News: January 2011

The Brewers Association in the USA has revised its description of craft brewing.

According to the BA, ‘an American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional’. The key amendment to this description is the redefinition of the adjective ‘small’, raising the qualifying threshold from 2 million US barrels to 6 million.

The BA explains that this reflects the success of the craft brewing sector, with the largest craft brewer, Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams), on course to burst through the 2 million-barrel barrier in the near future. Removing Boston from the craft beer statistics would significantly distort the overall picture of craft brewing in the USA.

Other major craft brewers are also likely to pass this mark in coming years and the BA is keen to recognise such success and not penalise it.