Texas State University’s Colleen Myles, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her research into the social interplay between craft breweries and the communities they reside in.

The contemporary craft brewery boom is having a broader impact on U.S. culture than simply providing an array of beverages to consume. Those small, independent craft breweries are increasingly active participants in their communities’ environmental and social sphere. These breweries often take up and champion local causes, becoming powerful agents of advocacy for sustainability initiatives, wildlife conservation, public spaces, defending the rights of marginalized populations, fighting hunger, homelessness and a host of other causes. Almost half of craft breweries engage in some form of social advocacy, bringing to bear on local issues the innovation and independence for which these businesses are known.  

Myles is a rural geographer and political ecologist with specialties in land and environmental management; (ex)urbanization; (rural) sustainability and tourism; wine, beer and cider geographies (aka fermented landscapes); and agriculture, inclusive of urban, peri-urban and “local.” She holds a level 1 certificate in wine from the Wine Spirit Education Trust, a specialist of Texas wines certification from the Texas Wine School and is a certified specialist of wine by the Society for Wine Educators. She completed her Ph.D. in geography and her master’s in community development both at the University of California-Davis. She earned her bachelor’s with a double major of liberal studies and political science at Sonoma State University.  

Further reading:

Fermented Landscapes

Craft breweries are fermenting change, addressing local ills while serving local ales