The Case of Beer

The Science of Economies - Important Economic Terms

Introduction

Beer is beer, right? Well, that depends. How people consume beer varies quite a bit.

Let's compare the large-scale production of bottled beer, with the small-scale production of crafty brew-pub beer. For your information, most bars don't produce the beer they sell, but brew-pubs actually produce beer in the back.

Craft vs. Regular Beer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzSKcTzA4xE

How Craft Beer is Disrupting Traditions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHhIkynELNQ 

 

Description 

In this case study, we want you to think about the differences between brewing in a large plant, and brewing locally at the drinking place. Think about the economic terminology used to qualify the industries. But also think about the carbon imprint, pollution, and also the different pricing, marketing and advertising strategies each producer might prefer to use.

First of all, complete the table below, using Important Economic Terms, as well as the NAICS website.

Establishment	Product	Scale of Production	Income Sensitivity	Supply Chain	Industry	Sector	NAICS Code
Bottled Beer Plant	Good	Massive	Inferior	Manufacturer	Alcoholic Beverages	Secondary	312120
Craft Beer Pub	Service	Hyper local	Normal	Retailer	Drinking Places	Secondary	722410

https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1181553 

Second, use the following reflection questions to write up an economic strategy for the either the Bottled Beer Producer, OR, the Craft Beer Pub. You don't have to answer all of the questions.

You might not have all the answers yet, and you might have to look up a few definitions, but this activity is meant to get you thinking about how economists analyze industries.

• Is your brewer selling a good or a service? What does it matter?
• Is your brewer providing diversity in the beer industry, or is beer a commodity?
• Is your brewer mostly focussed on reducing production costs, or new products?
• Is your brewer dealing with beer drinkers (consumers) directly?
• Is your brewer sensitive to income changes? how?
• Is your brewer using different inputs than other breweries?
• Is your brewer facing limits to production?
• Is your brewer affected by local culture?
• Is your brewer producing waste? Is it a BAD?
• Is your brewer distributing the product in a way that pollutes?
• Is your brewer using other producers' waste, as INPUTS?
• Is your brewer most likely to advertise on national TV?
• Is your brewer likely to charge more for its beer?
• Is your brewer's labour force more likely to be unionized?

Evaluation Criteria 

Your solution will be graded using the following expectations.

• The answers are explained concisely
• The answers cover the issues of terminology
• The answers cover the issues of circular economics
• The answers cover the issues of market strategy

Guidelines

Your solution should be written up as a 500 word text, using at least three paragraphs to cover the three sets of issues.

The text should be focussed on qualifying the industry of your chosen brewery, and have a comment about how this industry is different from other ways of making beer.

Deliverables

Submit a 500 word solution on the Innovatank Case Platform.

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Markets

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Aggregates

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Macroeconomic Policy

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Green Economics

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