Beer, Sociability, and Masculinity in South Africa

Drawing on Geertz' "deep play" and Bourdieu's "exaltation of masculine values," Mager demonstrates how South African Breweries Limited (SAB), makers of Castle Lager and producers of over 90 percent of bottled beer production in the period of Mager' s analysis (p. 9), shaped social values by persistent reaffirmation of masculine beer drinking culture. Students of political economy, industry, masculinity, sport, public culture, and South Africa will all find her book interesting and useful in detailing the complex interweaving of the commerce of beer and masculinity within the social and political history of South Africa.