Microbrewery

A microbrewery or craft brewery is a brewery that produces small amounts of beer, typically much smaller than large-scale corporate breweries, and is independently owned. Such breweries are generally characterized by their emphasis on quality, flavor and brewing technique.

The microbrewing movement began in the United Kingdom in the 1970s although traditional artisanal brewing existed in Europe for centuries and subsequently spread to other countries. As the movement grew and some breweries expanded their production and distribution, the more encompassing concept of craft brewing emerged. A brewpub is a pub that brews its own beer for sale on the premises.

Although the term "microbrewery" was originally used in relation to the size of breweries, it gradually came to reflect an alternative attitude and approach to brewing flexibility, adaptability, experimentation and customer service. The term and trend spread to the US in the 1980s and was eventually used as a designation of breweries that produce fewer than 15,000 U.S. beer barrels (1,800,000 liters; 460,000 U.S. gallons) annually.

Microbreweries have adopted a marketing strategy that differs from those of the large, mass-market breweries, offering products that compete on the basis of quality and diversity instead of low price and advertising. Their influence has been much greater than their market share, which amounts to only 2% in the UK, indicated by the introduction by large commercial breweries of new brands for the craft beer market. However, when the strategy failed, the corporate breweries invested in microbreweries or, in many cases, acquired them outright.

Microbreweries gradually appeared in other countries, such as New Zealand and Australia.

Craft beer and microbreweries were cited as the reason for a 15 million L drop in alcohol sales in New Zealand over 2012, with New Zealanders preferring higher-priced premium beers over cheaper brands.

The website The Food Section defines a "nanobrewery" as "a scaled-down microbrewery, often run by a solo entrepreneur, that produces beer in small batches." The US Department of the Treasury defines nanobreweries as "very small brewery operations" that produce beer for sale.

"Craft brewing" is a more encompassing term for developments in the industry succeeding the microbrewing movement of the late 20th century. The definition is not entirely consistent but typically applies to relatively small, independently-owned commercial breweries that employ traditional brewing methods and emphasize flavor and quality. The term is usually reserved for breweries established since the 1970s but may be used for older breweries with a similar focus. A United States trade group, the Brewers Association, interested in brand transparency, offers a definition of craft breweries as "small, independent and traditional".

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