The Rise of Small Craft Breweries in Belgium : What a Socio-historical Analysis Can Teach Us about the Role of the State in the Structuring of Markets

Delperdange, Pauline;Zune, Marc
(2021) European Sociological Association (ESA)Conference — Location: Barcelona (online) (31.August.2021)

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The recent rise in the number of small artisanal breweries in several countries can be seen as an emblematic case of the resurgence of craft in modern economies. These new realities have aroused great interest from researchers who have tried to understand the emergence of relocated activities inspired by a culture of craftsmanship. In Belgium, the development of small breweries is more progressive than in other countries, but it follows a phase of significant economic concentration (Poelmans & Swinnen, 2018). These new breweries share common understandings and norms about production, and differentiate themselves from an industrial model. However, the newness of these oppositions remains to be explored. By adopting a processual approach inspired by Abbott's work (2016), our aim is to re-locate the contemporary period within a long historical period marked by reconfigurations of these activities. We identify four configurations, each characterised by the precarious domination of a production model, from the mid-19th century with a phase of early industrialisation, characterised by the breakthrough of bottom fermentation in a context of traditional production in many small breweries. Following Fligstein's political approach to markets (1992), we consider these successive evolutions in relation to changes in the legislative framework, particularly in terms of tax and subsidies policies, which make possible and facilitate certain production models, their productivity and profitability. We rely on a socio-historical analysis, based on the examination of archives and documentary sources and, for the recent period, on a survey by in-depth interviews with privileged observers.
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Delperdange, P., & Zune, M. (2021). The Rise of Small Craft Breweries in Belgium : What a Socio-historical Analysis Can Teach Us about the Role of the State in the Structuring of Markets. European Sociological Association (ESA)Conference, Barcelona (online). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/113409