[nateo]

I like Sean's suggestion of Artisanal beer better, or why couldn't we stick with Microbrewed beer?  Craft beer sounds too pretentious

I thought "craft beer" was a term coined to make fancy macro brewers' (ike Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Sam Adams) beer sound fancier. No sane person would argue New Belgium is a microbrewery, yet they make beer that's pretty different than the usual BMC stuff. I'm not really sure what to call it, because artisan to me sounds like it's "made by an artisan" as opposed to "in a factory." Anything 10bbl+ is much more like a factory than an artisan's workshop, IMO.   

[brewmonk]

I've never been wild about the phrase "craft beer". (Though that didn't stop me from using it about seven hundred times in a 27-page business plan.)

It just seems to me that all beer is "crafted". Why not just drop the pretense and call it "good beer"? "Artisanal beer" has a nice ring to it too.

But to answer the question, hell yes.

Here in Italy, craft beer is called "birra artiginale"

Of course homebrewers are craft brewers.  Until some homebrewer has over 50% of the world's beer distribution, I'd say they fit right in with the rest of professional craft brewers.

(Who replaced Denny's picture with Howdy Doody?  )

[malzig]

It just seems to me that all beer is "crafted". Why not just drop the pretense and call it "good beer"? "Artisanal beer" has a nice ring to it too.

Sure, artisanal, like cheese, but that probably would ring a little snooty to a lot of beer drinkers.

I think some beer is "crafted" in the same way that Corn Flakes are "crafted", while other beer is crafted with the love and care that is similar to the way an artisanal loaf of bread is "crafted".  It's nice to have some way to make the distinction.

[tomsawyer]

I think the term "craft beer" ought to apply only to small scale (compared to AB etc), commercially made beer.  "Homebrew" is term for the homemade version.

[The Professor]

Homebrew… the craftiest of craft beers

Can we get T-shirts made up with this on it?   

As long as I get proper attribution for the quote