Handcrafted Careers Working the Artisan Economy of Craft Beer

"For many people, a career spent brewing beer is a dream come true. But who gets to transform that dream into a reality? Eli Wilson deftly exposes the unequal pathways into the craft brewing industry."—Christine L. Williams, author of Gaslighted: How the Oil and Gas Industry Shortchanges Women Scientists

"In this lively examination of career pathways of craft brewers, Wilson shows us how the dynamic interplay between industry structures and workers’ own cultural resources and networks produces starkly different opportunities and outcomes. A must-read for anyone wrestling with the uncertainty and individualization of the new economy."—Erin A. Cech, author of The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Reproduces Inequality

"Not only does Handcrafted Careers provide us with a contemporary guidebook to understanding how the career pathways of craft beer workers are navigated, but Wilson’s work in this insightful analysis gives social scientists a way to persist in making significant contributions even in uncertain times."—David L. Brunsma, coauthor of Beer and Racism: How Beer Became White, Why It Matters, and the Movements to Change It

"Central to the sociology of work are detailed accounts of how workers conceive their labor. In Eli Wilson's impressive Handcrafted Careers we go behind the scenes of a creative industry to hear the voices of workers in craft beer. Readers will never drink a pint again without thinking of these dedicated men and women."—Gary Alan Fine, author of Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work

"Wilson offers a meticulously researched study of the diverse career pathways within the contemporary American craft beer industry and of the interplay of individual choices and structural forces that shape workers’ experiences. Wilson’s unique perspective as a former craft brewery worker, now sociologist, instills thoughtful nuance to his study of notions of craft work, authenticity, and artisanal production, and the constraining, if subtle, influences of social inequality on employees’ handcrafted careers. The result is a book in which clear writing and engaging analysis invite a wide range of readers to gain a rich understanding of the motivations and challenges of today’s working Americans."—Theresa McCulla, author of Insatiable City: Food and Race in New Orleans

Unpacks the problems and privileges of pursuing a career of passion by exploring work inside craft breweries.

As workers attempt new modes of employment in the era of the Great Resignation, they face a labor landscape that is increasingly uncertain and stubbornly unequal. With Handcrafted Careers, sociologist Eli Revelle Yano Wilson dives headfirst into the everyday lives of workers in the craft beer industry to address key questions facing American workers today: about what makes a good career, who gets to have one, and how careers progress without established models.

Wilson argues that what ends up contributing to divergent career paths in craft beer is a complex interplay of social connections, personal tastes, and cultural ideas, as well as exclusionary industry structures. The culture of work in craft beer is based around “bearded white guy” ideals that are gendered and racialized in ways that limit the advancement of women and people of color. A fresh perspective on niche industries, Handcrafted Careers offers sharp insights into how people navigate worlds of work that promote ideas of authenticity and passion-filled careers even amid instability.