#WeAreCraftBeer: Contemporary Movements to Change the Whiteness of Craft Beer

Abstract

This chapter explains that although the central story of race and beer in the United States is one that centers on the production and reproduction of whiteness, there is reason to believe that the racialized social structure of beer might be cracking. It looks at several developments that may indicate critical change in the phenomenon of craft beer. There is no doubt that there are several contemporary currents that are pressing against the whiteness of craft beer, and there is also no doubt that it is all happening right now. The chapter highlights several of these taking place across the country, in minority-owned breweries and in the digital space of social media, in order to get a bird's eye view of their challenges and resilience in the face of such a structure. It also considers the few black/Latino/Asian and immigrant enclaves of beer in the country where beer is celebrated to its fullest. This leads into discussions of cutting-edge festivals like Fresh Fest and High Gravity Hip-Hop, as well as clever collaborations that are challenging the centuries-long relationship between whiteness and beer.

Privileging Passion: How the Cultural Logic of Work Perpetuates Social Inequality in the Craft Beer Industry

“…One emergent pattern in the data for this larger research project (but not fully explored here) is that a number of workers who are women and people of color may be accessing alternative career pathways within the craft beer industry less dictated by pure passion and the privileged statuses that frame it. Expressing different relationships to their jobs-for instance, by voicing social justice advocacy through their employment platform-could be a source of strategic advantage for some workers in an era when more organizations are publicly signaling their support for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (see Chapman and Brunsma 2020;Wilson and Stone 2022). As an alternative cultural logic of work that highlights social identity issues, especially those that are underrepresented, the popularization of this narrative could potentially support the upward mobility of workers from marginalized social groups.…”

“…Many brewery owners, for instance, describe their companies as "passion projects," which also doubles as a prominent form of branding within the industry (Koontz and Chapman 2019). Demographically, however, craft beer workers remain overwhelmingly white, male, and relatively middle class (Chapman and Brunsma 2020;Withers 2017). This raises questions about the role passion for work may play in perpetuating social inequalities within these types of settings and potentially contributing to the marginalization of women and people of color within the industry.…”

“…3). As Chapman and Brunsma (2020) noted, these racialized and gendered employment patterns in craft breweries stem in part from historical forms of structural exclusion that people of color and women have faced in the beer industry, such as barriers to securing business loans. These patterns are also reflected in the work culture of many craft breweries, which remains closely associated with whiteness, masculinity, and middle-classness (Wilson and Stone 2022;Withers 2017).…”

The beer garden state: Neolocalism and clustering of craft breweries in New Jersey

“…It is also worth noting that this is one of the more ethnically and racially diverse parts of the state, largely reflecting the diversity of nearby New York City (United States Census Bureau, 2020b). The fact that craft breweries struggle to engage diverse consumers (Matthews and Patton, 2016) and are largely perceived as catering to white people (Chapman and Brunsma, 2020) is problematic for growth in this area of northern New Jersey. Nonetheless, the growing movement of neolocalism Source: Created by the authors using data from the organization New Jersey Craft Beer (2023) and confirmed via evaluation of breweries progress toward an opening date (i.e., evaluation of physical space, website, and social media presence/communication).…”