Julia Herz of the Brewers Association provides an excellent article that toasts and defines small and independent brewers.
This week is American Craft Beer Week and a great time to celebrate small and independent craft brewers. With over 4,300 craft breweries in the U.S., the most breweries ever recorded for our nation, the American craft beer industry has great reason to celebrate. The vast array of breweries, beers, and beer events sweeping America are giving craft beer fans across the U.S. unprecedented opportunities to enjoy and share the beverage they love.
In addition, these breweries offer significant contributions and benefits to our nation’s economy. Beer from America’s small and independent brewers made up $22.3 billion of overall beer sales in 2015.
As we celebrate American Craft Beer Week, the craft brewer definition takes on even greater significance. What does small and independent really mean and why is their definition so important? What is the impact of even having small and independent brewers? And what does the future in America look like for these brewers?
Julia Herz is craft beer program director at the Brewers Association and publisher of CraftBeer.com. She is a BJCP beer judge, award-winning homebrewer, Certified Cicerone®, co-author of the CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course. and co-author of Beer Pairing (Voyageur Press). In her role at the Brewers Association she serves as an advocate for and educator about U.S. craft brewers and as a spokesperson for the association.
Julia has written an excellent article that toasts small and independent brewers and provides background on the importance of defining the industry. The article appears this week on the Brewers Association website. A version of this article was originally published in the March/April issue of The New Brewer—a bi-monthly journal published by the Brewers Association.
Julia Herz – photograph courtesy of the Brewers Association
