What Is Craft Beer?

Production of the beer must be less than 6 million barrels.

At this point I had to look and find out how much is actually inside of a barrel.  Apparently each barrel is 31 Gallons.

So to be considered small, the brewer has to produce less than 186 million gallons of beer.

"Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer." - (Brewers Association)

To put it frankly, to be a craft beer the company must not have a big company have too much control or interest in it.

Therefore when Budweiser came out with their 'Craft Style' beers.  They weren't true American Craft Beers.

"A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers." (Brewers Association)

To be a craft brewer, they put their own spin on the whole process.  Maybe they add a unique ingredient, or have an old recipe that they have continued on.  Perhaps they are experimenting with a new process.  The idea seems to be to have your own unique spin on the whole process, ingredients, and recipe.