ABSTRACT
Craft beer brewing is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy, having emerged only in the mid-1990s in a country that doesn’t have a long history, or tradition, of beer production and consumption. Nevertheless, the last 20 years have seen a steady increase in the number of craft beer breweries across the country, often coupled with the creation of dedicated networks, festivals, and events. While most craft breweries seem to be located in urban centres, recent studies have evidenced a growing number of small microbreweries in rural/peripheral areas, as well as of the so-called “agricultural craft breweries”, a peculiarity of craft beer production in Italy. This contribution investigates the relevance of craft beer breweries in the creation of a wider local development strategy in a rural/mountainous area of the Marche region of Italy, and particularly in the village of Apecchio, which is the seat of three craft breweries and of the “National Association of Beer Cities”. This initiative was created by the local administration of Apecchio, in partnership with local entrepreneurs, in an attempt to link locally produced beer with other regional gastronomic products as a way to foster craft-beer-related tourism development under the umbrella concept of “Alogastronomia” (ale-gastronomy).
