Packaging

Let’s give the DO topic some oxygen—here are some practical ways that breweries using inline and mobile canning setups can reduce O2 in the package and better control freshness.

When uncertainty rules the day, brewhouse-equipment purchases need to offer trusted ROI. Breweries should look for equipment that solves today’s problems—but also tees up future flexibility.

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.

The aluminum-can shortage has led many breweries to take a fresh look at putting brands back into glass bottles. Logistically, of course, this is no mere flipping of a switch. Here are some factors to consider.

Breweries that altered their businesses to stay afloat during the pandemic are beginning to see that many of those changes will stick around. Here are several ways the industry will look different on the other side.

Tectonic shifts in buying behavior have caused a tidal wave of disruptions to packaged goods. Brewers have mostly managed to surf that wave, barely replacing lost draft volumes. Yet as consumer demand evolves, new formats offer new opportunities...

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

Drinkers are visiting less but spending more when they do. Package and store sales remain strong, while draft margins remain scant. Here we round up some recent data and analyses relevant to independent brewers.

The crunch on aluminum cans comes just when COVID-19 fears have made breweries more dependent than ever on packaged-beer sales. Relief is unlikely to arrive soon.

The times, they are a-changin’. Gone is the old startup mantra of “plan big for growth,” replaced by a lean “test the concept and grow with demand” philosophy. That's pushing equipment manufacturers toward innovative, scalable solutions.