Most every country has an iconic national brand, from Heineken in Holland to Tsingtao in China. But with the exception of Ireland’s Guinness, every label represents the same style: light, crisp, clear, Pilsner lager. 

This talk explores how diverse local brewing traditions became standardized around the world, while also exploring the craft beer movement that has sought to challenge the commodification of beer.

Speaker

Jeffrey M. Pilcher is a Professor of Food Studies and Director of the Culinaria Research Centre at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Food in World History, 3d ed (2023), Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food (2012), and most recently, Hopped Up: How Travel, Trade, and Taste Made Beer a Global Commodity (2024).

Moderator

Tom Hoogervorst is a senior researcher at KITLV. He is interested in the languages and histories of Indonesia, including culinary history. In his recent research he studies Indonesian cuisines in relation to the wider world and how Indonesian cuisines have developed and adapted to local circumstances in the “diaspora”, specifically Suriname, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Thursday 27 March from 15.30 – 17.00 PM (CET).

Registration

If you want to join this seminar on location, please register via: kitlv@kitlv.nl

If you wish to join this seminar online, please register here

Organizers

This seminar is organized within the TASTE project: 'Trajectories of taste: An analytical framework of culinary change after migration'. 

Image

Craft beer in a Singapore hawker stall. Photographer: Rick Halpern.

Flyer