Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer, than larger "macro" breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The Kirin Holdings Company, Limited. (キリンホールディングス株式会社) is a Japanese beer and beverage holding company. It is known for brands such as Kirin Beer, Kirin Lemon, Mets, and Gogo no Kōcha.
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, although globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers: Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
Beer in Wales can be traced to the 6th century. Since the 2000s, there has been a growing microbrewery industry in Wales.
Beer in Japan mostly comes from the country's four major breweries, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory, which mainly produce pale lagers around 5% ABV. Beer is immensely popular, far ahead of sake consumption.
Beer, called maekju in Korean, was first introduced to Korea in the early 20th century. Seoul's first brewery opened in 1908. Two current major breweries date back to the 1930s. The third brewery established in Korea, Jinro Coors Brewery, was founded in the 1990s. It was later acquired by Oriental Breweries (OB). Hite Breweries's former name was Chosun Breweries, which was established in 1933. The company changed its name to Hite Breweries in 1998. OB Breweries established as Showa Kirin Breweries in 1933. The company changed its name to OB Breweries in 1995.
Beer in Asia began when beer was produced in Sumer, Mesopotamia circa 6000 years ago. It was introduced by Europeans in the 19th century, with modern breweries established in British India, the Dutch East Indies, China, and Japan. Asia's first modern brewery was established in 1830 in India entirely using European brewing technology.
The beers of the Caribbean are unique to each island in the region, although many are variants of the same style. Each island generally brews its own unique pale lager, the occasional stout, and often a non-alcoholic malta beverage. Contract-brewing of international beers is also common, with Heineken Pilsener and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout being the most popular. The beers vary between the islands to suit the taste and the brewing method used.
Mikkeller is a craft brewery founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark that was originally based on the so-called "cuckoo", "phantom" or "gypsy" ethos; that is, the company does not operate an official brewery and, instead pays a brewery in Belgium to produce their beer. The company now operates several brewpubs, such as Warpigs in Copenhagen and Mikkeller Brewpub London. Mikkeller was founded by two home brewers: Mikkel Bjergsø, a high school teacher, and journalist Kristian Klarup Keller. Both sought to introduce their home-brewed beer to the public and to "challenge beer friends with intense new tastes", drawing inspiration from the American breweries that "aren't afraid to play and break all the rules".
Buffalo Bill's Brewery was the first brewpub in America. Buffalo Bill's opened their doors on September 9, 1983, and brewed their first batch of beer on August 2, 1983. In 2018, Buffalo Bill's was inducted into the Smithsonian American History Museum as one of the most historic brewpubs in America.
Revolution Brewing is a brewery in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as a brewpub in 2010 on Milwaukee Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood. A separate production brewery, with canning and bottling lines and a tap room, opened in 2012 about a mile from the brewpub, on Kedzie Avenue in the Avondale neighborhood.
Vietnam has an established beer culture that emerged during French colonisation. Beer in Vietnamese is bia, calqued from French bière. Some beer brands or beer types that are popular in Vietnam include Bia Saigon, Bia Hanoi, bia hơi, Heineken beer, and Tiger Beer.
Parallel 49 Brewing Company is a Canadian microbrewery based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2012, the Parallel 49 Brewing Company in East Vancouver is known for brewing craft beers.
The Booth Brewing Co. is a microbrewery headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The brewery was founded in 2015 by Sunghoo Yang, a former investment analyst, Heeyoon Kim, a former Korean medical doctor, and Daniel Tudor, a journalist for The Economist. They had been operating a pizza pub since 2013. In 2015, they acquired a brewing facility in Eureka, California, previously owned by Lost Coast Brewery. They are well known for Taedonggang Pale Ale, a collaboration with Danish microbrewery Mikkeller, and also for being the second non-U.S. craft brewer to produce beer in their own facility in the United States.
Heart of Darkness is a craft brewery founded in 2016 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
