or sometimes an adverb. John, your last two sentences nail it for me. This article needs to be spread!