Craft Beer in the United States: History, Numbers, and Geography

Abstract

We provide a mini-history of the craft beer segment of the U.S. brewing industry with particular emphasis on producer-entrepreneurs but also other pioneers involved in the promotion and marketing of craft beer who made contributions to brewing it. In contrast to the more commodity-like lager beer produced by the macrobrewers in the United States, the output of the craft segment more closely resembles the product differentiation and fragmentation in the wine industry. We develop a database that tracks the rise of craft brewing using various statistical measures of output, number of producers, concentration within the segment, and compares output with that of the macro and import segment of the industry. Integrating our database into Geographic Information Systems software enables us to map the spread of the craft beer segment from its taproot in San Francisco across the United States. Finally, we use regression analysis to explore variables influencing the entrants and craft beer production at the state level from 1980 to 2012. We use Tobit estimation for production and negative binomial estimation for the number of brewers. We also analyze whether strategic effects (e.g., locating near competing beer producers) explain the location choices of craft beer producers. (JEL Classifications: L26, L66, N82, R12)

Habitus emerging: The development of hybrid logics and collaborative business models in the Irish craft beer sector

“…Furthermore, we contribute to the growing literature on entrepreneurial context, by deploying Welter's frame to analyse Bourdieusian fields, demonstrating the usefulness of this frame in empirical application. Cabras and Bamforth, 2016, 631;Danson et al, 2015 Licensing laws and alcohol regulations which frame opportunities Argent, 2017, Danson et al, 2015Tremblay et al, 2005, 321;Cabras and Bamforth, 2016, 634;628;Woolverton & Parcell, 2008, 52-53 Business Context Emergence of small scale specialists Clemons et al, 2007, 152;Elzinga et al, 2015, 724;Carroll and Swaminathan, 2000;Carroll, 1985;Argent, 2017, 3;Cabras and Bamforth, 2015, 626-628 Exploitation of resource-scarce spaces, using capitals overlooked by large scale generalists Home brewing as a route to craft brewery start-up Elzinga et al, 2015;Danson et al, 2015 Hyperdifferentiation, and continual experimental NPD of novel beers, to meet passionate consumer demand Clemons et al, 2007, Woolverton & Parcell, 2008Danson et al, 2015 Spatial Context Humanisation of brands through local folklore, myths and heroes, time and place; historical identity Hede and Watne, 2013;Argent, 201 Lamertz et al;2016, 5, 4; Neo-localism, branded embeddedness and provenance Argent, 2015;Danson et al, 2015 Social Context Dense networked community of brewers, home brewers, consumers Elzinga et al, 2015, 731-2 Collaboration and co-operations between craft brewers Danson et al, 2015,4-5;Cabras and Bamforth, 2015, 634 Impact of recession on perceived value to consumers 'And on the face of things you would think that it would be a terrible time to be trying to convince consumers to be getting into a premium product where they're having to pay a little bit more and such. But what we found was once people get an initial taste of craft beer and they gain an understanding that beer could be something th...…”

“…The closeness to consumers is arguably also rooted in the tradition of home brewing as a foundation for the launch of new breweries, so that boundaries between production and consumption are blurred, with home brewing also creating a cadre of passionate and well-informed consumers who communicate and network through brew-pubs, tap houses and participation in beer clubs and festivals (Elzinga et al, 2015).…”

Craftwashing in the U.S. Beer Industry

“…By 2016, for example, the craft segment had grown to 21.9% of U.S. beer sales by dollar value [1], while domestic sales were down by 2.8% [2]. It is no surprise then, that the definitions of these categories are contested [3], and that big breweries (those producing over 6 million barrels per year) have increasingly moved into the "craft" space. They have done so by introducing craft-like brands and/or by acquiring formerly independent craft breweries.…”

On the bottle: situating place-based discourses in global production networks – a visual and textual analysis of craft beer labels

“…Previous research on craft beer has seen a sustained focus on understanding the processes of (neo)localism, branding, and identity on the development of senses of place and place-making within craft brewing in predominantly Anglophone spaces (i.e. United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) (Argent 2017;Murray, Overton 2016;Fletchall 2016;Elzinga, Tremblay, Tremblay 2015;Schnell, Reese 2014;Eberts 2014;Flack 1997). Other studies have considered the economics of craft beer from a comparative global, international, or regionally-scaled perspective, assessing spatial patterns of consumption and their impacts on foreign direct investment and public health policy, for example (Garavaglia, Swinnen 2018;Jernigan, Babor 2015;McCaig 2010;Jernigan 2009;Grigg 2004).…”