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Fewer than half of UK start-up businesses survive beyond five years (ONS, 2020). The Scottish Small Business Survey of 2019 found competition in the market and uncertainty as to how to face it were considered the most significant barrier to success by almost half of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) (Scottish Government, 2020). This chapter considers how four Scottish breweries have formulated start-up strategies to respond to competition in an ever-increasingly crowded marketplace in order to maximise their likelihood of survival. The findings from each of these case studies are presented in an accessible format, and indicate that a variety of approaches to the development of the businesses can be adopted, albeit planned approaches dominate. Drawing on real life experiences of four successful businesses, the practical choices they took provide guidance and inspiration for other aspiring craft beer entrepreneurs in selecting an appropriate approach to and content of their founding strategy.

A shift is underway in the licensed trade from drink-led to food-led establishments. The current literature emphasises two underpinning reasons: (i) the need for pubs, bars and craft venues to diversify their income streams in an increasingly competitive sector, and (ii) changes in consumer demand and preferences for the availability of food, especially in ‘craft’ establishments. This chapter argues that a third reason has been neglected: the long-standing regulatory pressure for establishments to provide food alongside alcohol. Drawing on archival research and local authority licensing data, this chapter argues that the shift to food-led provision in licensed establishments must be understood as part of an enduring regulatory concern to foster a more ‘civilised’ drinking culture – namely, a seated, café-style, ‘more European’ approach to consumption – in which patrons drink alcohol alongside food.

In this chapter, the authors explore the impact of Covid-19 on craft beer in the here-and-now of the pandemic by examining responses of Scottish (UK) brewers to it. The authors’ aim is to organise their responses to the situation in which they find themselves with the objective of making fresh sense of the dynamics of organising during a global pandemic. In pursuit of fresh insight to all of this, the authors seek to illuminate what Covid-19 can do to/for breweries and to know the world differently (through recognising more than one way of knowing). So, to enrich the reader’s understanding of organising in the haecceity of responding to and dealing with Covid-19, the authors’ method of inquiry involves integrating empirical materials from brewery social media activities with poetic transcription from interviews with brewers. The authors find support for the view that such integration of findings through research poetry clothes the social media content findings and neither approach dominates the other. Potential implications for future beer studies from the field of poetry are discussed in light of the new comings-together in this chapter.

The purpose of this study is to examine how micro and small craft brewery operators perceive and operationalise innovation. Moreover, in adopting the theory of innovation, the study addresses two under-researched areas, namely, innovation among micro and small firms and innovation in the context of the emerging craft brewing industry.

The perspectives of 163 craft brewery operators located in Italy, Spain, and the UK were gathered through online questionnaires. In total, 24 face-to-face and telephone interviews with operators from the three nations complemented the data collection process. Thus, in total, 187 operators participated.

Development of new craft beer styles, new recipes, exploring with various ingredients, improving quality, or involvement in social media and culinary tourism were predominant forms participants perceived innovation. Various differences regarding innovation adoption were noticed, particularly based on participants’ country and on their role at the brewery. Furthermore, associations between the findings and the dimensions of the theory of innovation were confirmed.

This study is original, in that it represents a first effort in comparing perceptions of craft brewery operators across various countries. This comparison identifies ways in which craft brewery operators could maximise the potential of their firms. For example, the manifested interest in innovating through new craft beer recipes, or blending gastronomy and craft beer underlines alternative forms of adding value to craft brewing production. Importantly, some of these innovating practices differ based on participants’ country; such differences could also be considered by craft brewery operators.

In this chapter, the authors explore the entrepreneurial nature of craft brewing. The authors find growth in the microbrewery sector has been supported through a cooperative approach between competing artisanal small firms. This has helped build competitive advantage in resistance to the dominant market forces of large brewers. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with 12 craft brewers in the North East of Scotland. Analysed findings are used in the design of a conceptual model on the nature of collaboration in the craft beer sector. An artisanal scene is presented, where community benefit and continued development of the craft beer movement is prioritised, over commercial and strategic growth. The typically small firms in this area share resources and support each other in a drive to wean customers away from the large mainstream producers. The authors argue that the nature of the craft beer sector seeks to actively resist market dominance, not only through product quality and marketing, but also in the entrepreneurial behaviours enacted to sustain the movement. The findings suggest a co-existence of both collaboration and competition in the strategic decisions of craft brewers. The focus is on the locally embedded connections these firms develop in the maintenance of their craft roots, with a range of complex interconnected factors linking brewer, community, and the broader industry.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the design of experiential marketing strategies within the luxury beer category.

The research is exploratory in order to provide a broad, grounded starting point within the context of a changing luxury landscape.

Consumer responses to the craft beer consumption experience can be applied to the four dimensions of experiential value as defined by Mathwick et al. (2001): consumer return on investment; perceived excellence value; perceived playfulness; and perceived aesthetic value.

This analysis suggests that the degree to which a luxury beer brand is able to deliver experiential value will largely determine its market success.

This paper is the first to study experiential marketing within the context of the luxury beer category.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse data from routine quality control samples of beer over a ten year period to provide comparisons with a previous study in 2006 and apply interpretations to the contemporary beer market.

Data from laboratory analysis of 1,469 beers submitted for due diligence quality assurance from commercial microbreweries were analysed. Additional commercial samples were taken for analysis of sour beers and cask conditioned beers as examples of niche product areas.

Style characteristics were summarized as a reference for industry evaluation and as a basis for comparisons. Differences were noted between the characteristics found and those of a similar study in 2006. Average alcohol by volume increased by 1.2 per cent, bitterness levels increased by 6.1 per cent while colour decreased by 22 per cent. These differences suggest that standard UK beers are undergoing change. A study of sour beers indicated specific features in this recently popular style and confirmed the use of a different microbiology. Analysis of cask ales indicated some variability in quality suggesting the need for greater quality control.

The comparison with the previous study has limitations as the samples were not individually comparable but were from major established microbreweries and so representative of the industry. The work analysed UK beers only but will act as a base line for comparison to other markets. Moreover, the data may be relevant to other forms of market analysis seeking to identify factors associated to consumer preferences.

The data presented have relevance to breweries looking to develop their portfolios and product descriptions, to the drinking public and to regulatory bodies in providing a benchmark for comparisons and for assisting in defining the recently promoted term “craft beer”.

The findings are relevant to beverage development and consumer education of alcoholic beverages by allowing discrimination between styles with different characteristics affecting consumer choice and when assessing styles for industrial, legislative and health research. Beers today appear to be more varied than in past decades but show lower colour and higher bitterness characteristics. As these features particularly relate to ingredients they may have implications in their contributions to diet and health.

The work has value in replicating the previous study to illustrate changes and trends. It presents novel data on recently popular sour beers and assesses traditional cask beer with implications for product quality.