Do you consider yourself an expert in American craft beers? Or, are you scratching your head and asking, “What in the heck are American craft beers?” If you haven’t dipped your toe in the movement that is sweeping the nation, American craft beers are beverages created by small, independent, and traditional breweries, instead of coming of an assembly line in a factory overseas, as do the mainstream beers that you find at the supermarket.
So what’s the big deal about American craft beers? If this question is crossing your mind, we don’t blame you. Until we’d tasted the sweet nectar of good craft beers, we probably wouldn’t have bought into it either. And so, stand by for our list of reasons the product of a craft beer pub surpasses what you get out of the big-name drinks, any day of the week:
Five Reasons Craft Beer is Better
- Taste
The greatest distinction between the product of craft beer bars and the stuff you get from the huge beer manufacturers is the taste. When a brew master makes his craft beer, his heart and soul goes into it. He cares about the flavor and the goodness of each batch. In fact, his success comes only with his drinkers enjoying a rich and robust flavor in every sip.
On the other hand, those mass-produced guys have a completely different business plan: sell as much beer as possible at as low of a production cost as possible. Think about it: You spend a couple bucks for a beer, what are you paying for? Your big name beer has a commercial during the Super Bowl half time, the cost of that is in your glass. They have a board of executives who each make a zillion bucks a year; you’re paying for that. It’s probably produced somewhere across the country (or world) and shipped in; you’re paying for that. With all the overhead costs that your few bucks are paying for, there’s not much left to pay for the actual taste and quality of the beer itself (and a beer producer would go out of business if they spent more producing your beer than you paid for it). This is why big-name beer tastes more like beer water in comparison to craft beer. - Alcohol Content
If you drink for the buzz, not the taste, you should be especially drawn to craft beer. Your standard beer has an alcohol by volume content of approximately 2.5% (once again, beer water). By contrast, craft beers alcohol by volume content is closer to an average of 5-10%, and can go up to 40%. This means that it takes far less craft beer to get to that happy spot you want to get to. - Health Benefits
We aren’t kidding you. Craft beer is not only a “healthier” choice than mass-produced beer, it’s actually a healthy choice in general. Craft beer is a great source of soluble fiber, antioxidants, nutrients, and B vitamins. You’ve probably heard that a glass of red wine per day keeps the doctors away; well good craft beer actually has greater nutritional value than red wine. Your nightly glass of craft beer is actually good for you! - Choices
When you go with a big name beer, you have the choice of approximately three different manufacturers, and of them, maybe two or three varieties. If the six-odd beer options don’t suit your tastes, you’re out of luck. Until you hit up the craft beer market. There are over 1,500 different craft breweries across the country, and among them, thousands upon thousands of different beer options.
If you think that you don’t have a taste for beer, it is more likely that you don’t have a taste for the mass-produced beer water that you’ve tasted so far. There is a make and flavor of craft beer to tickle the taste buds of absolutely any palette. - Cheaper
Quality costs money, and you’re probably thinking that you can’t afford to switch to the higher price-tag of craft beer. However, you might find that you actually spend less when you drink craft instead of beer water. The richer flavor and 4X alcohol content of craft beer leaves you satisfied after less drinks, making your bar tab far lighter.
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