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Beyond the Ball Announcement: Getting Past the Can Crunch’s Latest Twist

Ball’s new minimum orders and higher prices have left independent brewers scrambling. Besides higher costs industry-wide, likely knock-on effects include streamlined SKUs, a return to labeling and shrink sleeves, and a boom in digital can printing.

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Rising Prices, Shrinking Supplies: Malt Is in for a Rough Year

A historically poor barley harvest is piling on to supply-chain and cost issues that independent brewers have been facing with raw materials. Here’s what you need to know before placing your next order.

American Real Ale: What Condition Cask Condition Is In

Does slow, subtle cask ale still have a place in today’s variety-driven, can-cluttered American scene? Along with a primer on the gear and vocabulary, here’s why this is an endangered tradition this side of the Atlantic—and why it refuses to die.

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Subscriptions, Perks, and Play: Strategies to Drive Recurring DTC Orders

Recurring payments, exclusive memberships, loyalty rewards, and games are among the ways that breweries of all sizes can keep customers engaged in e-commerce.

Infographic: The Winningest States at GABF

Which states have won the most medals in the Great American Beer Festival, relative to the total breweries in the state? Which ones win gold most often?

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Hop Maturity: The Impact of When They Pick

Hops vary from farm to farm, lot to lot, and year to year—but few variables have as much influence on the final aroma and flavor of the hops as when they’re harvested. Stan Hieronymus explains the developing science.

Best in Beer 2021 Readers’ Choice: Favorite Packages & Styles

We like to think that Craft Beer & Brewing readers are often ahead of the trends. So what are their favorite packages and styles to drink right now? Our annual Readers’ Choice poll offers a glimpse.

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Strength in Numbers: How Craft-on-Craft Deals Turn “Acquisition” from Dirty Word to Mutual Opportunity

While some brewery owners seek a way out while keeping the brands they’ve built alive, others see opportunities to grow, diversify, and gain efficiencies.

Kirin Buys Bell’s, Folds It Under New Belgium

Through its Lion subsidiary—the same that bought New Belgium in 2019—Kirin has purchased the Michigan-based craft icon. Founder Larry Bell says, “this was the right time.”

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In a Jam: Record Heat Causes Shortages, Driving Up Fruit Costs

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but fruit does—and yet, it can be a finite resource. For all the talk of how climate could affect malt and hops, fruit is another raw material of modern beer that’s vulnerable to weather, as well as to supply-chain issues.