Craft Beer is Here to Stay!

A few years ago I was writing articles about the state of craft beer. There were a lot less breweries then, and many were opening and closing. I felt that it was just business as usual, and there was probably half as many craft beer drinkers as there is now. I had read a lot of articles about the state of craft brewing because many people thought the movement was seeing a death knell. (One critic went even so far as to say that fruit beer was going to do the movement in!) I was in the trenches and attending multiple festivals, and drinking at tap rooms. Looking at sales at liquor stores led me to believe craft beer as a whole was far more healthy than the naysayers were willing to believe. I had also spent a lot of time in the restaurant business and felt that no more breweries were closing than the average number of restaurants as a whole. And no one ever said that dining out was in a crisis!

Fast forwarding to the present day, we have a plethora of more breweries, It clearly feels like more people are drinking craft beer than ever. I have visited over 200 tap rooms this year, and I don’t know when before 2020 I could’ve ever said this. I have drank beer in six states, and consumed craft beer from well over half of the states in our union. There is more craft beer being made than ever. Speaking about Indiana by itself, its nearly 170 active breweries is quite an achievement for anywhere. Who knows if we have reached the zenith, but I know of several breweries that are set to open next year. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that if all those breweries are going to stay solvent, a lot of people will need to drink craft beer! The current pandemic will no doubt put strain upon a multitude of breweries, but I firmly believe that the strongest ones will weather the storm.

Looking at the market, it has to be as competitive as ever. I have been to seven metropolitan areas in Indiana with more than five breweries, and none of them were empty, even in the middle of the day. And while the bigger cities are nearly saturated with breweries, growth is continuing in small towns where there is less competition. I can’t tell you how many times this year I have driven nearly to the ends of the earth to find a small tap room bustling with good beer and cheer miles from anywhere. It’s hard to fathom just how much craft beer is out there. And I’m the one that’s trying to visit every single brewery in Indiana!

So there’s no rhyme or reason for why our beloved craft beer scene is so healthy, but I believe it speaks for the quality of brewing on many levels. I have talked to many brewers in my journeys and feel this bunch really knows what they’re doing. Even if you only figure in six beers for a brewery, when you multiply that by 170 that’s a lot of beer being made in our state! And when you see that most states have a healthy beer scene, the amount of craft beer available now is astronomical. And if you’re on untapped, you will never run out of beer to check in!

So for good beer to stay successful, the breweries need to know their clientele, and always make the best beer possible. New endeavors need to start in places where there is room for competition. No one knows exactly how much hard work is needed, but it will take a lot in this age to make a niche. There is dumb luck in all of this, but marketing and good business acumen are necessary to stay relevant. If people didn’t want to drink good beer, this many breweries could not stay open. Location is key to some successful breweries, but I think if you want a beer to be well-received, you need to be either very local, or willing to travel. There is room for everyone in this industry at least for now. And for me, if you make good beer, I’ll find you!

As I write this article, I am enjoying good beer at the Pearl Street Taphouse in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I’ve already secured my Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, and I am having a pleasant holiday weekend. We are set to visit a place called Harbor and Hops where I am told there are dozens of types of good beer. We certainly have lots of good beer in southern Indiana. And as I wrote in the last article, were good beer dwells, you often find excellent food as well. I hope to finish my brewery research projects over the next several weeks, but new breweries keep popping up and that’s a good problem to have. This is an active beer scene, and if you like craft beer, you couldn’t ask for anymore!

So getting back to my original statement I have looked at craft beer from the perspective of being there and drinking it. I have attended festivals even during this pandemic, and have seen a lot of good beer poured. We’ve had dozens of good beers on our podcast(A Gateway to Lesser Things), and are set to continue trying good beer as long as it’s being produced. This is the beer drinkers golden age and it’s been along time since we could say that. Craft beer is here to stay, and I hope you have somewhere that you can enjoy it. If I see you out there, let’s have a pint together!