Microbreweries, Place, and identity in the United States

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, over 2,300 microbreweries and brewpubs have sprouted and flourished in the United States. We argue that this expansion is about more than just beer. It is also about a desire on the part of many Americans to re-connect with place. Such breweries are often proudly and self-consciously local, and often use imagery and stories associated with a particular place as a means of promoting their brews. This active, conscious creation and maintenance of attachment to place is termed neolocalism. This chapter provides an overview of the geography of microbrewing and its historical development in the United States. It then analyzes how ale names and visual marketing imagery used by microbreweries tap into this powerful concept of neolocalism, and how these images serve to create local loyalties and identities. We argue that such imagery offers a valuable window into the neolocalism movement and the process of place attachment.