Category Archives: International

Economic Development, International, Scholarship, Tourism

Italy 3.0

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I just returned from a few days in L’Aquila, Italy. It was my third visit to this earthquake-ravaged Italian town in the last ten months. I’d been there in September 2017 and, more recently, in May 2018. On both my previous visits I’d given talks about beer to students in the Regional Science and Urban Studies Program at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI). On this occasion, I was in L’Aquila as co-organizer of a two-day workshop on “The Geography of Craft Beer and Consumption: Local Entrepreneurialism and Tourism Development”. My co-organizers were Alessandra Faggian, Professor of Applied Economics, Director of Social Sciences, and Vice Provost for Research at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, and Giulia Pezzi, Post Doctoral Research Fellow at GSSI. The workshop was designed to provide an opportunity for doctoral students and early career Professors to present their research. Alessandra, Giulia, and myself had also lined up two excellent keynote speakers – Martin Stack of Rockhurst University in the United States and Christian Garavaglia of The University of Milano-Bicocca. Both gave fascinating keynote lectures – Martin on the history of craft beer in the United States and how to assess its impact, while Christian gave an overview of the growth of craft beer at the international level.

Beautiful L’Aquila
Christian Garavaglia talking about historical trends in the global brewing industry
Martin Stack talking about the history of craft beer in the United States

Following Martin and Christian’s lectures, Giulia Pezzi and myself presented plenary lectures on craft beer and tourism. I focused my lecture on trying to understand the motivations of the craft beer tourist and their desire to drink unique beer in unique spaces. Giulia’s lectures examined the contribution that craft beer can make to tourism in rural and remote regions.

The opening day of the workshop concluded with a presentation by Luca Marcotullio, owner of L’Aquila’s only craft brewery, Anbra. I had visited Anbra’s taproom on my last visit to L’Aquila and had been impressed with both the ambience and the beer. The brewery is a post-earthquake phenomenon. Following the earthquake, Luca decided to open the brewery, realizing that a taproom in the center of the city would provide a space where people could come, relax, and socialize with each other. In many respects, the taproom was Luca’s contribution to the rebuilding of post-earthquake L’Aquila. Following, Luca’s talk, he took questions from those us in the audience, which proved to be particularly fascinating.

The entrance to Anbra’s taproom

That evening, Luca retold Anbra’s story to interested citizens of L’Aquila, in one of GSSI’s auditoriums. Following that talk everyone retired to the beautiful outdoor terrace of the GSSI, where Luca and one of his staff members, served a selection of four Anbra beers. Following that event, myself and a couple of other conference attendees decided to head into the center of L’Aquila and enjoy a few beers at the Anbra taproom. A few beers into our visit, Luca appeared. He recognized us from earlier in the evening, and provided us each with a complimentary beer. The same hospitality was offered to us the following evening when we visited Anbra.

 

Luca Marcotullio (left) serving up some Anbra beer on the outdoor terrace of GSSI

The second day of the workshop, there were presentations from eleven young researchers. The came from five countries – Argentina, Bulgaria, Canada, Italy, and the United States. The topics were varied and included:

  • The role of tourism in creating Greater Central Florida’s Craft beer scene
  • The emerging relationship between the craft beer and recreational cannabis industries
  • Product innovation hotspots in craft brewing as indicated by trademarks
  • Local entrepreneurs and the transformation of the beer industry towards sustainability
  • Craft breweries at the US/Canadian cross border region
  • Neolocalism and Quebec craft breweries
  • Fostering craft brewing tourism in the Piedmont region of Italy
  • Tourism, authenticity, and craft beer in West Virginia
  • The growing craft beer culture in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  • Craft beer and consumer preferences in Mar del Plata, Argentina
  • Beer labels and religious symbols in Quebec
Andrea Belmartino talks about craft beer in Mar del Plata, Argentina

As someone who would be considered a “senior” scholar, it was wonderful to hear these presentations by younger scholars. Craft beer research, like craft beer itself, is experiencing something of a boom. And those conducting the research come from a variety of academic backgrounds – Geography, Economics, Anthropology, Sociology, etc. This diversity of perspectives adds to the richness of the research and leads to insights that might not otherwise be possible. It was a great few days in L’Aquila. The next conference dedicated exclusively to beer will be the biennial Beeronomics Conference which will be held in Pilsen in the Czech Republic in June 2019. I am already looking forward to that.

Culture, International

Traveling During Ramadan

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Recently, I visited Goa in India. It takes a while to reach Goa. To get there, I flew from Detroit to Dallas to Doha (in Qatar), to Goa. I was traveling with a colleague who lives just outside of Dallas, so I broke up the outward journey by overnighting with him and his family in the Dallas area. It is a long way from Dallas to Goa – fourteen-plus hours to Doha, and another three-plus hours from there to Goa. Add to that a four hour layover in Doha, and it is quite a journey. I did manage to sleep for six or seven hours on the Dallas to Doha leg, so that made the flight considerably more pleasant. When flying, I tend not to drink alcohol. If I do, it might be a glass of wine with dinner. Flying dehydrates, and so water is usually my liquid of choice.

Anyway, after boarding my flight to Goa, I decided that I would indeed like a beer.  As with my flight from Dallas to Doha, I was flying with Qatar Airways. They are the national airline of Qatar.  I had noticed, on the flight flight from Dallas to Doha, that the beer choice was limited to Heineken. It was the same on the flight to Goa. When the cabin attendant (that is what they are called on Qatar Airways) came around and asked me what I would like to drink, I told her, a Heineken. As she reached beneath her cart to get the beer, she turned to me and asked if I minded if she poured it into a glass and not give me the can. As one who prefers their beer decanted anyway, I said that would be fine. “It’s Ramadan” she explained “and we cannot have labeled alcohol containers on display”. She proceeded to pour my beer, carefully out of sight of anyone, and handed me two small glasses of Heineken. Whether this was airline policy, was unique to that particular flight, or reflected the cultural sensitivities of this particular cabin attendant, I am not sure. I did notice on my return flight from Doha to Dallas that bottles of wine and cans of Heineken were on full public display.

My “two” glasses of Heineken on my flight between Doha and Goa

After the cabin attendant moved onto the next row of passengers, I looked around the aircraft, but did not see anyone else drinking beer. I must admit I started to feel a bit self conscious . Was I the only one on the entire aircraft drinking a beer? As I reflected on my layover in Doha, it struck me that I had not seen anything that resembled a bar. The duty free shop had been replete with candy, perfume, and cigarettes – but there was not a drop of alcohol in sight. A little research later revealed that there are a couple of restaurants in the airport, where a glass of wine or beer can be enjoyed with a meal. While it is a Muslim country, Qatar does allow the sale and consumption of alcohol. However, access is limited. It is available in four and five star western hotels. Alcohol is also  available to expatriates through a permit system. Permits are administered by the Qatar Distribution Company, and individuals wishing to obtain one must apply. Once in possession of a permit, there are two outlets in the entire country, from which alcohol can be purchased. The amount of alcohol that an individual can purchase each month is dependent upon their salary. The rules regarding consumption of alcohol in Qatar are quite strict. For example, it is forbidden to drink alcohol in a public place, or to give alcohol to Muslims. Muslims caught drinking alcohol may be subject to corporal punishment.

Other Islamic countries also have highly restrictive laws when it comes to the consumption of alcohol. These include Afghanistan, Libya, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Also, although not a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is also prohibited in some states in India (fortunately, not in Goa). Of course, the United States had its own doomed experiment with Prohibition between 1920 and 1933. While I fully respect the sovereign right of each country to prohibit the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol as it sees fit, I have to admit that it would be difficult for me to live in a country where having a beer was either impossible or highly restricted. I simply enjoy beer, and the culture surrounding it, too much.

 

 

 

International

Imagined in India

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I just returned from four days in Goa, India. I went there to attend the 12th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI). This was my first visit to India. It’s a big country, of course, no matter which measure you use. Its population is 1.3 billion (only China has more). It is 1.2 million square miles (3.2 million square kilometers), making it the seventh largest country in terms of land area. With a nominal GDP of $2.85 trillion, it is the world’s seventh largest economy.

In land area, Goa is India’s smallest state. It is located in the southwest of the country, with the Arabian Sea forming its western border. Despite its small size, it has the highest GDP per capita of any Indian state, while ranking fifth in terms of literacy rates. Being on the Arabian Sea, Goa has some stunning beaches. My hotel, the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa, had direct beach access. Add to that an open air beachside restaurant and bar, and I had the ideal spot to enjoy some Indian beers.

The beachside restaurant/bar at the Park Hyatt was the perfect spot to enjoy some Indian beer

Per capita beer consumption in India is relatively low – 5.1 liters per capita. This compares with per capita beer consumption of 74.9 liters in the United States. Indian per capita consumption even compares unfavorably with its regional neighbors – across Asia, average annual per capita beer consumption is 20.9 liters. Having said that, the Indian beer market is posituined for growth; an average annual growth of 6.9% is forecast for the 2018-2022 period.

Per Capita Beer Consumption in Liters in Selected Asian Countries. Source: BMI

Not surprisingly, beer sales in India are dominated by large multinational brewers – United Breweries (44.1% market share in 2016), AB InBev (24.6%), and Carlsberg (16.9%)  control close to eighty five percent of the Indian beer market. Heineken own a forty-four percent share in United Breweries and, at the time of writing, are poised to increase their share to fifty-eight percent.

Budweiser is becoming increasingly popular among Indian beer drinkers. Budweiser first appeared in the Indian market in 2007. Today, it has a five percent market share; up from one percent in 2011. Budweiser is aggressively marketed as a premium lager, targeted at India’s urban Millennials. AB InBev’s 2016 acquisition of SABMiller will help it expand Budweiser’s reach in India. In acquiring SABMiller, AB InBev acquired ownership of  the extensive brewery and distribution network SABMiller established in India. With the mature markets in North America and Europe offering little prospect for growth, multinationals such as AB InBev and Heineken turn their attention to developing markets such as India.

In addition to Budweiser, Indians are acquiring a taste for craft beer. Unlike the United States, however, where IPAs are the most popular style of craft beer, the Indian craft beer consumers prefers lighter, less bitter styles; wheat based ales, particularly German-style Hefeweizens and Belgian Wits, are especially popular. One of the craft beers that is making big headlines in India is Bira 91. The brand was launched in 2015, by Indian entrepreneur Ankur Jain. Jain had become familiar with craft beer while living in New York for ten years. When he returned to his native New Delhi, he started Bira 91. Unable to find a brewery in India which could meet his exacting brewing  standards, Jain contracted production to a brewery in Belgium. Because the beer was not brewed in India, the label on the bottle read “Imagined in India”. Such was the success of  Bira 91 that, by 2016, it was being brewed in India. In 2017, Bira 91 opened a second brewery in India, and a third is planned for 2018. Jain is ambitious and in addition to Bira 91’s Indian breweries, he hopes to open one in the United States. The ‘91’ in the name refers to the international dialing code for India. I enjoyed both Bira 91’s Blonde Lager and White Ale several times during my stay in Goa.

Despite now being brewed in India, Bira 91 bottles still carry the “Imagined in India” label

Imported and craft beer are proving popular among India’s growing middle class, particularly those who have traveled internationally. As Indian consumers are exposed to international tastes and trends, they return home and aspire to mimick some of the consumer behaviors they have witnessed.

In addition to the Bira 91, mentioned above, I sampled a number of other beers while in India. I arrived at hotel at 3am. After registering, I had anticipated on going straight to my room, Before I could do so, however, one of the hotel staff members offered me a complimentary welcome beer. I am sure that, after being in airports and on planes for the best part of twenty-four hours, he probably realized that a cold beer was just what I wanted. Surprisingly, the beer he offered me was not a standard Indian lager, such as Kingfisher, but was a Witbier called Jungle Wheat. Jungle Wheat is one of four beers brewed by Simba Beer. Simba is owned by Sona Beverages. Sony Beverages was established in 2006, as a franchisee of SAB Miller. Its brewery is located in the city of Durg, in east-central India. So whether my Jungle Wheat is a craft beer or, because of its connection with SAB Miller, is one of those “crafty” beers I’ll leave that for you to debate. All I will say is that, after a long journey, it tasted damn good.

Jungle Wheat from Simba Beer

Another beer I tried was Goa King’s Pilsner. Up until, 2015 Goa King’s beers (then just called King’s) were only available in Goa. It’s geographic exclusivity was part of its appeal. In 2015, the King’s brand was acquired by Vikiing  Ventures. In addition to changing its name, the new owner expanded distibution of Goa King’s, thus makimg available in cities such as Mumbai and New Dehli.

India’s most popular beer brand is Kingfisher. When I told friends that I would be visiting India, many made mention of Kingfisher. Brewed by United Breweries, Kingfisher has been losing market share recently. Still, it is the country’s most ubiquitous beer brand. Kingfisher premium lager, of which I had quite a few while in Goa, is a standard lager, which proved quite refreshing under the hot Indian sun.

So that was my first visit to India. I was only there for four days and only saw one tiny corner of this vast country. But I saw enough, and was sufficiently captivated by the friendliness of the people I met, that I hope that I have an opportunity to return some day.

My visit also marked something of a milestone in my world travels; as it was the fortieth country/territory that I have visited in my lifetime. Later this  year, I will add two other countries to that list – Switzerland and Liechtenstein. I look forward to seeing what beers those two have to offer.

Further Reading:

Knoth, Michael and Jonas Björn Borrit. 2014. The Indian beer market: The next “China” or a hyped market with little future growth? Scandinavian Brewers’ Review, Volume 72, Number 2, pp. 10-14.

Craft Beer, Festivals, International

A Pint of Science

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Earlier this week, I spent a couple of days in L’Aquila, Italy. I was there as a guest of the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), who had invited me to give a couple of talks. This was my second visit to L’Aquila. I had been there in September 2017, also as a guest of GSSI. To get to L’Aquila, you fly into Rome, and then travel by bus for two hours. L’Aquila has a population of approximately seventy thousand people. It is an interesting town for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that it is earthquake prone. The most recent earthquake, on April 6, 2009, registered a 6.3 on the Richter scale and killed 308 people. Its impact is still visible throughout this picturesque Italian town. Since my last visit in September, however, I noticed visible signs of progress – buildings that had been empty were now inhabited and in use, while others were closer to being so.

The damage caused by the 2009 earthquake is still visible in L’Aquila

The purpose of my visit this time was to give two lectures – one to this year’s cohort of GSSI doctoral students in Regional Science and Urban Studies, and one to members of the general public as part of the Pint of Science Festival that was taking place in town.

My presentation to the GSSI students focused on the theme of consolidation and fragmentation in the global brewing industry. Both processes are impacting the industry simultaneously. For example, the October 2016, $106 billion acquisition of SABMiller by AB InBev resulted in an industry that is considerably more consolidated at the global scale. At the same time, at the local scale, the industry becomes more fragmented every time a new craft brewery opens it doors.

My presentation at GSSI was in the afternoon. In the evening, I was back at the podium again. This time the audience took on a very different composition – it was the good citizens of L’Aquila. The town had been chosen as one of the venues for the three-day Pint of Science Festival; a festival at which that scientists present their research to members of the general public in the informal setting of a bar/pub.

Pint of Science was started in 2012 by Dr. Praveen Paul and Dr. Michael Motskin, two research scientists at Imperial College in London, UK. At the time, Paul and Motskin were post doctoral researchers working on motor neuron and Parkinson’s disease respectively. While working in London, Paul and Motskin organized a “Meet the Researchers” event, in which they invited individuals impacted by the disease (both those with the disease and their families) to their laboratories to see, first hand, the research in which they were engaged. It was a huge success, and very quickly the idea of taking scientific research to the people emerged – hence, a Pint of Science was born.

According to the Pint of Science website:

“The Pint of Science festival aims to deliver interesting and relevant talks on the latest science research in an accessible format to the public – mainly across bars and pubs. We want to provide a platform which allows people to discuss research with the people who carry it out and no prior knowledge of the subject is required.”

In 2018, Pint of Science Festivals were held in over 260 cities, across twenty-one countries. In Italy, twenty cities hosted Pint of Science events. All Pint of Science events across the world were held on the same three days – May 14-16.  Three venues hosted the events in L’Aquila. Over the three days, in L’Aquila, a total of sixteen lectures were presented. The topics were wide ranging, and included Chasing Gravitational Waves, Who’s Afraid of Social Media, and Living Together: From Municipalities to Cohousing and Beyond. My own lecture was titled Making Your Beer Great Again.

The Pint of Science Festival in L’Aquila covered a wide range of topics

The venue for my lecture was Fratelli Il Bacaro, which describes itself as:

”a Venetian tavern with a wide selection of wines by the glass and small snacks, a few seats and . . .  a place where dishes from the local and Italian culinary tradition are also served . . . a place to make culture, where young singers and musicians, who want to express themselves and grow through music, alternate with great artists.”

My lecture started at 9:30pm. The venue was cozy, and comfortably full with somewhere between thirty-five and forty people. Recognizing that the audience’s knowledge of English was probably highly variable, my colleague Giulia Pezzi had translated my entire Power Point presentation into Italian. I covered five themes in my lecture:

  • The rise of large breweries and the homogenization of beer
  • The emergence of home brewing and the rise of craft breweries
  • The craft beer drinker and what attracts him/her to craft beer
  • The craft brewery as a unique drinking space
  • The geography of craft breweries

While most of my material came from the United States, I did incorporate some examples from Europe. The talk seemed to go well, and the audience appeared engaged. After I had finished, audience members were invited to ask questions. There were six or seven questions, and I was really impressed with their overall thoughtfulness and insightfulness.

My participation in L’Aquila’s Pint of Science Festival did garner some attention in the Italian press, including a mention in La Repubblica, one of the country’s most influential daily newspapers. The local L’Aquila website, NewsTown, also covered my visit.  I was also interviewed by Fabio Iuliano, who runs the website virtuquotidiane.it.  Fabio’s interview touched on a number of interesting issues, including the reasons behind the success of craft brewing in the United States, and status of craft beer in Italy. He also noted that Bob Dylan was a recent co-investor in a craft whiskey distiller, Heaven’s Door. Fabio was interested in the similarities behind craft distilling and craft brewing industries. Fabio’s final question had to do with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. He wanted to know if the title of my lecture, “Making Your Beer Great Again” had been inspired by President Trump”s slogan “Make America Great Again”. I explained that while my presentation’s title was a clear nod to the President’s slogan, it was not intended as a political statement; I was simply having a little fun with my title. As I reflected on my interview with Fabio, I must admit that I had not anticipated being asked about Bob Dylan and President Trump in an interview about craft beer.

So that was my trip to L’Aquila. I had a wonderful visit and was, yet again, overwhelmed by the generosity of my Italian hosts. Fortunately, it will not be long before I am back in L’Aquila. I will be there in early July to participate in a workshop on “The Geography of Craft Beer Brewing and Consumption: Local Entrepreneurialism and Tourism Development”, an event that I am co-organizing with my Italian colleagues, Alessandra Faggian and Giulia Pezzi.

Until then, Saluti!

My colleague, Giulia Pezzi, introducing my lecture at A Pint of Science
There was a nice sized crowd at my Pint of Science lecture

Further Reading:

Paul, Praveen and Michael Motskin. Engaging the Public with Your Research. Trends In Immunology, Volume 37, Number 4, pp. 268-271.

Bars, Craft Beer, International

It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Super Bock

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I just returned from five days in Portugal. While there I gave two talks about beer. The first titled ‘Drinking Beer in the Digital Age” was presented to a meeting of The Regional Science Academy, while the second titled ‘Changes in the Global Brewing Industry’ was Continue reading It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Super Bock →

Craft Beer, History, International, Names

George Carlin, A Toledo Window Box, And A Beer Brewed In Texas

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A common practice in the modern craft brewing industry is for breweries to name some of their beers after local landmarks, natural landscape features, historical figures, historical events etc. Without looking beyond the state of Ohio, there are many examples of this. Continue reading George Carlin, A Toledo Window Box, And A Beer Brewed In Texas →

History, International

The Prohibition Chronicles

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A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, along with my wife and two friends, I attended the premier of  “Toledo: The Prohibition Chronicles”. The sixty minute documentary told the story of gangsters and bootleggers who operated in Toledo during the Continue reading The Prohibition Chronicles →

Breweries, Craft Breweries, International

2017 – The Year in Review

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This is the time of year when many people reflect about the year that is coming to an end. So as I was thinking about a topic for my final blog entry of 2017, I thought I’d compile an inventory of the
breweries I visited during the last twelve months.

Continue reading 2017 – The Year in Review →

Craft Breweries, International

Au Canada

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I just returned from a week long trip to Canada. The main purpose of my visit was the attend the 64th North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), which this year were held in Vancouver, BC. As Executive Director of the North Continue reading Au Canada →

Craft Beer, International

The Brotherhood of Beer

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As a beer drinker I have always been impressed by the friendliness of everyone associated with the craft brewing industry. I have interviewed, formally and informally, a number of brewers over the years and have found them to be always willing to share their views on the industry in general and their brewery in particular. My own Continue reading The Brotherhood of Beer →