The Basics of Craft Beer

I feel privileged to have born in the era of the craft beer revolution.

Think about it. Had you or I walked into a bar 25 years ago, it wouldn't have entered our minds to ask for a beer menu. The simple statement of "I'll take a beer" would result in the server bringing back a bottle (definitely without a glass) of Bud Light, Busch Light, or Miller Light (or another omnipresent domestic style of beer they had in stock). Never EVER would you even think to order an imperial stout, a dry-hopped IPA, or a barrel-aged Belgian strong ale. And that's because these oh so heavenly styles of beer were non-existent. It wasn't until the early 90s that craft beer made a breakthrough in the market, and, ever since, its prominence has continued to surge across North America, posing a threat to long-time head honchos like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. Lucky you and me!
  

What exactly is craft beer, and what makes it so damn special?

You could ask your favorite beer-drinking snob, but to save you an egregiously long and painstaking response, the Colorado-based Brewers Association describes craft beer as small, independent and traditional.

• "Small" means the brewery distributes no more than six million barrels of beer a year.
• "Independent" means that less than 25 percent of the brewery is owned by a non-craft beer brewery (like Anheuser-Busch InBev).
• "Traditional" means that the majority of the brewery's output consists of "beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation." (Sorry, Smirnoff Ice.)

What exactly is craft beer made of?

Four of the most glorious ingredients to make their way to planet earth. In other words:

• water (this is a big one!)
• fermentable sugars (traditionally malted barley)
• hops (green conelike flowers that grow on vines and impart a degree of bitterness and floral flavor to the beer)
• yeast (living microorganisms that gorge the fermentable sugars and "poop out" alcohol. It's a dirty job, but these gluttonous antibodies can do it!)

Pictured here is a pile of hop pellets, which are basically pulverized whole leaf hops that look like rabbit food. Since pellet hops are pulverized and crushed up during processing, this also crushes up the lupilin glands in the hops. What does this mean? It means that you will be able to isomerize the alpha acids in the hops better and gain a higher extraction rate. This translates to mean that you'll get more bitterness out of your hops. YAY!

How exactly is beer made?

Now THIS is an excellent question! And one I will answer in an upcoming post next week. Stay tuned, my fellow craft beer likers, lovers, and gotta havers!