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The purpose of this article is to survey and analyse the characteristics of cask ale beers in the UK.

Retail sampling and laboratory analysis of 453 beers from 190 breweries allowed beer styles to be defined and described. Analysis of the styles allowed comparisons to be made and trends established.

A total of 12 distinct beer styles were identified and described. Comparison with the largest selling keg beers indicated that cask beers have a wider variety of character. Cask ales produced by smaller microbreweries did not differ significantly from those produced by more established traditional breweries. Changes were seen in selected beers analysed over a five‐year period.

A wider range of analysed parameters such as malt, hop and yeast derived flavours may provide a more exact view of common features between and, particularly, within styles. A more detailed timed series of analyses would help show how trends in styles change. Beers with unspecified styles could be further analysed.

The data presented could act as a benchmark for style definitions and be relevant to the brewing industry, to consumer groups and to trading standards considerations. Defined styles may assist academic and clinical investigations into how different beers may affect health and disease.

This paper provides a broad and comprehensive overview of UK beers and assesses how contemporary beers have developed in comparison to traditional products. It conducts some novel comparisons and will be of value to the brewing industry, consumer groups, trading standards authorities and to academics.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the underexplored niche market potential of craft beer, especially as it may relate to independent food and beverage operations, as a means of gaining competitive advantage.

Data were collected through the distribution of a survey instrument to craft beer and home brewers, designed to assess the demographic profile, purchasing/restaurant selection, and decision behavior of this group and assess the likelihood of their future behavioral intentions toward continued participation in the craft beer segment.

The paper reveals that craft beer and micro brew pub success has been driven by the home brew movement and continues to gain market share at the expense of broad line food service and macro beer producers. The demographic profile of this group shows age range, income, and educational levels sufficient to drive continued growth. The high satisfaction and likelihood to recommend scores support this assessment.

The sample is limited to members of the Brewers Association, the American Home Brewers Association, and craft beer enthusiasts known to members of the organization. Additionally, the survey was administered electronically limiting participation to people comfortable with this medium.

F&B operators who demonstrate commitment to craft beer through server education, beverage list commitment, and supporting events can achieve market differentiation and dominance within the niche; leading ultimately to competitive advantage.

This research sheds light on underexplored areas of craft beer and the opportunity for independent F&B operators to identify and penetrate an increasingly important niche market, which to date has been viewed primarily from the perspective of microbrew pubs.

Reports results of an examination of the differing extent to which various beers enhance thirst, and therefore possibly encourage repeated consumption. Describes a novel methodology for estimating the impact of beer consumption on thirst; the resulting evidence shows that some beers make consumers significantly more thirsty than others. Discusses two possible explanatory hypotheses to explain the differential effect on thirst of various beers, i.e. the effect on thirst could be mediated by diuresis; or it could be a direct function of the levels of any of sulphur dioxide, bitterness, ethanol, mannitol, sodium and potassium. Provides evidence to indicate that none of those factors, by themselves, were sufficient to account for the observed differences. Establishes the existence of a significant phenomenon, but its explanation remains to be located.

This paper considers the structure and performances of the Croatian beer market, as well as consumers’ attitudes and preferences. The results emphasise that the domestic brands with their quality and tradition, in spite of the imported beer brands’ influence, are the dominant brands on the Croatian beer market.

This paper aims to identify the profiles of beginner and experienced consumers (BCs and ECs) of craft beer and evaluate their perception, knowledge and purchase intention.

A total of 291 craft beer consumers including 148 BCs and 143 ECs participated in the study, which was divided into 2 stages: quantitative research through a questionnaire and conjoint analysis.

BCs are mostly female, with a lower age, income and consumption frequency, presented a shallower understanding of International Bitterness Units (IBU) and considered 7.0% alcohol by volume (ABV) as a high-relative value in craft beers. Otherwise, ECs are mostly men with a higher age and consumption frequency, and they don't consider 50 IBU as high bitterness. The results of conjoint analysis indicate that both groups of consumers attribute greater relative importance to ABV and nonalcoholic beers had lower purchase intentions. Finally, the authors show that beer with 30 IBU and 4.5% ABV is preferred by both BCs and ECs.

The authors' identification about the distinct behaviors of different groups of consumers, based on their consumption time of craft beer, as managerial implications for industries producing craft beer and, as a theoretical contribution, the authors have defined “BCs” and “ECs” based on the experiences with and durations of craft beer consumption.

This two-part exploratory study aims to investigate the perceptions of active lifestyle individuals and general craft beer consumers toward no- and low-alcohol craft beers. The influence of advertising appeals is also tested to determine the effectiveness of value-expressive and guilt appeals in determining switching behaviors.

The first study used a mixed-methods approach to determine perceptions and switching behaviors for active lifestyle individuals. The first part of the study presented respondents with one of three advertisements, the ads were designed to either elicit a value expressive appeal, a guilt appeal or a control. The second part of this study presented respondents with a series of open-ended questions seeking further information on their perceptions and preferences regarding no- and low-alcohol craft beers. The second study assessed perceptions of general craft beer consumers as they related to the three advertisements.

The results of this quantitative studies did not find any significant differences between the three ad slogans; however, the results of the qualitative study do indicate differing perceptions and potential switching behaviors for active lifestyle individuals.

This research advances knowledge on advertising appeals for no- and low-alcoholic craft beers.

Brewers and marketers gain insights into two different consumer groups perceptions and potential switching behaviors toward no- and low-alcohol craft beers.

This research tests how advertising appeals influence perceptions and potential switching behaviors of active lifestyle individuals and general craft beer consumers toward no- and low-alcohol craft beers.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of product price image (PPI) on perceived value (PV) and repurchase intention (RI) of Brazilian customers' craft beer. Moreover, this research also verifies the moderating effect of customer experience (CE) and price sensitivity.

The survey data analysis was performed using Smart-PLS 3.3.9 and Process 4.1 software with 329 customers.

The results show that PV is a full mediation variable in the relationship between PPI and RI. As a mediated moderation, lower CE and price sensitivity better explain the indirect effect of PPI on RI via PV.

Thus, managers may reinforce the PV of low price sensitivity and low CE. These customers learn about companies' prices compared with higher price-sensitive customers and higher CE that already PV.

The article discusses the implications of PV as a mediator, low price sensitivity and low CE as moderators for craft beer.

1. The world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, following water and tea, the third-most-popular drink on earth is beer;

2. Managers should create strategies to reinforce the PV and consequently the RI by offering PPI and benefits (PV) for customers with low experience and low-price sensitivity about craft beer;

3. Low customer experience and low-price sensitive's customers are learning about companies' prices compared to higher price sensitive, and higher customer experience that already PV, PL, PF, and PEs and NEs;

4. Small producers craft beer that connotated the product's high quality and benefits; the higher may be the level of RI and consumption from customers.

The world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, following water and tea, the third-most-popular drink on earth is beer;

Managers should create strategies to reinforce the PV and consequently the RI by offering PPI and benefits (PV) for customers with low experience and low-price sensitivity about craft beer;

Low customer experience and low-price sensitive's customers are learning about companies' prices compared to higher price sensitive, and higher customer experience that already PV, PL, PF, and PEs and NEs;

Small producers craft beer that connotated the product's high quality and benefits; the higher may be the level of RI and consumption from customers.

Celebrity endorsement is one of the most popular marketing communication tools that have been used by beverage companies to influence consumers’ behaviour, but little is known about the extent this communication strategy can be impactful and benefit alcoholic beverages like beer and wine. In this context, this study aims to examine whether and how social media celebrity endorsement influences consumers’ beer and wine purchase behaviour. Further, this study examines what are the characteristics of the celebrities that exert greater influence on beer and wine purchase behaviour.

Based on the source credibility and source attractiveness theoretical models, and on the match-up theory, a model of consumer purchase behaviour was proposed. Online celebrity endorsement was categorised as promoting either beer or wine, as well as beer and wine brands. Then, this model is empirically analysed through multiple group structural equation modelling on two samples of consumers who read online celebrity’s recommendations in Spain (beer = 280; wine = 277).

Findings indicate that celebrity’s recommendations exert a different influence pattern on consumer purchase behaviour depending on the product category: congruence is the most relevant variable in beer endorsement, whereas expertise is the most influencing factor in wine celebrity recommendations. Therefore, beer celebrity endorsers should be congruent with the product, whereas wine endorsers should be perceived as experts.

This study extends the literature on celebrity endorsement providing an empirical examination of the social media celebrity characteristics that influence consumer purchase behaviour of beer and wine, reporting interesting differences between these two alcoholic beverages.

The aims of this paper is to determine, via an empirical study of beer consumers in Croatia, the influence of tasting on the validity of conjoint analysis (CA) under presence of familiar or unfamiliar brands.

The research comprised a face‐to‐face survey with 403 beer consumers. The respondents were divided into four groups regarding CA experiment (familiar/unfamiliar beer brand in combination with presence or absence of beer tasting). CA validity was measured with five criteria: face validity, convergent validity, internal validity, predictive validity and subjective evaluation of conjoint task. In addition to the CA experiment, a structured questionnaire was used consisting of a few questions regarding respondents' socio‐economic characteristics, beer purchasing, and consuming behaviour.

The research results confirmed that tasting as an additional presentation method has significant influence on validity of CA. However, the results of the study indicate that tasting should be used as a stimulus presentation method for CA with food and beverage products/brands, which are unfamiliar to the consumers. When testing familiar brands and brands with established perceptions, simpler and less expensive verbal stimulus presentation can be used.

According to the research results, it could be concluded that when performing CA with strong familiar brands, it is not necessary to use CA with tasting since tasting increases research complexity and costs and it does not achieve better results. However, tasting as a stimuli presentation method gives better results than pure verbal CA in the case of unfamiliar brands.

The paper is one of the first to deal with tasting as a presentation method in conjoint analysis and its results have direct implications for the future use of CA with food and beverages.

This paper is written in memory of the late Stafford Beer. The paper engages with only one dimension of the whole man: Stafford Beer as the diagnostician and prognostician of the social conditions that he so keenly observed.

The paper revisits a talk that Stafford Beer gave, over three decades ago, to administrators of the UK National Health Service (NHS). It uses the content of the talk, entitled “Health and Quiet Breathing”, to diagnose the problems that have been encountered in the development of NHS information management strategies. The paper concludes with some brief personal recollections of Stafford Beer as a friend and as a teacher.

The paper finds Stafford Beer's managerial cybernetics to be a useful tool in understanding many of the problems that have beset NHS information management strategies: lack of operational research, problems in the commodification of information, financial scandal, and bureaucracy. In its examination of these issues, the paper recognises Stafford Beer's status as a legatee of not only Norbert Wiener but also of the great philosophers.

The paper demonstrates how the problem‐orientation of Stafford Beer's managerial cybernetics continues to be fresh and relevant to today's society and provides a brief portrait of him both as a friend and as a teacher.