ABSTRACT
The collective identity of craft breweries is born inherently counter-narrative as it is constructed with reference to anti-industrialization and anti-homogenization. The craft breweries are collectively narrating themselves (and being narrated) in opposition to the multinational breweries known for mass production and standardization. Instead, craft breweries highlight the uniqueness of their brews, respect for handcrafted beer and tradition, and attachment to local communities.
The apparent counter-narrative raises a number of questions addressed in the chapter: is it too simplistic to label the collective identity of craft breweries as counter-narrative? What happens to this collective counter-narrative as craft breweries are becoming mainstream? And how do individual craft breweries draw on and construct the collective counter-narrative in their organizational autobiographies?
Based on an analysis of the online autobiographies of Danish craft breweries, the aim is to explore the usefulness of counter-narrative in conceptualizing identity in the context of the craft brewing movement. The study suggests that the implied duality of ‘counter’ (as being in opposition to ‘master’) is challenged by the way craft breweries construct collective and organizational identities, and argues that the interplay can more accurately be understood as centripetal and centrifugal processes of counter-narrativizations.
