1.4. Craft beer

Craft microbreweries are considered as small, independent and traditional companies since their operation does not exceed six million barrels of beer annually. They use non-traditional ingredients with innovative fermentations (Fish, 2015), differing from Industrial breweries.

For Reid & Gatrell (2015) there has been an exponential growth in the emergence of craft beer brands, since in the United States it has gone from 8 to 3400 craft breweries in just 34 years. In 2012, this industry contributed $ 33.9 billion to the US economy and was responsible for over 360,000 jobs. Whereas research conducted by Fletchall (2016) remarks that although beer production per capita in the United States has declined since the 1980s, the number of breweries has increased from 80 in 1983 to more than 4000 in September 2015, of which 99% of them are small producers.

Roberson & Collins (2015) illustrate the case of South Africa, and the relationship between cultural aspects of the region, which are strong motivators for tourism, and the visit and consumption of small craft breweries. There are similar cases in countries such as the United Kingdom, Slovakia and Australia where festivals and events related to craft beer take place. Authors highlight the opportunities for tourism as a sustainable and regional development driver, as a basis of local economy promoting the reaffirmation of identities and traditions.

Šušteršič J & Šušteršič S (2013) found that in the Slovakian beer market, there were imports of several industrial beers and thought that this would affect small industries. Nonetheless, consumers preferred craft beer brands because they perceived the importance of taste and the diversity they offered. Moreover, Fletchall also distinguishes besides the product, the importance of what the author calls place-making, stating that “place comes into existence when meaningful experience is attached to a particular location” (Fletchall, 2016: 539). He reveals how craft breweries play a role in the contemporary creation of places, as they provide the opportunity to experience the local community in an authentic way, facilitating a meaningful connection with the place.

In Colombia, almost 21 million hectolitres of beer are being sold and although the three flagship craft microbreweries, BBC Company (Bogotá), 3 Cordilleras (Medellín), and Apóstol (Medellín), barely produce over 36,000 hectolitres per year, they are representing a growth above 30% per year (Revista Dinero, 2015). Two of the aforementioned brands that currently are in exponential growth are located in the city of Medellin. Therefore, studying the intangible values of craft beer brands and how these are constructed by their consumers is a relevant topic of research. Likewise, this phenomenon of manufacturing craft beer has increasingly attracted attention in recent years due to the economic growth potential and the opportunities for the development of local economies, and the social imaginaries generated by these craft beer brands in relation to consumers.

To understand more about the impact that these craft beer brands have on consumers would help to the acknowledgement of new consumption behaviours, from how they promote their identity to the image perception that consumers create according to the intangible values that the brand releases. As such, this research could provide broader information about the development of this sector in consumers’ minds. For all of the above reasons, this study aims to analyse the process of constructing I.V. carried out by the consumer of craft beer brands produced in Medellin, and correlate this with the communication strategy these brands emit.