Appearing ahead of the Craft Brewers Conference, where so many conversations about the state of the industry happen, this issue is always a special one for us.
For our Brewing Industry Guide, our team of editors and writers are continually working to understand the industry’s most talked-about problems, so that we can make useful contributions to those conversations—and, we hope, the solutions that come out of them. We intentionally focus our reporting on the search for what works—among the thousands of small breweries out there, which ideas are finding success?—and that’s what we aim to share in these pages.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what we’ve packed into the Spring issue.
Success stories: Our Case Studies take a look at Oregon’s Sunriver—where smart operational choices are driving growth as well as award-winning beer—and New Jersey’s “living beer project” The Seed, where customers are catching brewer Amanda Cardinali’s contagious passion for saison blends and local ingredients.
Events that drive traffic: With more drinkers staying home on the couch, creative events can help entice them out to the taproom. Here are some experiences that are working.
Sales velocity: Here’s what distributors wish you knew about how to keep your beers moving at retail, so they can buy more from you.
Taking risks, finding growth: Excerpted from Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast Episode 400—craft-beer vibe check!—our cofounder Jamie Bogner and WeldWerks founder Neil Fisher look back on the past decade of their businesses, finding perspective on the present.
Bright spots and opportunities: It ain’t all doom and gloom out there. Kate Bernot zooms in on the economic data, considers the bigger picture, and finds wiggle room for growth—for example, in fine dining. (Also check out CB&B Podcast Episode 404, where Kate and Jamie share further perspective on this topic.)
More juice from the squeeze: The challenge of increasing efficiency and yield while reducing costs—but not flavor—is an important part of the brewer’s craft. L.A.’s Highland Park offers an award-winning example of how to go about it.
Rent check: Tips on how to keep your brewery’s occupancy costs under control so they don’t break your business.
But they’re all special: Are happy-hour deals a good fit for your taproom? Here are insights from breweries that have made them work.
Biggering your quality program: Does your lab have what it needs, given your brewery’s size? QA/QC specialist Jessie Smith maps out the equipment you’ll need as your business grows.
The latest on hops: Stan Hieronymus reports on how federal cuts are undermining research that brewers care about, why visibility still matters amid the hop surplus, and what suppliers say you should be asking them today.
Moderation is strength: After a flurry of it’s-bad-for-you headlines, Greg Engert makes the case for reestablishing beer as the drink of moderation for a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
They’re killers: Might yeast-killing yeast be a solution to neutralize cross-contamination?
And there’s more, including new and notable brewing products and a closer look at lighter wheat malts for hazy IPAs.
While many of these articles are already available to our Industry All Access subscribers, others appear in this issue for the first time. However, there are some articles that only go to our All Access subscribers, not into the print edition—such as these on the benefits of installing EV chargers or offering places to camp. So, to make sure you get all our coverage sent to your inbox as soon as we finish producing it, be sure to sign up for Industry All Access.
Are there are other industry challenges you think we ought to cover? Or, have you tried a creative solution that’s working at your brewery? We want to hear about it. With feedback, suggestions, trash talk, whatever you got, you can reach out to me anytime at [email protected], or to Jamie at [email protected].