We have all discovered our beloved bakery from which we buy fine, fresh, and tasty bread in the variety that we like. 

Most of us have adored wines of selected grape varieties made by small wineries that are thriving in the Greek market in recent years.  But what are the sources of small-scale quality that is also dynamically emerging in the beer category as a microbrewery phenomenon in recent years?

Small-scale production in bread, wine or beer allows for enhanced product variety produced in small batches.  Everybody can get their beloved version and the product category becomes more complex and multi-dimensional. In the beer category we have departed from the old paradigm of mass-produced lagers that have historically dominated the markets into a new brave era that showcases endless beer varieties, each one with each own loyal followers.  Lager, Pilsner, Weiss, Sour, Gueuze, Lambic, Bock, Red ale, Pale ale, IPA, NEIPA, Porter, Stout, Barley wine, Saison, Wit, Dunkel, Abbey, Extra special bitter and their numerous subcategories… The list is literally endless…

Production in small batches leads to superior freshness and lowers the need for heavy pasteurization and product stabilization through additives, both being procedures that deprive taste.  The batch Is small, it is consumed quickly, and it is then made anew.

Small-scale production is much more flexible and encourages experimentation with new and innovative raw material compositions.  Especially in beer, we have an amazing flow of innovation regarding new hybrid hop varieties that appear every year as hybrids of existing plants. These new hop varieties possess new and unique taste and aroma characteristics that inspire microbrewers to innovate constantly.  Innovation is continuous and ongoing in small batch creative brewing whereas mass producers cannot follow being trapped in their old beer recipes.

Small production primarily targets superior quality. Small producers do not hesitate to use the best, and often the most expensive, raw materials and production methods given the fact that the batch size and the corresponding economic burden is small.  Large producers on the other hand measure costs in detail, often in fractions of cents, because of the large batch size and corresponding cost.  They admittedly tend to compromise in taste quality issues using mass production methods and they hesitate to invest in better and more expensive raw materials. Small producers compete based on quality and differentiation whereas large producers aim primarily at a systematic cost and selling price reduction which is tempting and feasible based on economies of scale and mass production logic, leaving taste quality as their second priority.

Perhaps the most important factor is related to the craft mindset of the creator and the “soul” of the product.  In microbreweries, beer is a work of art, a creative synthesis signed by the brewer as the archetypical creator.  The beer expresses all his/her talent, art, know-how, creativity, passion and personality and he/she invites us to participate in a celebration of the senses and free creative expression.  In mass production the “craft” element unavoidably vanishes as it is substituted by an impersonal control system of production processes.   

These are the reasons that explain and connect the taste superiority of small bakery bread, the exceptional character of a boutique winery wine, and the unique character of a microbrewed beer with our grandmother’s masterful cooking. These are the reasons that encourage us to wisely select unique products with “soul” and personality that will elevate our senses and offer us moments of daily enjoyment. Craft, being the first Greek microbrewery, follows this manifesto from day one: To offer unique products with “soul” and personality to people who have learnt to appreciate quality differentiation and creative expression in all aspects of their lives.