Crafty enough...

I have had this discussion with a few people of late and have seen it crop up more often than not on blogs and forums. What is a craft beer? What defines a beer as a craft beer? Who cares?

Bizarrely I have had this discussion before, years ago but in terms of music. Being a lover of all things heavy, back in the 80s/early 90s metal was metal and we were all happy that's what it was. Of course, there were/are different styles of metal as people love to pigeonhole things. We had rap metal, black metal, the new wave of British heavy metal, doom metal... the list was endless and still grows to this day, anyone for some Djent? But styles are easily definable in the main - the vocals, the timbre, the aggression, the production, the tempo - all factors that can be described to detail what makes something fit into that style. But something started to happen in the 90s. A split between the underground and the mainstream. But what was underground and what was mainstream was open to wide debate, a debate that still rages on today. When does an underground band become mainstream? Album sales, ticket sales, change of musical direction, radio airplay, MTV? These are all subjective opinions and have left a bad taste in many a mouth, mine included. People who refuse to like the mainstream because it is just that, never mind if it is actually good. Elitists who will only listen to obscure recordings of a black metal band who were together for one week and only recorded one EP in a cave that can only be played on a gramophone. Everything else is false metal! Leave the hall!

I am getting the same view of craft beer. What makes it craft? Is it low sales, low volume, the effort put into brewing it, taste, availability, quality (don't get me started on that)? All subjective and not very helpful. I have seen breweries that have been bought over by the big boys being slated, with some even stating they will never buy their beer again. But it is the same beer they have enjoyed for years, so why the stance? Why deprive yourself of what you enjoy? Why not see the potential positive in having better backing. I for one see bigger distribution on the table, meaning I will get to try some awesome beers that I never thought I would. Or let the brewers do what they do best and concentrate on making awesome beer rather than worrying about the business risk that sometimes comes with it. Obviously people fear the influence some of this may have over the brewery, but why not wait to stop drinking the beer if your fears become a reality and the beer suffers because of it.

Why not just let beer be beer. Not all mass produced beer is bad in the same way not all 'craft' beer is good. Why look down on someone for liking something mass produced if that is what brings them happiness on a warm summer's day. Some folk have yet to be introduced to great beer and are unaware of the variety of styles out there. We were all there once, but I am thankful I wasn't confronted by the sometimes inaccessible world of 'craft' beer that exists currently. How are you going to convince someone to try a hop laden IPA when you have just ridiculed them for drinking a pint of generic larger, never mind get them to try a sour! It takes a while for someone's palate to adapt to these new flavours, in much the same way as any other food or beverage.

So can we all not sit in the sun and enjoy what makes us happy without the name calling and fretting over what we consider mainstream or craft?

Mine will be a massive barrel aged imperial stout, with me stinking of factor 50 while EYEHATEGOD crawls its way out of the stereo speakers.

My name is Bruce.

Boundary breaking...

I have held off on making a post about Boundary Brewing mainly because I wanted to wait until they had some beer on the shelves and more importantly beer that I had tasted.

Now I could go into detail about where they have come from, but they do a great job of that themselves here . I could explain about all the great people who were involved in getting this venture up and running, but they do a great job of introducing themselves here. I could give you a rundown of the story so far, but they do a great job on their own blog here. As you can see they are already doing a great job and that is one of the many reasons I became a member of the CO-OP. Did I mention that it was a CO-OP? It is, which means I own a brewery!

I could also explain what those other reasons why I signed up with Boundary are, but I think I did an alright job with my guest blog post here.

This is turning into the laziest blog post ever, but I am not a fan of reinventing the wheel.

So now to the good stuff, the beer! What we currently have is the core range of an American Pale Ale, an India Pale Ale and an Export Stout. I think the packaging alone looks ace.

I had a sneak tasting with everyone else who attended Belfast Beer Club, but due to my excitement (and some extra libations) I can't remember in detail my musings. Suffice to say I was impressed with what I tasted. The Stout being my favourite that I will no doubt be tasting quite frequently. The APA is the entry level beer for the masses, but taking that into consideration and the low ABV it is packed with flavour with a decent mouthfeel. The IPA was the only one I believe didn't 100% hit the mark as I thought it was a bit under-carbonated and lacked some of that hops punch I like from an IPA, but these aspects can be tweaked so I look forward to tasting future batches.

Now it is on the shelves I intend to pick more up to relax at home and enjoy them while taking notes, so look out for a fuller review soon.

Now for a few newsy type things:
The next Woodworkers tap takeover is going to be a belter. On May the 6th To Øl is coming to Belfast, details as follows. You really don't want to miss this.

May the 15th also in the Woodworkers, Boundary may be having a wee shindig.

Lastly don't forget the ABV Festival on the bank holiday weekend 22nd-23rd May in the awesome venue that is the Titanic Drawing Offices. This is shaping up to be something special and although it has sold out there is a bit of hope. You can put yourself on a waiting list just in case a ticket becomes available or the Woodworkers are running a competition for some tickets.

As you can see Belfast is really coming alive with beery type goodness, so go forth and drink responsibly!

My name is Bruce....