Beer. A simple concoction of water, barley, yeast, and hops. It's incredible that a drink so simple could transform culture the way the craft brewing industry has.A craft or microbrew is defined as a brewery that makes limited quantities and makes several unique varities of beer. Walk into any bar that carries craft beer (you won't find many in Colorado that don't) and you will find an extremely diverse group of people brought together by their enjoyment of great beer. The craft beer craze is in full frenzy not only in Colorado but in the United States as a whole, with over 2,700 microbreweries open across the country. This represents the highest number of microbreweries in the US since 1880. But is this love of craft beer the same around the globe? In this issue of Beer Mag, we travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina to answer that very question.
Our primary questions:
Why are microbreweries in Colorado so successful? How do conditions for success in Colorado compare to Argentina?
What are the differences in the brewing culture between Boulder breweries and Buenos Aires breweries?
How do external factors like government regulation affect breweries in each location?
Our Investigative
Techniques:
In order to explore our research questions, we engaged in several different research techniques. We used participant observation at times in order to gain a better perspective of the attitudes surrounding craft beer in both cultures. We also interviewed key employees in several different breweries within each culture to get information on brewing issues straight from the horses mouth. Lastly, we also engaged in secondary research on databases and online publications to further understand the scope and macroeconomic factors surrounding craft brewing.
We start our jounrey in boulder...