Egypt's Beer : : Stella, Identity, and the Modern State / / Omar D. Foda.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: Foda, Omar D.,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (264 p.)

Although alcohol is generally forbidden in Muslim countries, beer has been an important part of Egyptian identity for much of the last century. Egypt’s Stella beer (which only coincidentally shares a name with the Belgian beer Stella Artois) became a particularly meaningful symbol of the changes that occurred in Egypt after British Occupation. Weaving cultural studies with business history, Egypt’s Beer traces Egyptian history from 1880 to 2003 through the study of social, economic, and technological changes that surrounded the production and consumption of Stella beer in Egypt, providing an unparalleled case study of economic success during an era of seismic transformation. Delving into archival troves—including the papers of his grandfather, who for twenty years was CEO of the company that produced Stella—Omar D. Foda explains how Stella Beer achieved a powerful presence in all popular forms of art and media, including Arabic novels, songs, films, and journalism. As the company’s success was built on a mix of innovation, efficient use of local resources, executive excellence, and shifting cultural dynamics, this is the story of the rise of a distinctly Egyptian “modernity” seen through the lens of a distinctly Egyptian brand.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Notes on Translation and Transliteration -- Abbreviations -- The Egyptian Beer Industry -- Introduction -- 1. Grand Plans in Glass Bottles: Importing the Modern Beer Industry into Egypt -- 2. A Star Rises: Stella and the Egyptian Beer Industry, 1920–1940 -- 3. Crowning the Pyramid: The Egyptian Beer Industry’s “Mature” Period, 1940–1952 -- 4. Stella Is Always Delicious: Selling Beer in the Time of Nasser, 1952–1958 -- 5. A Pan-Arab Brew: Stella and the United Arab Republic, 1958–1961 -- 6. Getting the Dutch Out: How Stella Became the Beer of the Egyptian Regime, 1961–1972 -- 7. Opening Up Stella: The Infitah and the Beer Business in Egypt, 1973–1985 -- 8. An American Pharaoh and the Egyptian Star: Stella, 1985–2003 -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index