>> this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm del walters with a look at today's top stories. vice president biden heading to china next week in the midst of the territorial tension between china and japan. both nations claiming islands in the east china sea. 14 women in egypt have been arrested and charged in part of protest there. they were sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on wednesday. seven were minors who will go to a juvenile jail who were convicted under that new law banning demonstrations in egypt without permission. malsmall business also haveo wait another year before signing

up for insurance. lighting of the national menorah at the white house. u.s. air force band taking part in that celebration. it's looking like black friday already. now there is a chance of bargains. major retailers opening their doors today to kick off the holiday shopping season on one y early. for information on news around the world go to www.aljazeera.com. until then, happy thanksgiving, and happe happy hanukkah. >> it's thanksgiving, and perhaps you're washing counsel your turkey and stuffing with a nice handcrafted american beer. millions are enjoying flavors and styles made by the industry

on the rise here. i'm ray suarez. the american craft brewing is ththe "inside story." >> there is little known american industry boiling with growth, creating jobs and frothing with potential. we're talking about american craft beer. not in more than a hundred years has there been as many production breweries as there are today. as consumers search for new flavors, coor's and budweiser, the handmade beers brewed across the country are generating billions of dollars in retail sales. now comes word that a kansas city icon boulevard brewing has been sold to a huge belgium brewer, and some are wondering

if craft beer will get too big to remain distinctively american. >> this is a great time for craft beer. a great time to be in the scene, and it's a lot of money. >> americans have a nearly insatiable historic love of beer. 200 million barrels are brewed in the u.s. annually. but not all beer is the same. craft beer is not your father's suddens. craft does not belong in your red to go cup. you don't chuck, you sip, you savor it. >> i love craft beer because it is very delicious, and it is constantly evolving, and it has many different behavior flavorsi feel that i' i'm constantly learning new things about it.

>> reporter: defined craft is artisan. brewers focus on new interpretations of old styles and create new ones. handcrafted it's distinctly american. craft beer drinkers consume six percent of the total beer market but that equals $10 billion in retail sales last year. sales of the big beers, the ones even non-drinkers know, coor's, budweiser, grew by 1% last year but craft beer is booming. this niche market saw a 15% increase in volume, and this was the sixth straight year of double-digit growth even in the midst of high employment and sagging salaries. craft beer would appear recession proof. >> i like craft beer instead of something like a budweiser, miller's coor's because you can

pursue different flavors and learn about different styles. there is not just one type of beer that maybe gives you a bu buzz. >> reporter: large manufacturers are feeling the heat. belgium's brewer is tapping in to the american craft market. the flemish brew has been brewing beer, they recently purchased boulevard brewing. founded john mcdonald said it was the belgium beer he sipped in paris 30 years ago that moved him to open his own brewery in kansas city, missouri, in 1989. boulevard is known for novel and american-interpretations of belgium beer styles. the two company heads called the merger a fit. but many say it will dill lieutenant the brand.

this is not the first time that a big beer swallowed up a craft company. miller coor's owns the craft pierre, and so what is making craft beer flow? we went to churchke in washington, d.c. and met with a beer so sommelier. >> i feel that craft beer is always secondary to flavor impact. non-craft beer is first determined by more business acumen. >> he sees a world of difference between craft beer and big brewers lik anheuser-busch and coor's. >> it's flavor. you know, on a visceral level,

craft beer is something that you can't stay away from because it is so engrossing when you come to its textures, it's tastes and aromas. >> one of a growing number of restaurant and bars catering to craft beer lovers or simply those who seek something different. >> it is a fun bar with a very large collection of beers that we don't ever find elsewhere, and we don't know what we're looking at half the time but it is fun to try new things. >> craft enthusiasts are knowledgeable consumers. they use network to get u up-to-date information about the brewer's ale. >> particularly the last five to ten years, information share something has blown up. the internet provides ways to research and share knowledge. nowadays people are educated on this so people know you don't

have to give in and grab what's kind of ubiquitous, but it's worth seeking out intoxicating beverages that provide nuance flavors. they have history, they have stories and it's a visceral pursuit. >> 13 craft beers were brewed, more now than the previous peak in the 1880s. >> it's freshest beer in the city. >> washington, d.c. is experiencing a beer renaissance of its own. we visited one of the city's micro breweries opened in 2009 dc 31 bro brou. they got in the craft business as it was taking off and didn't look back. >> this has been great for us. business is booming. it's not just a story unique to

us in d.c. the craft brew culture and industry has taken off and come into its own. we've been lucky enough to be part of that locally here in washington, d.c. >> reporter: d.c. brow owners like many brewers across the nation see craft brew industry more than just a cool job but an important local contributor. >> i think there was a demand for it. culturally the city had changed from that place of transient and there was a lack of identity to people putting down roots, stilling down here and people craving something to represent d.c. not just in beer form or product form but in the cultural form. we were able to step in that role a little bit and help people make that identity. >> reporter: many craft beer enthusiasts say their beer is the local appeal.

>> in d.c. we have a number of small breweries. and you know, go to those breweries, meet the people, and you get the sense that it is a really small community oriented business. i do like to support that. >> and more than a savory thirst quencher, it's a bryce spot in the economy. the industry supports over 100,00100,000 jobs. craft beer growth projections are nearly $6 billion in the next five years. so as you sit back and enjoy your friends, family, and the festivities of the holiday season, have a sip of something that's already becoming as american as apple pie. >> when we come back we'll dive into the ferment, so to speak, and talk about craft beer with three pioneers in the industry. stay with us.

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>> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. joining us now to talk about the

american craft beer industry from spokane, washington, could you founder of no lie brew house. and port city brewing company, and stone brewing company. well, you guys and your market segment, greg cook, continue to grow at a time when the rest of the industry, if you'll excuse the pun, is flat. what's the problem? i keep hearing this almost under current of a narrative of loss. every time one of your compatriots sells out to a mega brewing giant, it's an ah shucks moment instead of a chest pumping,ify, high fiving moment. >> we're a passion-driven industry. the idea that we shouldn't expect more and we just want less, we're changing that notion to we deserve more and we deserve better.

as compatriots fighting on the front line for great beer in this country when one of us decides to go to the other side of the line it is a disappointing loss sometimes. >> let's talk about that other side of the line, bill butcher, from what you've seen so far, and there have been several acquisitions of smaller brewers by larger ones, have they tempered the recipes? have they tampered with the creative spirit that made th it worth acquiring. >> i don't know what they've done with the recipes. our brewery is less than three years old. we're trying to make the best beer possible an get it out to our customers as fresh as possible so people can enjoy better quality beer. >> is that the difference between a port city and a giant beer? >> our beer is very flavorful,

and its it's unpasteurized. and we get it to our customers as fresh as possible. we turn the inventory of our brewery completely every three weeks. >> john bryant, he's talking about beer like it's a living product. like a loaf of bread. are you changing people's ideas about what beer is by making it differently and talking to your customers differently about it? >> much of the business of beer crafting in the united states has been outsourced throughout the world. if you look at the major brewers in the united states they're owned by international companies. to greg and bill's point we're not only fighting to keep a culture of beer in the united states but a craft beer culture. with craft beer culture being hyper local in our communities and states, that's u.s. jobs. that's a great tax base. where there is great beer food

will follow. where there is beer and food, music will tomorrow, that demonstrates how we create culture in the united states that is health y vibrant, and its rooted right here. that helps our own local economy. being based in spokane, washington, we're trying to be a driven as much as greg is in san diego and bill in washington, d.c. in spokane we're trying to create a craft brewing university in turn they go to the grocery and vote every time when they purchase. what we're seeing in each neighborhood around the united states is people buying local. it could be u.s. it could be your neighborhood, your state or your region. people are proud of the beers made in the united states. stone brewing, port city and that's something worth fighting for, especially this time of era where much is being outsourced. 100 years ago basically all the beer in the united states was

made here. today the largest brewer in the united states might make 2 million barrels. those large conglomerate companies are based overseas. >> i was out to dinner with my young adult son, and he was asking connoisseur-like questions of the waiter about their drink offerings. when the waiter went with a away, i quizzed him about that. he said oh dad, when you drink better you drink less. which was a great thing for a young adult to say. but do you use and relate the product differently if you have that kind of relationship with it? >> well, absolutely. it's the difference between fast food and the fine dining restaurant, or actual artisan cheese and pre-wrapped processed cheese slices. we're getting away from the idea of industrialized notion facsimile of beer to real beer. actual real beer is worth discussing, it's worth talking

about. every once in a while i'll hear people mention that it's a fansfication, and i think that's losing a little bit of the conversation. when we're moving from a laundry list of ingredients, industrial ingredients, additive and preservpreservatives, to just a, barley, hops and craft beer, that's a return to normalcy. >> it sounds like what you and your comrades are saying, how you measure success, how you define success is different. >> it's all about quality over quantity. i come to the craft beer industry from the wine business. i was in the wine business for 18 years. when i was coming up it was a time when americans were discovering better quality wine. they stopped ordering a glass of generic wine, and i 15 to 20 yes ago people discovered coffee.

it's better quality, freshly roasted, possibly locally roasted. people are willing to pay more for something that tastes better. >> more with our guests after this break. stay with us. >> al jazeera america is the >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings only news channel that brings you live news at the top of you live news at the top of every hour. every hour. >> here are the headlines at >> here are the headlines at this hour. this hour. >> only on al jazeera america. >> only on al jazeera america.

>> we're talking about craft beer in america with three people at the heart of this booming industry. again, they're john bryant in washington state. bill butcher in alexandria, virginia, and from san diego, greg cook. john bryant, with the

acquisition of smaller brewers by larger ones, could the traffic of culture and influence go in the other direction as well. rather than worrying about the watering down, literally or figuratively of the smaller brewer, could there be a love of craft and good ingredients heading in the other direction, towards the big guys? >> you know, i think it plays the advantage of say bill of port city brewing. you talk about ingredients and source of origin. the chesapeake bay oysters to create this oyster stout. that's something that bill and his company and the brewers there, they clamor for that beer because those are ingredients from that area. and greg is highly responsible for pushing the boundaries of what you can do in hops. out here in spokane, i think we may be the only city in the

united states that may have its own style classification called spokane style because all the ingredients that we use, the hops, the awesome water that we have in spokane, the malt, the barley is grown in this area, and in turn we support local jobs. our tanks that we use is from a company right here. that in turn trickles down. it goes both ways. the customers go and vote far that. when you look at money rolling out of the country by larger international brewers, the larger ones gobbling up the smaller ones, we're fighting for a beer culture that recognize what our values are here in the united states. for us it's spokane, washington, or the pacific northwest. >> doesn't everything that you just described drive up your

cost per barrel and at the tap the individual customer will have to pay a little bit more for the beer? >> absolutely. there's a lot of truth for that. our scale is nowhere near anheuser-busch or miller's or coor's. people are willing to pay more for a better quality product that is fresher, local, that validates and creates jobs in our areas, and the three of us would say is a better-tasting product that is worth a little bit more. >> bill, what does that tell you about the stratification of the market. the number of adults in the character has grown by a little, but not by leaps or bounds. you've got a product that can only be consumed by adults legally. what are you doing inside that market where you are prospering at a time when the giants are not doing well at all. >> and even through the

recession we've been through for the six years. craft beers have not only thrived but grown at double digit rates. and i can't think of a product that has grown through double digit rates. when you come, it's packed full of young people, in their 20's and 30's, they want something more flavorful from their beer, and the mega brewers don't make a product that they're interested in. >> i had a lot of these products across the country. i try a drink local wherever i go. sometimes it seems precious when you want a glass of beer and you're getting cardamon pods and other notes and sometimes i just

want a glass a beer. >> i know exactly what you mean. we've got to realize, ray, you're talking about in the world of craft beer a fraction number of beers that you would describe that way. most of it is a lot more straightforward. instead of suggesting that beer should be this watery oversimplified beer-ish, it's real beer that we're making. and yes, we do have some extreme boundaries of craft brewing that offer some very, very, very unique experiences, but you want just a normal, fantastic, amazing flavorful beer, then that's one of the things that craft brewing really, really excels at. >> we're down to the last couple of minutes of the conversation, gentlemen, and since a lot of people are seeing this program at different times of the day all around the country, they may still be about to eat or certainly thinking about

tomorrow's leftovers, and how they're going to stretch the feast out across the weekend with family and friends, how do you pair this beer with what we eat this time of year, both at desert time and at meal time, bill? >> in pairing a beer with food i start with the weight of the food. if you have a more full bodied dish i would pair it with a full bodied beer. during the summer with a salad, perhaps a wheat beer, something light center style. but i don't want to go to too far down the path of food and wine. where it gets tootoo. you drink the beer that you like to drink. >> bill nailed it. you drink the beers that you like to drink. we don't necessarily have to overthink that. i get jonessed for the after the

turkey and i look for a nice stout. but what is great about beer there is so many different styles, so many different beer flavors, and they all go well together. it's really what you enjoy drinking, that's what really matters. beers, it's an event in itself. it should be fun. it should be relicting, and compliment the social event that you're all getting together with fame and friends. pick up a six-pack or a bomber bottle of your favorite beer and crack it open and let everyone try it. over the course of that exchan exchange, which beer is communal, you may walk away finding a beer style or brand that you've never had and you just found something to talk about with your friends. >> some people may roll your eyes that you pair beer with food. honestly for too long in this

country we were lied to. we were oppressed by this idea that beer was nothing more than this industrial beverage when it is so much more. so just like bill and john said. go out there and sample. what a better time than today with friends and family to sample beers you've never had before an give yourself the opportunity to experience new favorites. it's a wonderful world of craft brewing out there today. we have it unlike any time or any place in the history of our planet. no better time to discover than right now. >> john, bill and greg thanks a lot. this brings us to the end of this edition of "inside story." i'm ray suarez. thank you for being with us. happy thanksgiving.

>> some are blind. >> some are blind. others are ridden with cancer. others are ridden with cancer. many have serious mental many have serious mental illness. illness. all of them are old. all of them are old. and a few will never get out and a few will never get out alive. alive. >> the united states gives out >> the united states gives out longer sentences than any other longer sentences than any other place on the face of the earth. place on the face of the earth. europe looks at us like we don't europe looks at us like we don't know what we're doing - looks at know what we're doing - looks at us like we're crazy. us like we're crazy.