From brewery inception to build-out to consumer transaction, there are a number of facets of the beer industry that could be impacted by crypto platforms. And while the silence of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on all of this is deafening, we’re going to assume that they won’t completely drop the hammer on the entire decentralized economy (even though most initial coin offerings are absolutely garbage and probably shouldn’t be allowed). Essentially blockchain provides values in a couple of core areas of the ecosystem:
- The middleman’s slice
- Security
- An auditable history
- Accountability per the rules of the developed ecosystem
- Distributed decision-making and discovery
Most coins fall in a certain bucket type (largely for regulatory reasons), which include currency (e.g., Bitcoin), utility token (e.g., Basic Attention Token), and equity token (e.g., Decentralized Autonomous Organization). (Most coins try to avoid being labeled as an equity token since they are then deemed to be governed under securities law.) Before we can fully break down the lifecycle impact of crypto on craft beer, it’s important to note a few things about the craft-beer industry that make it a uniquely interesting market for a coin-based ecosystem:
- The craft-beer industry is one of the most collaborative, consumer-driven industries there is. People inside and outside of the industry want to support the industry, be a part of the industry, and potentially own some of the industry.
- There are a lot of “middlemen” in craft beer.
- It is extremely expensive to open a brewery. Many businesses have to take out high-interest loans in order to finance their dream. Most breweries cost between $300,000 and $700,000 to open, not including the land they are built on or the salary that the owners forego.
- The craft-beer industry is moving in the direction of hyper-local. While we see slowing gains or declines from some of the larger brands, smaller brands with a quality product are thriving.
- Consumers would love to help craft brewers while seeing a return on their investment through higher valuation for the coin.
We’ll take a look at three core elements of the craft-beer industry where crypto could aid, starting with inception and build-out, then sales, followed by distribution and trading.