Everyone has heard of craft beer, but not all of us know exactly what it is. You see them in stores, restaurants, and bars, they come in a variety of styles and flavours, but do you know anything more about New Zealand craft beer? If you want to know more about craft beer, let us explain. This article is designed to better help consumers understand what makes a craft beer so different.
Definition of a Craft Beer
When it comes to finding a definitive definition of a craft beer you may struggle to source an answer. Nobody has yet to agree on what exactly makes a craft beer, but many have tried. New Zealand beer that has been produced in microbreweries by an independent business is known as craft beer. Although an official definition of craft beer is yet to exist, the US Brewers Association states that for a beverage to be a craft beer, it must have the following ingredients:
- Small production capacity
- Independently owned
- Traditional yet innovative
In New Zealand and other countries around the world, craft beer is not traditionally mass-produced. It is created in local microbreweries by owners who enjoy experimenting with different brews.
Output
The main component that defines craft beer is output. Craft beer is associated with small scale, independent breweries. They produce a small output each year and they focus on a wide variety of unique flavours and brands.
Murky Waters
The problem with looking at craft beer and output is the definition – how do you label something as having a small output? There is no definition for what a small operation is, so it is hard to define craft beer as a product that has been produced by a brewery with a small yearly output.
In many cases, successful small scale craft beer companies have been purchased by bigger corporations and the product is still sold as craft beer.
Key Components
If you want to taste original craft beer brewed in New Zealand, you must look for small scale operations in which craftsmanship is key. Seek out independent brewers that use locally sourced ingredients.
New Zealand craft beer is not much different to other microbreweries all over the world. The concept is the same, use local ingredients to produce tasty brews in a small-scale independent brewery. Craft beer continues to jump in popularity and there lots of microbreweries popping up all over the country.
