Beer of the Craft Variety by Chris Becicka
Beer of the Craft Variety by Chris Becicka We’re talking craft beer here, the now nearly ubiquitous beer whose popularity has soared. Regional craft breweries, microbreweries, and brew pubs (the total category) have really taken off from the mid-90s, rising from 537 to 3,464 in 2014. Hence, all the noise about them – it’s a battle out there. In Kansas City, beer aficionados are familiar with the huge variety of choices, from the local area to nationwide. In fact, a friend just showed me a picture of a restaurant’s menu in Beijing that was featuring Boulevard Beer. Biergarden at Grunauer So what constitutes a craft beer? The Craft Brewers Association defines it as small (fewer than 6 million gallons annually), independent (less than 25% of it is owned or controlled by a bigger company who is not a craft brewer) and traditional (a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and...
