The Evolution of the Craft Beer Industry in the Global South: The Experience of South Africa

Abstract

The global rise of craft beer production and consumption has generated a growth of literature across a range of disciplines, including geography. One of the major concepts in explaining the emergence of craft beer landscapes is neo-localism. The largest segment of scholarly research relates to countries in the Global North. The case of South Africa is given as an example from the Global South of the burst of a craft beer culture and the emergence of an economy of craft beer. The aim in this paper is to investigate the evolution and organisation of the craft beer industry in South Africa and its neo-local manifestations. The analysis draws upon a national audit that was undertaken of the growth of micro-breweries in South Africa as well as semi-structured interviews which were conducted with craft beer entrepreneurs about the establishment, location and organisation of their businesses. It is demonstrated that neo-localism is an important influence upon the craft beer industry of South Africa