Opening Word
Many believe that beer is beer and that as long as your pint is full, life is good. However, such beliefs cannot be further from the truth, and the real beer lovers who enjoy it for all of what it is and what it represents know it. When it comes to regular and craft beers, the differences are seemingly non-existent at the first glance, often at the second. In reality, they are as different as two types of one thing can be.
If you like drinking beer, and we are pretty sure you do since you are reading this article, after all, it is high time you learned the differences between craft and regular beers. Think of this article as a sort of guide that will help you better understand why such a debate even exists and why you should care which type of beer you drink. To find out more about beer as well as to shop some of the best varieties available online, make sure to check out abeervinum.it.
Basic Distinction
The most basic and general, as well as widely-known difference between these two beers, is where it is made. Regular beer is also known as industrial or commercial beer and it is mass-produced to be sold everywhere.
Quantity is more important than quality and despite numerous brands enjoying fame and success all over the world, their products are still made in huge breweries with more care put towards business, revenue, and production than the beer itself. This beer is affordable for most people and it takes a few bottles to fill you up and get you tipsy.
Craft beer is made in small, independent breweries that are most often family-owned or run by enthusiasts who do most of the work themselves. A lot of these places started very slow and modest, with limited resources and as a hobby. However, they grow to larger businesses that still make much less beer than regular breweries because of the time and effort needed to make a special beer the customers (and the owner) will enjoy.
More care is put towards the whole beer-making and beer-drinking experience that it is thought of as a form of art or a craft, hence the name. Since it is a hand-made variety of beer, it is more expensive, stronger, and it fills you up sooner. Right now, the craft beer market in the USA alone is valued at more than $24 billion, which is a staggering statistic on its own.
More Important Differences
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let us get down and dirty and examine the main differences between craft and regular beer. Remember that both of them have a special place on the market and that the world would not be nearly as good without them.
There is room for competition but there should also be enough respect between the supporters, manufacturers, and drinkers of both.
Way of Drinking and the Culture
Craft beer is made to be enjoyed, examined, and drank with greater care than the subtle notes in taste and smell. It is to be cherished and discussed as one would do with fine wine.
There is no binge drinking or partying with craft beer. For that, you should turn to commercial beer you know and love, something that will allow you to drink more and party easier. You will rarely see a party or a celebration of any kind with craft beer overflowing and tap kegs being replaced all the time. It cannot be said that craft is more civil, but it is definitely consumed in subtler situations.
The culture around it is special because the people and their pleasure are more important.
Craft beer is the hedonist way of consuming this famous beverage and it connects the brewers and the consumers like nothing else.
Materials and Fermentation
Handmade craft beer is made with great care, as mentioned, with ingredients and raw materials that are rigorously chosen and selected. Before the brewing process starts, there is a lot of planning and evaluation in order for the right aromas to be achieved. This is why they have those special smells and tastes that you cannot find with commercial beer made with machines and with recipes that favor cheaper ingredients, speed, and optimal resource use.
Many commercial beer brands use rice or corn instead of traditional hops for their beer, something a master craft brewer would never think of doing.
The key stage of beer-making in the process of fermentation. With craft beers, there are two fermentation processes. In the second, the yeast synthesizes natural gas so the beer obtains a more natural taste.
There is no artificial CO2 injected into the beer itself to promote the single fermentation process. This takes longer but the final product is much richer and tastier.
Flavor, Aroma, Taste, Smell, Color
Whatever you want to call it, commercial beers can never obtain it. They can only dream to have it because the beer factories and mass-producing breweries that ship thousands of liters do not employ the care and processes needed to have this. Artisan beer and industrial beer can easily be distinguished by the look in the same glass.
Craft beers always have peculiar colors and shades of brown, yellow, and orange. Industrial beers are usually of the same color and they lack the body. Intense and defined flavors of fruit and crops in craft beers are the main advantage for beer lovers who drink beer to truly taste it which is why the market and the industry as a whole are growing each year. It is also healthier since the nutrients of these ingredients persist. Industrial beer has no health benefits whatsoever.
Accompanying Food
Last but not least, we have to mention the food and beer combination that numerous people cherish. Just like fine wine, craft beer accompanies food in an amazing and rewarding way.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to eat comfort food made with great care and special effort and combine it with a pint of artisan beer. Different aromas go with different foods so make sure you research the aromas that complement your favorite dishes in the best way possible.
Mass-produced and watered-down light beers you are used to drinking with friends do nothing for your food and they are even capable of making your meals taste worse.
