What Sets a Craft Brew Apart from a Commercial Beer?

People have been enjoying the fermented magic that is beer for as long as thousands of years. In all that time, two main camps of brews have emerged to shape beer production as we know it today – the commercial beer and the craft brew. What exactly sets these two vastly different beers apart? 

Cost & Efficiency, Baby! 

Commercial beers are produced on a massive scale, with cost effectiveness and efficiency taking the front seat. Given the scale of such operations, ensuring quality in every single beer is nearly impossible. Since they’re needing such high quantities of the ingredients needed for production, some commercially scaled brewers use genetically modified ingredients like dextrose and corn syrup to ease production. Since they are watered down, the flavor in a commercial beer is generally more mild as compared to a craft brew.                   

Quality & Taste, Naturally! 

Painstakingly brewed by hand in a micro-brewery, craft beers are created using fresh and local ingredients. With a commitment to quality, craft brewers commit to using high grade barley and finding the perfect hops as they create a flavor that’s just right. At a craft brewer, quality takes precedence and each and every batch is closely assessed for perfection. Generally speaking, craft beers pack a more powerful punch than commercial beers with higher alcohol by volume levels. While admittedly subjective, most people would agree that the taste of a commercial beer simply can’t compare when stacked up against its flavor-packed competitor, the craft beer. 

In our opinion, one of the most unique facets of drinking a craft beer is having the opportunity to meet the very people that crafted it. Since every micro-brewery crafts their beer with their own unique processes and ingredients – you’ll be hard pressed to find two that are exactly alike. 

What do you think, does craft or commercial beer reign supreme?