Managing a Two-Sided Business Amid Tariff Uncertainty

In popular parlance, the phrase “may you live in interesting times” has long been viewed as a curse. Today, virtually anyone working at a small brewery would relish the return of less interesting, perhaps even precedented, times. Yet they’ll find no relief in 2025, as ever-changing trade policies continue to take their toll.

Taking a step back from the day-to-day tariff upheaval, though, illustrates the degree to which the instability of the past five years has changed the industry in profound ways. Small breweries have a particular set of pain points, given their dual identity within both the hospitality and manufacturing industries.

“It’s because of the uncertainty—on again, off again, up, down sideways—that people are having trouble planning the next round of growth for their business,” says Ray Stout, executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. “The industry is at a bit of a tipping point.”