Creativity, Community, & Growth: A Social Geography of Urban Craft Beer

Abstract

Abstract. To better understand the non-economic drivers of growth in emerging industries, this paper examines the craft beer industry. Specifically, the paper will review two examples -the Black Cloister Brewing Company in Toledo, OH and Louisville's 3 rd Turn Brewery -to understand how the values of entrepreneurs and local firms that are situated at the nexus of work, place, and creativity promote growth. Further, the paper will consider the socio-cultural meaning of creativity relative to the craft beer industry and the many ways in which the concept of innovation traditionally used by economic geographers to understand growth can be better understood within the context of creativity in select niche industries. In doing so, the paper represents a conceptual shift away from the linear process of innovation towards the more holistic notions of creativity, as well as community.

New Opportunities for Work Integration in Rural Areas: The ‘Social Flavour’ of Craft Beer in Italy

“…also provides market opportunities. Indeed, highlighting the link between the local area and the product can give beers a local identity, making them more competitive on the national market [20,23,27,30,66]. Tourism benefits from this too, craft beer tourism being an emerging and booming sector [32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

“…Some studies explore the potential of craft beer production to generate competitive advantage in the independent food and beverage industries [18][19][20]; others analyse the organizational identity of microbreweries [21], their ability to strengthen relationships with customer and employees, building a new local identity [22,23] and their general performance [24]. More recently, the literature has focused on the impacts of microbreweries on local economies [25][26][27][28][29][30][31] and on the relationship between craft beer production and other economic sectors in rural areas, such as tourism [32][33][34][35][36][37], including shedding light on which factors influence brand loyalty [38]. Finally, the rise of microbreweries has been analysed in relation to consumption patterns [39][40][41][42], the reuse of abandoned buildings and revitalization of urban neighbourhoods [43,44], and their sustainability at the local and global levels [45][46][47][48].…”

Craft Beer Culture and Creative Industries in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

“…Part of such an experience is the ambiance of the neighborhood and the artistic and creative design of the bar. According to Reid and Gatrell (2017b), the revitalization of a neighborhood is closely related to the participation of the so-called creative class. They define the core of the creative class as the "elites, consumers, and leaders", who are unified by their progressive values.…”

“…This definition shows that creative economy is a concept that traces the interface between creativity, culture, economics and technology. Reid and Gatrell (2017b) suggest that the creative side of craft beer culture is mutually co-constructed by brewers and consumers. According to them, " … creativity reflects a shared collection of socio-cultural relationships that might reside in place or across a common industry, such as craft beer.…”

Entrepreneurs in Craft Beer and Tourism: Perspectives From South Africa

“…Passion for the product can mobilize the needed energy for prospective entrepreneurs to overcome challenging situations by dealing with any uncertainties and setbacks in the gathering of financial, human and social resources (Biraglia & Kadile, 2017;Cannatelli et al, 2019). Often entrepreneurial passion is associated also with 'creativity' as an important personal factor which is linked to the identification of opportunities that result in the establishment of new firms, including in the craft beer sector (Biraglia & Kadile, 2017;Reid & Gattrell, 2017). In Victoria, Australia Watne et al (2012) identify how the region's craft brewing entrepreneurs were driven by some form of entrepreneurial passion and of how different forms of passion influence the business models that certain craft brewers choose to operate.…”