What makes a craft brewery?


According to the American Brewers Association definition, a craft brewery is a small and independent brewer. Small means an annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less. Beer production is attributed to a brewer. Independent means that less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by people who are not a craft brewer. The brewer is registered with the Tax and Trade Bureau and makes beer.

In British Columbia, Canada, the Craft Brewers Guild restricts membership to those who produce under 200,000 HL annually and the company must be at least 51% BC owned.

 

 
Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, Vermont during COVID

Our instructor, Nick Poslowski, at the University of Vermont Business of Craft Beer School, asked us, his students: What makes a Craft Brewery? My fellow students answered: quality/ experimentation, local-ness, and community:

Quality and experimentation

“The most resounding themes in craft brewing are continued learning, quality over quantity, experimentation, quality and flavor, and building relationships with local suppliers, producers, and customers.” 

“Quality must come first. All craft breweries are businesses and operate to make money but the moment profits come first at the expense of quality, I feel that is when they are no longer craft.”

“It is about a love for the craft of making great and unique brews. A craft brewer is not willing to compromise taste or quality for the sake of cheaper ingredients or cheaper production costs.   A craft brewer experiments and innovates, takes risks and creates new brews. “

“The willingness to try something new, and branch out into new and unknown areas are what make craft breweries unique and special.”

Local

“A Craft Brewery is achieved when it not only drives commerce for itself but for its entire community.  It needs to have a high focus on quality brew using the best ingredients sourced as locally as possible. “

“Everything speaks to supporting the local community. Locally sourced ingredients, food trucks, materials to fill the location (serving plates, napkins, T-shirts, paintings, etc.) all come from somewhere around the corner… It needs to support every business it can within the community, in any capacity possible, in order to create prosperity for all who live there.”

Queen City BrewPub during COVID was just selling take-out. It is named after its hometown Burlington, Vermont which is a Queen City - in other words Burlington is the biggest city in the state, but not the capital -  In that way Burlington, Vermont USA and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania are the same!

 


 
Zero Gravity, the third great brewpub in Burlington, was also take-out only during COVID 
 

Community

“A Craft Brewery becomes a craft brewery when it uses its beer as a vehicle to drive a heartbeat for its community not just itself.”  


 Asali Society in Dar es Salaam aims to meet all these definitions of community, local-ness, and quality/innovation. Thanks UVM Center for Leadership and Innovation for good guidance.

 
#UVMCLI #UVMrep #sponsored

 

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