From Bland to Grand: Path Creation and The Rise of Craft Beer

Abstract

The rise of craft beer in the United States reflects the interplay of demand-side and supply-side forces. Most studies of this development have focused on the supply side, discussing the key role played by entrepreneurial brewers. Yet, an equally important part of the story concerns how and why consumer tastes changed away from mass-produced lager-style beer in favor of the wide range of styles developed through the craft beer revolution. This paper develops a path creation analysis to explain how and why craft beer emerged in the United States.

Keywords

• path dependency
• path creation
• brewing
• craft beer