ABSTRACT
Around the world, small and independent craft brewing companies have flourished in recent years. Although the craft beer market seems to be plateauing, it remains an industry with robust growth that is building on cultural and experiential, instead of traditional industrial economic, approaches. While scholars have studied the success and growth of this industry from various perspectives, better understanding the producer perspective would enrich our perceptions of the craft beer landscape. This study, combining perspectives from business administration and social anthropology, concentrates on the producer perspective, product heritage and identity, linkages to tourism, and associated hindrances and opportunities. The study highlights the craft beer sector in the northern Swedish region of Jämtland – peripheral, yet popular among tourists – which, since the decline of large-scale brewing in the 1990s, has developed a flourishing craft beer sector. The study examines the case of small-scale producers driven by passion and enthusiasm for beer production and sustainable livelihoods, organized in regional craft beer networks and collaborating with other small-scale food producers to advance livelihood opportunities and business.
