First things first… how are we defining craft beer?

There is no single definition for craft beer. A beer can considered ‘craft’ if it meets a series of characteristics.

They are:

• Made by small microbreweries: ‘small’ being defined by output – less than 6 million barrels of beer a year
• Made by independent breweries: where less than 25% is owned by a non-craft beer brewery (a topic heavily under debate due to recent acquisitions of Goose Island, Meantime and Camden Hells amongst others)
• Traditional: where at least 50% is brewed using traditional or innovative ingredients and methods

(As summed up by the Brewers Association)

Other commonly found characteristics of craft beers:

• Fresh, unpasteurized, unfiltered beer
• A short shelf life (typically a year or less, unless a darker speciality beer)
• Higher alcohol content
• Come from unique breweries with charm and personality
• Often have innovative websites and beautiful, creative labels
• An absence of rice and corn in ingredients (typically used to cheapen the brew)
• High percentiles of barley
• Made by breweries who aren’t driven by $$ and profit margins
• Typically made with a ‘style’ in mind, like APA, IPA, Stout. Very few commercial beers are described as such, like Coors or Budweiser. But at the same time, it is totally possible to make a craft Lager. Just taste the difference!
• Made by a heavily flannelled team, driven by creativity and authenticity
• Sometimes, different tasting bottles of the same beer
• Shouldn’t always be consumed ice cold
• Sediment at the bottom as a result of fresh ingredients (yeast or fruit)
• Unusual ingredients
• Typos on labels, maybe even a handwritten label

The latter list we have formulated ourselves based on our observations from chatting with brewers and working in the industry. It is by no means the ultimate truth nor one in which all features must be met. There are so many varying questions and matters of debate that come into play – is an independent spirit enough to class a brewery and their beers as ‘craft’? Should larger breweries, especially those who have been bought out, even be allowed to call themselves and advertise as ‘craft’ beer anymore? Could you make a beer in a completely innovative manner, but only produce a limited quantity and still be considered ‘craft’?

Regardless, the beers we import under ‘Drinking Buddies’ all meet the first three characteristics – traditional, independent and small. We love that everyone we work with are fuelled by creativity and a desire to create something great; constantly innovating and driven by a quest for individuality whether in their beer, bottling, branding or all three!

首先，让我们来看一下我们是如何来定义精酿啤酒的。

我们很难用一句话来概括精酿啤酒的定义。如果能够满足以下这些特征，那我们既可以把它称为精酿啤酒。

• 小型：酒厂的年产量必须少于600万桶（约700000千公升）。
• 独立：酒厂的股份必须有超过75％不被非精酿啤酒厂拥有的啤酒工业集团与旗下公司持有。(但是现在有一个热议的问题：像 Goose Island, Meantime和Camden Hells 等一些精酿酒厂被百威这样的啤酒工业集团收购之后，他们的产品还是否算得上是精酿啤酒。)
• 传统：以啤酒为主要产品，使用传统或创新的酿造原料，不可使用辅料降低酿造成本。增味麦芽酒精饮料不属于啤酒。

(以上总结自Brewers Association)

其他常见的精酿啤酒的特点：

• 新鲜，未经高温灭菌、未过滤的啤酒
• 保质期短（一般为一年或以下，除非是特殊的暗色啤酒）
• 酒精含量较高
• 来自具有魅力和个性的啤酒厂
• 通常有创新的网站和漂亮的创意标签
• 成分中通常不含大米和谷物（通常用于廉价酿造）
• 啤酒中大麦的成分含量较高
• 啤酒厂通常不被利益所驱使
• 常见的精酿啤酒品种有：APA（美式淡色艾尔），IPA（印度淡色艾尔），Stout（世涛）等。像Coors和Budweiser这样极少的工业啤酒口感与精酿啤酒类似。但是工业啤酒完全可以模仿精酿拉格，只是口感不同！
• 酿造团队真实且富有创造力
• 有时候，同一款酒会有不同的瓶子包装
• 常温的精酿啤酒味道也很好
• 由于在酿造过程中有活酵母和水果等成分，瓶底会出现一些沉积物
• 酿酒过程中添加一些不寻常的成分，如水果、糖浆、蜂蜜等
• 打印的标签上偶尔会出现错别字，有些甚至手写标签

根据我们与酿酒商聊天和在业内工作的相关经验，我们归纳总结了以上的特点。这不是绝对正确的，也不是所有特点都必须要达到的。 现在关于精酿啤酒的定义出现了很大的争议 —— 难道说仅仅是因为独立的原因，我们就可以将一些酿酒厂和啤酒列为“精酿”的范畴之内么？ 一些大的啤酒厂或是啤酒集团，特别是那些收购了精酿酒厂的，是否可以在广告上班标榜自己生产的是“精酿啤酒”呢？ 而那些酿酒方式创新，生产数量有限的酒厂，仍然可以被认为是“精酿酒厂”么？

无论如何，我们Drinking Buddies啤友汇为您推荐的进口精酿啤酒均满足小型、独立和传统这三个特点。我们非常高兴的是我们的每一个合作伙伴都追求个性、在对酿酒事业都充满热情与创造力，这些在他们的啤酒、包装和品牌中展现的淋漓尽致。

Image from/相关图片来源于： Hospitalitytimes.ie