Untapped Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer [Hardcover]

Untapped collects twelve previously unpublished essays that analyze the rise of craft beer from social and cultural perspectives.

In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe there has been exponential growth in the number of small independent breweries over the past thirty years – a reversal of the corporate consolidation and narrowing of consumer choice that characterized much of the twentieth century. While there are legal and policy components involved in this shift, the contributors toUntapped ask broader questions. How does the growth of craft beer connect to trends like the farm-to-table movement, gentrification, the rise of the “creative class,” and changing attitudes toward both cities and farms? How do craft beers conjure history, place, and authenticity? At perhaps the most fundamental level, how does the rise of craft beer call into being new communities that may challenge or reinscribe hierarchies based on gender, class, and race?

"Untapped speaks to important aspects of beer and food culture. It is well researched and documented and adds to our understanding of a largely understudied field."
Carolyn Keller, Keene State College
 

"A valuable and teachable book that will appeal to anyone interested in social science perspectives on craft brewing."
Andrew Shears, Mansfield University
 

Nathaniel G. Chapman is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Arkansas Tech University. His research focuses on craft beer and the production of culture in the United States. He has also researched racial dynamics at Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals, and EDM more broadly. Currently, he is conducting research on gender and consumption in the craft beer industry, and the construction of authenticity in craft brewing.
 
J. Slade Lellock is a l“I