This question came up during a recent BJCP prep class.
Which craft beers are pasteurized?
We were mostly talking about bottled (and canned) versions. What about kegged craft beers? Imports?
I know some beers are bottled conditioned, so those won’t be pasteurized, but what about the rest?
Wouldn’t any beer that’s been in the boil kettle be pasteurized? Or does pasteurization of beer entail pasteurizing it post-fermentation?
He means after it is fermented.
Rick, I think most kegged beers are not pasteurized. I know that Sierra Nevada bottles are not pasteurized. Not much, but it’s a start!
I modified my post as you were typing, tom. ;) I wondered if that’s what he meant.
I’m going to flat out say that virtually no craft beer is pasteurized!
It entails extra equipment, money and time and between you me and the tree - most craft breweries just can’t afford any of those.
Not to mention the fact that since most craftbrewers have approached the field from the idea of making a more natural and “crafty” product, they take it as a point of pride to not pasteurize. Hell, think of the number of them who proudly state that they don’t filter their beer.
I would agree but I know that Michigan brewing Company has the equipment and they do use it on some of their beers, not sure which ones.
Ok Drew, you didn’t say “no”, will here is “virtually”
Fred
But the person I talked with said “virtually all” bottled beer is pasteurized… So I guess it’s somewhere in between 
I don’t know how big the equipment is, but the craft breweries I’ve seen have simple bottling lines, and I didn’t see any of the pasteurization equipment.
The mega brewers all pasteurize their products, but really most micros (not all as pointed out by Fred) don’t pasteurize.
doesn’t craft beer only make up a few % of the total market share?
thus saying virtually all, if the megas do it and make up 98%, is indeed correct. but so is dbeechum.
I found this on the BA website…
The craft brewing sales share as of December '08 was 4% by volume and 6.3% by dollars.
Is there a formula to convert ABV to ABD???
Just multiply by the hype quotient, which for craft beer starts at about $.25/% and goes well into the double digits. For example, Dark Lord has a hype quotient of about 10 once you factor in time spent in line, and yet Surly Darkness is only about 2.
Anchor brewing uses a flash pasteurization unit inline to bottling
LOL! The hype quotient is indeed a big factor in “craft” beer. And the industry is certainly milking it by the looks of the pricing I see these days.
Problem is lately, better than half the time the products don’t live up to the hype (or the price).
Some craft breweries do pasturize their bottled products. An example is Captal Brewery of Middleton, Wisconsin, which bottles its product at the Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point Wisconsin. All of their bottled product, including Autumnal Fire and Blonde Dopplebock are pasturized in bottles at the Stevens Point plant (and they pale next to the draft product from Capital).