Crafting Culture: Tapping into Identity and Place through the Craft Beer Movement in Oklahoma

Abstract

In this anthropological study, I take an ethnographic approach to analyzing the constructions of identity in Oklahoma through the craft beer movement. I use the concept of a “sense of place,” where I take a look into the legal changes that have affected the community, underlying religious influences, and the two sides of gentrification: growth and development on the one hand, and displacement on the other. In relation to the craft beer community, I examine the hiring process and the importance of identifying those who will “fit in,” and analyze the labels of three different breweries in Oklahoma City in terms of how they represent an Oklahoma identity, as well as how they market themselves individually. I also discuss how gendered perceptions of beer types and the glasses they are served in influence customer choices as reflections of identity. I explore the concept of taste, first explaining the physiological features of taste, then associating this with the taste of place. I then identify three social statuses within the craft beer community: the average drinker, the “beer nerd” aficionado, and the industry worker. Using the double concept of “taste” and identifying specific practices of each group, I highlight the distinctions between these statuses. Altogether, I conclude that the craft beer movement is a type of “imagined community” that has ties to the local, as well as the national and global.