Case Study

Far from any coasts and hours from the nearest big city, Ozark Beer has diligently grown its business in Northwest Arkansas with highly drinkable, reasonably priced beer and a locally rooted ethos.

With careful planning and carefree beers, the New Jersey brewery took itself from a Shore town taproom to a three-state powerhouse.

Was Heater Allen brewing lager before it was cool? Trick question. Lager has always been cool—it just took the rest of you a while to catch on. Here, the daughter-father team Lisa and Rick Allen lay out their approach to running a lasting niche business.

New Orleans’ Urban South outpaced its own ambitious goals for Louisiana. Now it’s thinking big in Texas—and beyond.

Harvesting their own grains and yeasts for country ales and lagers, Bonnie and John Branding are out to prove they can build a sustainable farm business by growing beers that taste like their place.

A small Michigan brewpub created a monster with its increasingly popular smoothie seltzer, expanding its footprint and inspiring imitators.

The pandemic hit urban, taproom-focused breweries such as Chicago’s Hopewell harder than most. Despite keeping its taproom closed, Hopewell has survived and thrived by leaning into to-go beer, widening its offerings, and widening its welcome.

San Diego lamented the loss of Gordon Biersch’s consistently stellar lagers—until, about $8 million later, Puesto Cervecería opened in the same spot, with a new look, bright Mexican fare, and the same brewer and brewhouse as before.

Deep roots in the community and wide-open doors were in the schematics of Green Bench Brewing of St. Petersburg, Florida, from the start. Since then, head brewer and co-owner Khris Johnson has shepherded the brewery from strength to strength.

A strong off-premise retail strategy—including smart packaging decisions—is helping to keep Chicago’s Revolution Brewing afloat during the pandemic.