Devin Briski

Beer is one of the world’s oldest produced alcoholic beverages and since its invention some 13,000 years ago, people across the globe have been brewing, consuming, and even worshiping this amber nectar. Whether you prefer a pale ale, wheat beer, stout, or lager, from the cask or a humble bottle, beer enthusiasts can agree that the topic of beer is as complex as its taste.

Beer drinkers across the United States observe the National American Beer Day annually on 27 October. Over the last few decades IPAs, craft beer, and microbreweries have taken over the American beer market and continue their steady growth. The following extract from Johan Swinnen and Devin Briski’s Beeronomics: How Beer Explains the World discusses some of the strategies of the American craft beer movement.