Hopping to Conclusions was written in 2015, when the craft beer world was transitioning from subculture to a part of the American zeitgeist. Written as a thesis for an American Studies Capstone course, the piece is a reflection on what the American dream represents within this context and how it applies to the ideas outside of the craft beer industry. It explores business decisions, marketing, communities, and how we measure success.
Abstract
At first glance, craft brewers are the epitome of the honest community-focused American dream. They often measure success not in terms of how much money their business enterprise can make but on the basis of the community spirit they can foster in pursuing their businesses. By contrast, the conglomerate corporations such as Anheuser-Busch InBev focus entirely on the financial gain possible and appear to embody the classic Horatio Alger fable of the American dream. I argue that both can be characterized as having achieved the American dreams, albeit each very different versions of it. The separation of these versions, however, necessitates on a static, one-sided definition of success. It is a much more complex idea than what the American dream allows. It is possible, I argue, that one can be focused on quality, community, and finances.
Craft brewers speak of themselves as primarily brewers, not as business people. Sharing stories that showcase a lack of business knowledge, brewers convince consumers (intentionally or not) that they are genuinely committed to the quality of their product, not its marketing or branding. The way in which brewers support and are supported by their communities also encourages consumers to believe that they are not in this business for profit. The conglomerates explain that their size is due to a product that satisfies many consumers. As opposed to community-based loyalty, they capitalize on the fact that their beers are familiar and even ubiquitous. Both groups borrow values from the other and evoke the language of the American dream to promote themselves.
These contradictions suggest that the American dream cannot be used as a functional mythology. It has lost its ability to provide meaningful distinctions within an industry such as beer brewing. It is unable to include complexity or nuance. One’s definition of success can change over time and is not always singular. By abandoning the American dream as a standard by which we establish worth, both within and outside of an industry, it will be possible to recognize the positives and negatives of each complex definition of success and to understand the ways in which they intersect rather than contradict themselves in their common pursuits.