In my latest Beer 101 column (which you can read in its entirety here), I contemplate the nature of “beer culture”. I found myself considering the term more carefully after my summer full of travels. It is one of those terms guys like me bandy about rather freely, either expressing it as some Platonic ideal to which we strive, or transforming it into some nebulous cluster of things we appreciate about a geographic area’s approach to beer.

What I strive to do is isolate the elements of what makes a particular beer culture and, I guess, provide a bit of a map legend for how to recognize a good one when we see it.

In the end I come up with the concept of concentric circles to explain how I envision the aspects of beer culture. The centre circle is the nucleus of what creates a good beer culture, and then each step outward is a necessary component building upon that core. (If I wasn’t so danged lazy, I would provide a graphic for you so you can see what I mean. Too bad for you – you’re just going to have to read instead.)

The inner circle is what I dub as “willingness to deviate” – the degree to which a sub-section of consumers is willing to try new things and move out of the traditional beer choices. Surrounding that notion is the second circle, “opportunity”. You need places to actually partake in your willing deviation – good beer pubs, some selection in at least a couple of liquor stores, etc.

The third circle might be a bit contentious. I argue that after opportunity, an area needs a “commitment to local” to continue developing its beer culture. In part, this means supporting local breweries and such, but I think I intend it more broadly. It includes a commitment to beer places that exude a local atmosphere, are possibly owned by local entrepreneurs, and is part of a broader awareness of local products and services. This aspect is about carving a distinct feel for beer in the city/town/region. Local beer is crucial, but unique places to drink that beer matters too.

The fourth circle, and the one that I believe allows beer to move out of niches and into a broader stream of culture is “inclusivity”. Is there a way for a wide range of demographics, personality types and beer preferences to express themselves? A beer culture that focuses too much on a narrow type of consumer (read: beer “geeks”) is going to become stunted. Beer is a populist drink, meaning it should be accessible to large numbers of people. Sure, these days North American Pale Lager sucks up all the oxygen in many places, but muscling that narrow beer flavour aside requires giving people a replacement. Which won’t always be stouts, IPAs, and wood-aged lambics. The same goes for pub atmosphere, brewery branding and imaging and other aspects of beer; there needs to be variety and entry points for multiple consumer types.

The outer circle is made up of the set of factors that affect beer culture, either positively or negatively, but are not in themselves essential. In this circle I include things like a facilitative legal regime, good pub atmosphere, neighbourhood walkability/good transit, beer advocacy by community leaders and recognition of beer as an inherently social beverage.

I believe my conceptualization captures the essence of what comprises a beer culture. While there is, by necessity, some element of proscription – I claim these things are inherently good, and therefore are ingredients to a so-called “good” beer culture. To focus on that is to miss my main point. These five circles are the components that comprise beer culture as a concept. What makes a particular city’s culture unique is HOW they interpret and implement the pillars. There are dozens of ways to deviate. Local flavour is limitless in its forms. There are many ways to go about being inclusive. It is how these components come together that create different beer cultures.

It is why Portland feels so different than Brussels which, in turn, is nothing like Munich, Vancouver or Halifax. I refuse to argue one of those cultures is better than the other. They are different. And they are different because they filled out the five circles in their own way, developing their own “beer culture” along the way.

Or at least those are my two-cents on the matter.