Colleen Myles is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She has a PhD in geography and a master's in community development from the University of California, Davis. She 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 (urban, peri-urban and sustainable).
Some scholars say beer and wine — and fermentation in general — helped develop civilization and shaped culture and landscapes over millennia. Today, craft breweries, which are by definition small and independent and thus focus their production on innovative, small-scale methods rather than industrialized, mass-produced ones, are still playing that role. They are increasingly prominent players in America’s […]
