What’s a “Craft Beer?”

Unlike major beer brewing companies along the lines of Carlsberg, Heineken and Budweiser etc, Craft beers are made in small quantities and normally have higher ABV (Alcohol By Volume) not to mention a better overall taste. A Craft brewery is another name for a micro brewery, the definition is that a craft brewer only produces around 6 million barrels of beer or less annually and is 75% or more, independently owned or controlled by themselves.

So where did it all begin? According to a quick Google, Microbrewing “movement” began in the 1970’s and spread further across the pond to the USA. Litchborough Brewery founded by Bill Urquhart in 1975 in the Northamptonshire village of the same name started commercial beer brewing, training courses and apprenticeships were offered. Many of the movement’s early pioneers passed through Litchborough’s courses to setting up their own breweries in time. After a lot of growth the concept “Craft Brewing” as we know today came to replace the term Microbrewing but is essentially the same practice. (source)

In order to be spotted down the beer aisle at your local shop, they need to stand out, below are some example of bottles and their relative designs to distinguish them from the rest of the herd.

Brew Dog examples: