O subcircuito espacial da produção da cerveja artesanal no Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Since the 1990´s the brewing industry in Brazil has gone through deep changes concerning both its functioning and spatial distribution. Such changes have followed the transformations triggered by the globalization process of economy and the society which has become more and more willing to have access to imported and differentiated goods. It has also been observed an increase in the offer of different kinds of beer in the country as well as the implementation of independent microbreweries and craft breweries. The production of those types of beer, once concentrated mainly in the south and southeast region of the country, has been attracting new entrepreneurs in Brazilian regions which had not appeared as craft beer producers ten years ago, but which now have started to show significant commercial and production growth. In that very sense the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply– MAPA (2017) points at a quick expansion of the segment of Brazilian craft beer in the northeast region. Within that context the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in the Brazilian Northeast, appears to have its own independent microbreweries installed and occupies the second place in the region with registered products (MAPA, 2017). It is notorious the lack of spatial oriented studies on the brewer segment in the state, and because of that, the current research aims to understand how the spatial sub circuits of craft beer features itself in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. In order to analyze the spatial productive circuits, authors such as Antonio Carlos Moraes, Milton Santos, Maria Laura Silveira, Ricardo Castillo, Samuel Frederico and Mónica Arroyo have given their contribution. The methodology applied consists of three phases: bibliographical review related to theorists and concepts; document research over both craft beer production and the normative basis of the brewer activity through data obtained from the following institutions: IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), ABRACERVA (Brazilian Craft Beer Association), CERVBRASIL (Brazilian Beer Industry Association), MAPA e SEBRAE( Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service); field research which collected primary data through visits, interviews and questionnaires. As a result the research allowed to understand that in Rio Grande do Norte state part of the spatial circuits of great beer brands articulates together with a spatial sub circuit of Potiguar craft beer production which is subordinated not only to the global circuit of barley, indispensable raw material to the production of craft beer, but also to a local circuit, for it concentrates its productive steps in Potiguar territory and mainly for the fact that the producers add special ingredients to the brew, such as fruits and native herbs. By the end of 2019 it was possible to identify twenty-five independent brands and over three hundred homebrewers around the state. The current research sheds light on that new dynamic in Rio Grande do Norte, thus contributing to the knowledge and development of the activity.