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Craft Beer- A complex set of formulas governed by scientific principles
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Tuesday, 30 March, 2021, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Siddhesh Valvekar
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Most beer brands you can gush about today started with a home brewing recipe many years ago gradually turning into a complex set of formulas governed by scientific principles as they grew to take the form of commercially available pints of different tastes and textures.
However, with a focus on mass production and adopting a profit-based approach beer has boiled down to a bitter and malty alcoholic beverage for the commoners. The craft beer industry offers an eye-opening breakaway from this cliched understanding by proving to us that apart from tasting hoppy and bitter, beer can also be tarty, dark, roasty, fruity and spicy as well. Microbreweries have started to formulate recipes that allow the space for experimenting with added ingredients other than the widely accepted cereal grains used during large scale manufacturing of beer which is why it has been perceived to be a craft in itself.
Unlike wine, craft beer cannot be always classified together as per regions nor can it be categorised as per prevailing appellation system as the brews display a variety of flavours even though they could be classed together as ales or lagers. There are hundreds of different beer names and styles in the beer market, often determined by factors like ingredients, origin and brewing method.
Smoke Porter for instance are made of brown malt causing them to be dark in appearance with a distinct hoppy flavour. Smoke porters are robust in nature due to the wood-smoked malt, the type of wood used during brewing is often specified for the reason that different type of woods contribute to the final taste of the product which provides us with opportunity to draw out an entire range of different flavouring notes.
Even though it possesses an elaborate and complex nature, craft beer can be fundamentally defined as beer produced by a small, independent brewer. Craft beer might sound like modern-day concept but most mass production beer units emerged from smaller breweries by developing a widespread customer base. Overtime, microbreweries grew into large scale brewing companies populating the world map with its branches. The structural model drifted from microbreweries to establishments by the mid-1960s.
However, the craft brewing hobby also starting catching up on people as they started making beer at home for personal consumption. Making your own craft beer is so simple, even George Washington had his own recipe for a home brew written down in his notebook dating back to 1757 which describe the process of making beer in just a few steps. The original manuscript can be found in the New York Public Library’s collection.
Craft beer requires more creativity than the ingredients that go in its making, the dedication to the craft sets it apart from the readily available beer that one can find in stores. Both brews follow a few common steps; grains are harvested and steeped, followed by some resting time that encourages germination; this process is often referred to as malting which activates the necessary enzymes for fermentation. The malt then undergoes mashing where it is steeped in hot water where the starch enzymes break down to release sugar which provides us with wort-a sweet, malty liquid also called unfermented beer.
Hops are added at this stage while the wort is boiled which adds the bitterness to balance out on the sweetness of the wort. Hops are cone-shaped flowers that come from a plant called Humulus lupulus, available in 80 different types and each type carries its own unique profile ranging from earthy to fruity and many more. Hops also exhibit anti-microbial properties which make it ideal for craft beer as most craft breweries prefer maintain their beer additive-free. At this stage, the liquid goes into a fermentation tank where yeast is added and over the next few weeks the yeast works on the sugars to create alcohol and carbon dioxide. The beer is then transferred to bottles or kegs which are fit for consumption following a few weeks of rest.
Based on the brew, craft beers come in a variety of colours and each batch focusses on a particular flavour palate. Since the production occurs at a significantly smaller scale, craft beer is made with selected ingredients produced in smaller batches by master brewers. Each craft beer is unique in its flavour portfolio and a few are even seasonal. Pumpkin ale is one well known craft beer produced in the United States, in which the pumpkin skin is allowed to boil with the liquid in the brewing stage.
Some pumpkin ales can taste subtle and roasty in addition to being sweet and creamy. Master brewers can further expand the spectrum of flavours by playing around with the acidity of the beer by trying wild yeasts and bacteria.
The popularity of craft beer has increased as the millennial herd has started to value new experiences with their ever-changing food habits. Modern-day microbreweries have managed to attract customers and retain loyal buyers by embracing social media strategies and planning marketing campaigns for their brands. The Indian craft beer industry has occupied only 2-3 percent of the market share, considerably smaller compared to the 12 per cent market share in the US but we are forgetting that this is because the consumer base resides in urban India that accounts to only 30 per cent of the population. A few brands have emerged despite the tiny share in the market, Spike being one of them. Launched in 2019, Spike is India’s first strong craft beer with 7.9 per cent abv (alcohol by volume) produced by White Owl Breweries headquartered in Mumbai.
Simba Stout coming all the way from Chhattisgarh is a craft beer with hints of dark chocolate and toffee with a creamy after-taste. Simba which produces Stout along with a few other beers was the first Indian craft brewery to sell its beer across all markets in the country, also the first to bottle its own stout in India. The craft beer industry has great potential in the market however it is met with a few challenges that make it difficult for them to expand compared to the conventional players. Heavy regulations, import duties and ban on advertising make up a few of them, the control over the distribution channels appears to be a major challenge.
At pre-pandemic levels, the All India Brewers Association had estimated a growth rate of 20 percent year on year but it might be a little early to give a clear idea about the revised figures as restaurants and pubs are still struggling to make ends meet even today.
(The author is former STEP Associate with Trident, Chennai. He can be reached at siddheshvalvekar21@gmail.com)
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