Reconstructing the microbrewery taproom experiencescape through narratives in online travel reviews: A case from Houston,Texas USA

Abstract

The number of craft breweries on the American landscape has grown exponentially over the past several decades. The literature on craft beer and beer tourism has grown accordingly. Yet, visitors’ experience of the craft brewery taproom remains an under-examined aspect of this literature. O’Dell (2005) proposed the idea of examining the landscapes of experiences, or experiencescapes, including the physical and social spaces that allow for the co-creation of experiences. The concept has increasingly been used to examine culinary, gastronomic, and wine tourism experiences. Thus, this exploratory study begins to address the gap in the craft beer and beer tourism literature by reconstructing the experiencescape of craft brewery taprooms from visitor narratives in online travel reviews for microbreweries and taproom breweries in Houston, Texas (USA). The study employs thematic narrative analysis to identify the components of the physical and social environments of the brewery taproom that comprise the experiencescape and contribute to positive, memorable experiences. Findings indicate that consuming the craft beer product is only one part of the taproom experiencescape; breweries must consider the taproom experience holistically. Opportunities exist to facilitate a more conscious experiencescape design to engage visitors’ senses for more immersive and memorable experiences.