American craft beer movement: revival, countercultural and transnational

Abstract

The American craft beer movement began in the late 1960s in America as a revival of traditional American beer styles that were widely brewed before the Prohibition. Due to the consolidation of the American beer industry, the American beer market is flooded with largely homogenous and light beers. As such, the movement, which consists of homebrewers and microbrewers, seek a return to the more diverse and flavourful brewing traditions. With the prevailing counterculture movements during the 1960s, the American craft beer movement was articulated as a counterculture response against the large beer conglomerates. This counterculture alignment was made by the various modes of culture production, such as craft beer periodicals, which emphasised on the craft beer’s authenticity and taste. As such, an image of subversiveness was associated to the production and consumption of craft beers. In the later years, large beer conglomerates responded with mimicking the unorthodox branding practices of these microbrewers and forced the American craft beer community to align itself with a burgeoning global movement – the Slow Food movement – to reinforce its authenticity and identity. Using these global networks, the later American craft beer movement emerged as an influential node among the global craft beer community.