Beer has been brewed the same way for thousands of years, painstakingly and lovingly scrutinizing each batch to ensure a perfect pint, every time. Beer has been known since the time of the epic of Gilgamesh, and the ancient Egyptians drank beer every day while building pyramids and sporting neat beards. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most brilliant minds in history, famously said that “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”.
It was often brewed individually, with each and every pub and tavern having its own special recipe. The Reinheitsgebot, adopted in in 1516, is the oldest law on record relating to food quality, is specifically about beer. So, it’s no wonder that beer holds a special place in human history and hearts. With the advent of large scale commercial brewing during the Industrial Revolution, the quantity of beer produced rose dramatically, but the quality took a nose dive.
Craft beers are produced in the old, artisanal fashion, while modern day commercial breweries operate on a massive scale. Due to the sheer volume of beer being brewed by these giants, quality control and premium ingredients have taken a backside to mass production and cost effectiveness. They tend to take the cheapest ingredients available, including inferior six row barley, substandard hops, and chemically treated water to make huge quantities of beer at a fraction of the cost it takes to make a real beer. Craft brewers take pride in the ingredients they use, selecting high grade barley and just the right hops to give their particular beer the flavor and consistency it deserves. This makes for a brew that is far superior to the institutionalized, mass produced products made by some corporate giants.
The main difference between craft beers and commercially brewed beer is the flavor. When you first taste a craft beer, you are having a sip of the hard work and dedication that went into creating that carbonated fermented masterpiece. Whereas commercial beer can taste flat, stale, or like nothing at all, a craft beer is a phenomenal cornucopia of different flavors, and each one can be savored as in a fine wine. Craft beer brewers spend a huge amount of time perfecting each and every keg that goes out, ensuring a high quality and superior brew that they can be proud of, and that people can enjoy as much as if they had brewed it themselves.