#WeAreCraftBeer: Contemporary Movements to Change the Whiteness of Craft Beer

Abstract

This chapter explains that although the central story of race and beer in the United States is one that centers on the production and reproduction of whiteness, there is reason to believe that the racialized social structure of beer might be cracking. It looks at several developments that may indicate critical change in the phenomenon of craft beer. There is no doubt that there are several contemporary currents that are pressing against the whiteness of craft beer, and there is also no doubt that it is all happening right now. The chapter highlights several of these taking place across the country, in minority-owned breweries and in the digital space of social media, in order to get a bird's eye view of their challenges and resilience in the face of such a structure. It also considers the few black/Latino/Asian and immigrant enclaves of beer in the country where beer is celebrated to its fullest. This leads into discussions of cutting-edge festivals like Fresh Fest and High Gravity Hip-Hop, as well as clever collaborations that are challenging the centuries-long relationship between whiteness and beer.