On Tap: 8 not-so-craft beers

Chris Morris/For the Star-Ledger By Chris Morris/For the Star-Ledger
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on January 22, 2013 at 6:00 PM, updated January 22, 2013 at 6:04 PM

The rules of craft beer seem to always be changing. What counts as craft and what doesn't? Some say it depends on this, some say it depends on that, and others say who cares, so long as it tastes good.

One question I get every now and then is this: does Sam Adams (a brand of Boston Beer) still count as craft, or has it gotten too big? According to the Brewers Association (BA), it's still craft. The production limit for craft, according to the BA, used to be set at 2 million barrels a year. But when Boston Beer surpassed this limit, the BA raised the limit to 6 million barrels.

Certainly other brands like Kona, which started out as a brewpub in Hawaii using fresh and local ingredients, should count as craft, right? Not exactly. Kona now belongs to the Craft Brew Alliance, of which Anheuser-Busch has a 32.2% stake. Just as the BA increased production limits, keeping Boston Beer (which also owns brands like Angry Orchard and Twisted Tea) in the "craft" category, it revised some other rules, including those of ownership. Under BA criteria, to be considered "craft", no more than 25% of a craft brewery can be owned by a non-craft brewery. So long Kona, we hardly knew ye.

The Brewers Association has narrowed the rules of being craft to three criteria. First, craft brewers must be small, meaning annual production must not exceed 6 million barrels of beer. Second, craft brewers must be independent, meaning that ownership or control by a brewery that is not itself craft must not exceed 25%. Finally, craft brewers must be traditional, meaning that craft brewers must have an all malt flagship beer (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) "or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor."

So what other brewers aren't as "craft" as you might think they are, according the Brewers Association? Here's eight that stick out.

blue-moon-brewing-not-craft-beer.jpg Blue Moon is one of many brewers that is not considered craft.  
1. Blue Moon Brewing Co.: Many beer fans know by now that Blue Moon is in fact not craft, but still many do not. In fact, Blue Moon, while once one of the biggest craft brewers in the country, is now owned by MillerCoors.

2. Shock Top: Similar to Blue Moon, Shock Top is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.

3. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing: Not only is Leinenkugel owned by SABMiller, but it also uses adjunct ingredients, making it non-traditional.

dg-yuengling-and-son-not-craft-beer.png Despite being America's oldest brewery, Yuenling is not considered craft.  

4. D.G. Yuengling & Son: Not that many in the Jersey/Pennsylvania area consider Yuengling to be craft, but others around the country might. The fact that it's been around since 1829 doesn't hurt, either. Besides the fact that Yuengling brewed 2.5 million barrels last year (which no longer discounts them as craft, thanks to the Boston Beer rule change), Yuengling uses corn, a non-traditional ingredient.


Goose Island is among the breweries that the Brewers Association does not consider craft.


5. Goose Island: Despite its humble 1988 beginnings, Goose Island joined the Craft Brewers Alliance 2006, making it partially owned and distributed by Anheuser-Busch. Last year the brewery made its non-craft label even more official when founder John Hall sold the company to Anheuser-Busch InBev outright.

6. Narragansett Brewing: Despite being over a century old, Narragansett isn't craft either. Narragansett Lager uses corn, making it a non-traditional beer.

7 and 8. Pyramid Brewery and Magic Hat Brewing: Pyramid was sold to Magic Hat in 2008, and in 2010 KPS Capital Partners bought both breweries and joined them with its North American Breweries, which also includes beers like Labatt Blue and Costa Rica's Imperial. The Brewers Association labeled North American Breweries as non-craft for selling too many imports, or as the BA puts it, "imported adjunct beer sales exceed domestic production." KPS Capital sold North American Breweries to Cerveceria Costa Rica for $388 million, making both Pyramid and Magic Hat parts of an international conglomerate.
