The leading imports come from Germany, Holland, Canada, and Mexico. Examples include Amstel, Bass, Becks, Corona, Dos Equis, Guinness, Heineken, LaBatt's, Molson, Moosehead, and St. Pauli Girl. Back in 1984, when the Boston Beer Company began brewing, microbreweries were loosely defined as those producing fewer than 5,000 barrels of beer per year. As the microbrewing industry grew, the production limit was raised to 15,000 barrels of beer per year. Most of the original microbrewers exceeded the annual 15,000 barrel limit long ago, forcing them to redefine themselves based more on the quality of the beer they produce, and the traditional brewing processes and ingredients, than on the quantity produced.
Craft brewers have three options in making their beers.
Some have brewpubs, which are restaurants with small scale brewing equipment on site. Brewpubs have become a great source of information about craft brewing because most showcase their equipment as part of the restaurant's public space. Other craft brewers have built their own breweries, and some contract with regional or other small scale brewers to produce their recipes. Often the lines among these three groups are blurred. Many microbrewers today use as least two of these arrangements.