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Paper short abstract:

Focusing on clandestine cooperativist beer manufacturers, this presentation explores how anti-state beer production contributes towards meaningful and value-driven forms of work and solidarity in an autonomous region in Spain.

Paper long abstract:

Beer has long been a staple, both economically and socially, within illegally occupied and self-managed social centres in Spain. Until recently, this beer has predominantly been sourced from large corporations - some of which have ties to Spain's fascist past. Recent developments have seen the emergence of clandestine, artisanal breweries grounded in anarchist and cooperativist principles. These breweries provide their communities with high quality, affordable alternatives to corporate beer while bolstering support for local projects, struggles and organization. This presentation explores the role of clandestine cooperativist beer manufacturers in creating meaningful forms of work and solidarity in an autonomous region in Spain.

Drawing on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork within one clandestine brewery and associated anarchist collectives, cooperatives and social centres, I explore how this social and gastronomic staple has been leveraged to secure and circulate economic and social resources within the region's anarchist and left-libertarian network. While the clandestine nature of these brewing projects is currently essential to their operation, and lends them legitimacy within an anti-state context, their informal status presents long-term challenges and ambiguity in how their products are interpreted and distributed.

Moving beyond a focus on legality and interactions with the state, I explore how foodways here are mobilized to embolden realities beyond the state. Commenting on the importance of establishing value-consistent forms of work within this politically-charged field, I focus on the brewers' ability to establish confluence between their strong political ideals, the structures of the cooperatives in which they operate, and their distribution networks.