Crafting Conservation: Pro-Environmental Actions Among Craft Breweries in the Central Texas Hill Country
Date
2022-12
Authors
Sturdivant, Katherine
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The craft brewing industry has expanded greatly over recent decades across the United States as well as in Texas. Craft breweries have the ability to enact or influence recognizable environmental issues in their communities, though there has been little research to date on the topic. Central Texas provides an excellent backdrop for such a study due to its large count of breweries and unique environmental issues. Building on previous research across the United States on advocacy in brewing, this project examines craft breweries in the Texas Hill Country and presents a comprehensive overview of not only what these breweries are doing but why, delving into both brewer motivations for and barriers to pro-environmental activity. Using a mixed-methodology approach, including a web analysis, online surveys, and in-person interviews, this study includes both a review of breweries’ actions and motivations more broadly and four qualitative case studies of craft breweries in the region. These contrasting, and at times similar, experiences show that there is complexity and nuance behind craft breweries’ motivations for environmental advocacy and their barriers and opportunities for action. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on fermented landscapes, provides a bedrock for further research, and, most importantly, provides guidance and insight for craft breweries who are interested in enacting change in their own communities.
Description
Keywords
craft beer, beer, craft brewing, sustainability, environmental advocacy, fermented landscapes
Citation
Sturdivant, K. (2022). Crafting conservation: Pro-environmental actions among craft breweries in the central Texas hill country (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.