18 April 2023

Organic craft beer in the USA: Still waiting for the boom

When vision meets reality | As consumers think of organic foods, a common image they conjure up is of small, verdant farms neatly divided into fields of lush crops and surrounded by bucolic pastures with happily grazing cows that provide wholesome milk and nutrient-rich manure. Invariably, this picture  also includes hardy, salt-of-the-earth entrepreneurs, who run these operations, driven by noble ideals of respect for mother nature and the healthy nutrition of their fellow humans. Indeed, this image seems to fit much of the contemporary Zeitgeist as evidenced by the growing popularity of the Slow Food movement, local farmers’ markets, and farm-to-table restaurants. Therefore, one would think that this environment also opens up a natural market for small and independent craft brewers focusing on organic beer. The reality, however, looks entirely different; and this article investigates why this might be so.

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