What is craft beer-all about the beer you get in a beer store craft beer store?

If you are a beer drinker, you’ve probably noticed a surge in the number of alternatives to microbrews—those big commercial brewery beers like Corona, Bud, Miller Lite, etc. which you generally get in a wines beer liquor store.

These alternatives make up a category called “craft beer.” And while it’s easy to spot the difference between Miller High Life and Dogfish Head Raison D’être, defining craft beer generally is a trickier business.The Brewers Guild actually has a formal definition for the type of beer you get in a beer store craft beer store. To earn the "craft" title, breweries must be three things:

1. Small

2. Independent

3. Traditional

Craft breweries and microbreweries are two distinct terms, though they're not mutually exclusive. The Brewers Guild states a craft brewery must produce 6 million barrels of beer or less each year. To put that in perspective, Anheuser-Busch produces upwards of 16 million barrels annually.But some craft breweries produce significantly less than 6 million barrels, which is why they're divided into several market segments. The most notable are microbreweries, nanobreweries, and brewpubs.

The requirement that a craft beer found in a beer store craft beer store be made "traditionally"means that the majority of the drink's total beverage volume is beer made via conventional brewing methods without adjuncts such as rice and corn.

There's a misconception that all craft beers are strong. It's true that most popular craft beers have powerful, distinct flavors. That's certainly the case with Sierra Nevada's pioneering pale ale, as well as ever-popular hoppy IPAs and decidedly sour beer however just as many craft beers boast much milder tastes and lower alcohol content. Take StieglGoldbräu, a 4.9% ABV (alcohol by volume) lager and the house beer at Chicago's Map Room.. Likewise, Blue Moon and Shock Top fans should try Allagash White, Belgian white ale that pairs well with meals.

At the end of the day, there isn't an easy way to discern a craft beer from its macro counterpart by taste—the only way to really identify a craft beer is to do a little research and examine the brewery behind it. That way, you can identify a craft beer from the beer you normally find in a wines beer liquor store.