Browsing by Author "Tuominen, Aino"

Craft beer has become very popular in Finland and around the world in the last few years. The aim of this thesis was to find out why consumers who drink craft beer are interested in it. In this thesis, I examine the socio economical backgrounds of craft beer consumers, the place and company in which craft beer is being consumed and the differences between craft beer and commercial beer. The data of this thesis were collected in a questionnaire, which was shared in the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. The questionnaire received answers from 185 respondents, most of whom were 20-34-year-old highly educated men. A factor analysis was conducted, based on which mean variables were constructed. The data were analyzed by cross-tabulation and Mann-Whitney’s U-test. According to the results, craft beer is often consumed alone, with partner or with friends. The drinking place was often either home or friends place. Also, the respondents who drank craft beer more often tended to think themselves more often as beer enthusiasts than those respondents who drank craft beer irregularly. Those who drank craft beer more often held the domesticity, quality, different microbreweries, different craft beers and the overall experience as more important features than those who drank craft beer more rarely. Also, those who drank craft beer more often were ready to go after the craft beer more likely than those who drank craft beer more rarely. The attitude towards craft beer and large breweries’ commercial beer is different. In the case of the craft beer, more attention is paid to the different features of the beer, like foaming and acidity. Also, many other aspects are highlighted in the selection criteria of craft beer: domesticity and locality, reviews, type of beer and the brewery. It can be concluded, that there are plenty of different factors which affect the interest towards craft beer and the consumption of craft beer and commercial beer is situational and related to the regularity of drinking beer.