| Beginner |
Consumer in transition |
“I was introduced to a weizenbier by a friend, found it amazing and wanted to know more. I started to notice more the beers that were on the corner of the supermarket shelf.”(E13). “I already liked beer and I tried new labels according to their appearance in the market.” (E9) |
“There is the consumer who is at the beginning of their career, who is leaving the industrialized beers, so he looks for beers similar to industrialized beers.” (E38) “There are people who are starting to drink good beers and also drink regular beers, that’s all.” (E37) |
| Little knowledge |
“To tell the truth I still don’t know how to consume, I’m still learning, but I still like it cold.” (E3). “There are those who are just beginning, they have little knowledge, and usually only drink a specific style” (E20) |
“I consider myself to be an apprentice of the product because it has been a short time that I’ve been involved with beer or any beverage.” (E32) “I’m kind of a baby, I’m a zygote actually, I’m not even a beginner.” (E36) |
| Ignorance of consumer practices |
“Nothing specific. I only try to keep beers that are special and recommended for this purpose.”(E4) “No ritual, at the most one photo” (E16) |
“No, I don’t have any protocol.” (E47) “No, I’m starting to take more risks in the harmonization, but I don’t have a definite habit.” (E52) |
| Low product loyalty / High brand and style loyalty |
“Yes. I’m an unconditional fan of wheat beers.”(E7) “My refrigerator can’t be without a witbier.” (E5) |
“So, I have my favorite brewery, I repeat, I repeat the beers I like a lot, but, what I do most is repeat the beer I like.” (E34) |
| Adventurer |
Avid consumer of discovery |
“No, I like all styles because each one seeks to offer consumers different tastes and flavors.”(E27) “No, I like to try different styles, I think it’s part of the fun to know different styles and brands.” (E12) |
“There is always one who is desperate to try everything.” (E38) “It’s that guy who has been introduced to the craft beer world and tries to explore different things, tries to look for new labels.” (E51) |
| Disinterest in consumer practices |
“I have no specific ritual. But if I come across many options, I usually take a long time to choose.”(E5) “Nothing specific. I only try to keep beers that are special and recommended for this purpose.”(E23) |
“I don’t have it, I like to drink.” (E46) “No, I’m starting to take more risks in the harmonization, but I don’t have a definite habit.” (E52) |
| High product loyalty and low brand and style loyalty |
“I have my preferences, but I drink everything. I think it’s important to know the styles and their formulations.”(E31) “I don’t think about loyalty. I don’t have a favorite style. I like a lot of things.” (E17) |
“I think that to stick to a brand, to a style, is to miss out on the best of beer, which is the question of variety, this infinite possibility of experience.” (E33) |
| Enthusiast or Beer Evangelist
|
Enthusiast of the beer culture |
“Usually I usually record what I am consuming and share on social networks.” (E21). “I feel enthusiastic about getting other people into the craft market.” (E2) |
“I want these people to discover a new world, to have the same experiences I had, it’s like I want to convert these people into the world of good beers.” (E38) |
| Need to be recognized as a consumer |
“As someone who is not afraid of the new and has many good stories and indications to share. I love recommending people things like music, books and beers. I feel useful, helpful and smarter.”(E26). |
“Well, knowledge is critical for you to influence someone, and the feeling is gratitude, you feel high, you feel, as I would say, good and more interesting, I feel more important.” (E45) |
| Beer is part of your lifestyle |
“My house is full of decorations based around beer, even my dog has a beer name” (E2) |
“If having many beer themed shirts and caps, having a dog named after a beer, having a home decorated with items, going to themed events and having drunk over a thousand beers is being a fan, then I am.” (E48) |
|
Expert
|
Knowledgeable about the product |
“As a professional in the field, I have a lot of knowledge on the subject.” (E15). “It’s been ten years dedicated to the study of beer, although I’m not a sommelier, I have a vast knowledge, I even make homemade beer.” (E6) |
“Yes, I have some knowledge, after four years reading about it, I took some basic courses, and tasted a lot of labels, but I still have a lot to learn and try.” (E35) “Yes, so, I consider myself a product expert because I took a sommelier course, I have already been working three years in this area, so I already have a good foundation.”(E44) |
| They are regarded as opinion makers |
“There are simple consumers with no interest in studying, and advanced scholars, who end up teaching a lot of people.” (E22) “I like to learn from those who really know about beer.” (E18) |
“Sometimes I find that people who have been drinking longer, as well as in regard to who drinks wine, they have a certain aura, as if they were opinion makers for the beginner.” (E43) |
| Knowledgeable about consumer practices and rituals |
“I pour, appreciate its color, smell it deeply and then take the first generous drink so that all my taste buds can appreciate it and the intensity of the experience is as great as possible.”(E1) “From label and shelf life analysis to cooling, serving and environment everything is done with care.” (E28) |
“I always try to see if it is fresh, well stored at the time of purchase, and at the time of consumption, I try to do a basic tasting routine trying to observe the characteristics of beer, I try not to be biased by comments from other colleagues and I always try to look at the positive side in relation to its defects.”(E51) |
|
Beer Snob
|
Disliked among other consumers |
“The type who does not know and arrives boasting, not trying to understand the rules of certain places and comes full of themselves or wanting to understand more than everyone else already there.” (E4) |
“There are those who really know and there are those who pretend to know just to look good.” (E48) |
| Tries to enforce rules |
“I realized that a (small) part want to make a fuss, impose unimportant rules. Luckily they are only a few.” (E09) The guy who thinks he knows a lot and ends up talking bullshit. (E29) |
[During a Bottle Share at Hey Ho Specialty Bar] The evening continued with information exchange and good humor, until at the end, I remember one of the participants who had not liked the selection said that at the next meeting they should bring better beers because otherwise it wouldn’t be worth it to make available the beers he had for the event. (Daily Participant Observation) |
| The need to show superiority through consumption |
“Yes, the beer snob, just to say he has money, he has a collection with a thousand labels, they buy liters. In fact, this guy doesn’t even appreciate it, he’s just passing in real life and on social networks.”(E17) “There are people who appreciate it, and people who drink to say they have money (status).” (E14) |
“But unfortunately there is that boring guy who thinks he’s better than you because he drinks rare or more expensive beers, and wrinkles his nose at the label you’re drinking, unfortunately human beings are like that, it’s not the fault of beer.”(E35) |
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Source: Research Data (2019).