Craft: An Argument: Why the term 'Craft Beer' is completely undefinable, hopelessly misunderstood and absolutely essential.

by Pete Brown

The craft beer boom is the biggest thing to hit brewing and drinking for more than a generation. What started off as a small band of idealistic hobby brewers is now a multi-billion-dollar global industry, but even its most passionate fans can’t actually agree what ‘craft beer’ is, with some arguing that it’s simply marketing hype, and others claiming it doesn’t exist at all. Award-winning beer writer Pete Brown digs into this decades-long argument and in doing so, creates a fascinating, complex and hugely satisfying answer. He dismantles the main attempts to define the term ‘craft beer’ and argues that it is, in fact, undefinable, before shifting emphasis from beer to the broader, older idea of craft in search of answers. He shows that arguments around craft beer have largely forgotten what craft is all about – if they were even aware in the first place. He explores the ever-changing nature of work, the meaning of knowledge, the evolution of language and the ways in which we engage with our immediate environment and the wider world. Arriving back at beer from such an oblique angle, he rediscovers the real reasons why so many people are so passionate about craft beer, and argues that situating beer in a broader understanding of craft shows that the term is rich in meaning, even if it can’t be pinned down to a measurable definition. Written in Brown’s trademark pub stool conversational style, An Argument provides a new perspective on the biggest trend in global food and drink, as well as making you long for a beer.Previous praise for Pete “Magisterial… stirring… His expertise and insight will leave you with a glimmer of infinity every time you hold a bottle of it in your hand.” The New York Times“Pete is, no question, the most stylishly dextrous and verbally entertaining writer about beer in the English language right now.” Martyn Cornell, Zythophile“The beer drinker’s Bill Bryson.”Times Literary Supplement

Genres: Beer

207 pages, Paperback

Published June 25, 2020

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Pete Brown is an English writer who has written extensively on the subject of beer and drinking cultures around the world. He has written three books; Man Walks Into a Pub, Three Sheets to the Wind, and Hops and Glory. Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and now lives in London.

Above bio is from Wikipedia. Photo is from Flickr user epicbeer.

Reviews

[Teijo Aflecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a great amount of experience and research to be able to express Brown's proposition that craft beer "is completely undefinable, hopelessly misunderstood and absolutely essential" in anything resembling a coherent and convincing argument. Thankfully, Craft: an Argument is a resounding success.

For a book about craft beer, it is very refreshing that one third (or perhaps half) of the book is a thorough sociocultural reflection on the nature of craft and hardly mentions beer, as much as the rest deals with current definitions of craft beer and the craft of beer.

The sources are presented so interestingly that I feel like reading Peter Korn's Why We Make Things and Why It Matters even though the last thing I built (that wasn't an Ikea shelf or the like) was some sorry imitation of a chair in woodworking in 9th grade.

Craft: an Argument is also an entertaining, witty book. Most of the references were right down my alley, but they can be quite specific. In any case, it never felt dull and I finished the book in 4 days.

The only negative I can think of is that the 3rd part could be longer and the argument explored in a little more detail, since the groundwork has been so thorough.

I imagine the arguments of this book will find resistance in some of the more literally-minded (and possibly less literary-minded) enthusiasts of craft beer, but I hope it becomes a staple in craft beer literature and helps people focus on what is actually important about this craft/interest/hobby/pastime/job/profession/passion that many people share.

[Lana Svitankova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Місцями буде важко загальній публіці, але це чудове кодування в категоріях, почасти лінгвістичних, почасти культурних, мистецьких і історичних аспектах розуміння слова крафт. Наразі рекомендувала б усім гікелям

[Billy Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not really about beer...

As an introduction to the concepts and history of craft, this is must read. It’s also quite a good book about beer as well.

[Stuart Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For what is rather very well researched book about beer, the author - a very distinguished beer writer - doesn't actually talk about beer that much. I guess you'll have to read it to find out.

[Dancall · Rating 5 out of 5]

All about beer, and lots more. How do you define 'craft beer', why does it matter, and should you even do it? A short but quite rambling book that tells you lots about both beer and craft, and had some excellent stories and insights.
My favourite quote: “Whenever I experience a sense of pleasure, even delight, from everyday things, be that choosing a sandwich for lunch, interacting with a cashier or member of bar staff, or admiring beautiful architecture, the single thought that’s common to every experience is: This is nicer than it absolutely needs to be. Compare the grandeur of a Victorian railway station with the brutal glass and metal tube monstrosities springing in up in places like Derby and Oxford, which seem to be designed to create a hostile environment for travellers; or the dreary malaise of a packaged egg mayonnaise sandwich from one of the concessions on those station platforms with one made fresh by the owner of an independent café.”

[Smh624 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I appreciate the ambition of the author and like the other books I've read by him, it is well written. However, I think a lot of his argument is surprisingly shallow and really nothing more than his opinions. I enjoyed thinking about some of the aspects of the beer world he addressed. In the end, I find this book a bit like reviewing music. One's point of view is largely defined by your prior experience and your expectations. The author reminded me of the famous words of Duke Ellington about music that after my 50 years of enjoying beer I think is only way to define beer...there really are only two kinds...good and the other kind...doesn't matter who or how it was made.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better books I’ve read about craft beer which is surprising because 2/3 of the book barely talks about beer at all. Without the title I’d say it’s first and foremost a book about language.
I loved all the notes and further reading, there are several books referenced that have gone on my reading list.

[Paul Troost]

Absolutely essential reading to anyone working in the craft beer industry wondering where it's headed, and what the value is we give to the notion of 'craft'. Frustrating and enlightening in equal measure, the heart and soul of what we wake up for everyday depends on it.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top class book. Makes you think about Craft beer by not actually talking about craft beer itself. It really does get you thinking.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, well-researched explorations of he history of “craft” and it’s almost definitely sloppy usage in the world of craft beer. What does that terminology even mean today?

[Murray Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read for anyone who is passionately pro or anti ‘craft’ beer.