HAND-CRAFTED
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BY JON LEWIS
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F U N FAC T S A B O U T C R A F T B E E R
IT’S AUGUST in the North State, which means it’s hot. And when it’s hot, few things can be as refreshing as a cold beer. Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, was on board with the benefits of a cold brew. The Virginian reportedly professed the belief that “beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.” With that in mind, here are a few suds-related notions to sip on as you dodge the sun and prepare for the eighth annual Redding Beer Week:
WHAT’S A CRAFT BEER? According to the Brewers Association, a trade group that advocates for the craft brewing industry, a craft brewer is small (annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less) and independent (with no more than 25 percent owned by a non-craft alcoholic beverage industry producer). The craft brewer definition has gotten a little fuzzy – and a little heated – following the acquisition of some popular craft
beer labels by industry giants. For example, Blue Moon and Shock Top market themselves as craft beers, even though their respective parent companies are brewing behemoths MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev. In the North State, though, there’s no confusion: Chico’s Sierra Nevada remains the king. It is the third-largest craft brewer in the country and the seventh-largest overall. Its ubiquitous Pale Ale, introduced in 1980, is credited with launching the craft beer movement. Locally, Wildcard, Fall River, Woody’s, Final Draft and Cedar Crest continue to gain fans with their individual offerings. BEER IS BIG BUSINESS There were 7,231 breweries in operation at the end of 2018, the Brewers Association says. Some 99 percent of those were small and independent craft brewers that combined to produce 25.6 million barrels of beer. (One barrel is 30 gallons, or two full-size kegs.)4 continued on page 30
AUGUST 2019 www.EnjoyMagazine.net
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