Tapping into Community: Localism, Place-Making, and Diverse Economies in Craft Brewing

Abstract

This thesis examines the ways in which craft breweries in the Ottawa-Gatineau region create opportunities for community economies. Grounded in feminist economic geography and the diverse economies research paradigm, this research explores the ways in which craft brewing practices are embedded in particular understandings of place, identity and economy. By examining alternative economic practices in the context of craft beer, this research provides insights into the impacts of the concentration of power in the beer industry by large industrial brewing conglomerates on independently owned craft breweries. This concentration of power is challenged by craft breweries that generate more-than-capitalist economic possibilities, which help build towards community economies. Craft breweries model community economic practices by engaging in collaborative and non-competitive economic relationships, enhancing local economic development, and by carving out meaningful relationships with community actors with the intent of creating social good. This work contributes to a growing body of work on the geography of craft beer, and critical food studies literature on power relations in the food system. Keywords: craft brewing; diverse economies; feminist economic geography, place-making; identity; concentration of power.