![]() ![]() But it’s more complicated than just that, starting with a primary question: How does one really earn the “gypsy” title, if simply having your company’s beer contract-brewed does not qualify?Ĭontract brewing has always been a contentious topic when it comes to the idea of “authenticity” in craft beer. “Mainstream” brewers and brewery owners have occasionally turned up their noses at these gypsy breweries, accusing them both subtly and overtly of not committing to their craft without having “skin in the game” in the form of their own brewhouse. Ask around, and you’ll get different answers: That they’re a race of passionate, ambitious, occasionally flighty brewers who draw both admiration and no small amount of derision. Consumers may have developed an idea of what “gypsy brewer” really means, but the industry isn’t nearly so sure. The reality, of course, is more mundane and significantly more confusing. ![]() It’s a term that engenders an immediate, romantic image for a business, a portrait of wayfaring, wandering brewers hitchhiking down the road with a bags of grain slung over their shoulders and mash paddles strapped to their belts like wayward knights errant, questing for their next beer adventure. If you’ve been paying attention to the craft beer landscape for the last five years, you probably haven’t been able to avoid hearing the phrase “gypsy brewery” at least once or twice. ![]()
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