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It’s the toughest time of year for beer—cold weather, health kicks, and lots of people just staying home. For breweries barely hanging in there, these months can be a knockout blow. From a variety of voices in the industry, here are some ideas about how to make it work until spring.

In this clip from his video course, Allan Branch—founder of History Class Brewing and El Weirdo tacos in Panama City, Florida—explains the usefulness of “fear-setting” as a way to be ready for warning signs that your brewing business could be in trouble.

These are tough times to run a small brewery—but was it ever easy? For perspective and advice on finding success in today’s industry, we reached out to seven successful brewers and entrepreneurs who’ve left it behind.

“There’s nothing romantic about a dirty wood cellar,” says Lauren Woods Limbach, New Belgium’s wood-cellar director and master blender. In this clip, she explains the importance of cleaning and preventive maintenance—especially when it comes to aging foeders.

There are hops in abundance, but beer sales are unpredictable—it’s no mystery why many small breweries are relying on the spot market. Yet many suppliers are aiming to lure brewers back to more flexible contracts that better suit today’s market.

In an updated chapter from our Brewing a Business course with Allan Branch, we identify what makes a business fail—and how to fix those issues before it's too late.

Conditioning in the container may be a path to longer shelf life, but it’s also a traditional way to prepare beer for the drinker—the beer is “alive” until it hits the glass. Here’s a technical look at two traditions that may provide inspiration for today’s brewers.

New Belgium wood-cellar director Lauren Woods Limbach explains the methodical way they forecast maturation times in their foeders, using sampling plans, specific lab tests, and deploying contingency plans when things don’t go as expected.

In Washington state, a new program is helping breweries and other beverage producers give reusable glass bottles a fresh look. Nationally, the cost and supply of new glass—and glaring weaknesses in recycling programs—could make such programs increasingly feasible.

Scott Jennings, Sierra Nevada’s innovation brewmaster in Mills River, North Carolina, offers a closer look at the brewery’s dialed-in approach to bottle conditioning.