Praise the beer and pass the ammunition, it's The Year in Beer

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Just Tapped

We’d like to believe that craft beer can somehow manage to stay out of the fray, but that’s probably not realistic. There are forces at work that are bent on promoting some kind of culture war and craft beer will likely feel the effects of that in some way. And so, with a heavy sigh, we ask you to read on.

The Year in Beer

For the first time since the birth of the modern craft beer era, this year will mark a decline in craft beer volume. This is one of the unhappy takeaways from the Brewers Association's 2023 Year in Beer report. According to the report, craft beer’s challenges come in the context of a slow-growth environment for all beer. Pricing, demographics, and marketing/branding continue to be factors in beer’s continued share loss within beverage alcohol.

"Outside of a unique 2020, this will be the first time that independent brewers have seen such a decline,” said Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association. “The primary culprits are slowing demand growth, competition from across beverage alcohol and a changing retail environment." He also pointed to “declining draught sales and reduced shelf space for craft."

As Watson predicted earlier this year, brewery openings and brewery closings are nearing equilibrium. So far in 2023, about 420 breweries opened and roughly 385 closed. While openings still outpaced closing, the difference between the two (35) is the smallest in recent years. In 2022, about 550 opened while about 200 closed. In 2021, an estimated 710 breweries opened while 176 closed.

The report noted that supply chain issues moderated somewhat in 2023, but climate change and persisting disruptions challenged brewers throughout the year. Climatic stresses affected barley crops in North America and Europe, while hop production was down because of market forces within the hop-growing industry.

Sure, there are plenty of challenges, but Watson sees "the overall popularity of the category" as a bright spot. “While many individual businesses are struggling, there is good news in the continued overall popularity of the category,” he said."Yes, things are more challenging, but independent brewers still sell more than one out of eight beers in the United States; beer drinkers spend roughly one out of four of their beer dollars on a beer from a small and independent brewer; and the industry remains a source of jobs and community across the country."

Back in May, The Taster Tray discussed the need for the kind of “new occasions with new flavors and innovations” that Watson mentioned. You can revisit that issue of The Taster Tray here. In the meantime, keep your head up and shoulders back. Carry on.

Praise the Beer and Pass the Ammunition

A brewery is working to open in Norfolk, Virginia. After some opposition, the city just agreed to issue the permits required for Armed Forces Brewing to move forward. Not big news, eh? Well, this new brewery comes complete with a healthy dose of controversy, which you can read about here. Also, this brewery did some remarkable fundraising. The controversy and the fundraising are indelibly linked.

Armed Forces Brewing has attracted 9,500 individual investors who have invested between $100 and $100,000+ each. It's a crowdfunding effort on steroids. According to information on the company's website, and some simple math, these investors have ponied up at least $3.8 million and as much as $15 million. Consider just one of the investment levels reported: over 1,400 people invested between $1,000 and $5,000. That is at least $1.4 million and as much as $7 million. And it is just one of five investment levels.

That is a lot of money. So how'd they do it? Armed Forces Brewing is not shy about its political and social leanings, relying on conservative iconography in its branding, its marketing, and its appeals to potential investors. Like videos of guys firing assault rifles and an advert warning off any investors who have ever watched The View or taken their child to a drag show.

In a world where most breweries and other businesses try to at least appear neutral, Armed Forces Brewing is using conservativism as a cornerstone of its business. It has worked very well. Those 9,500 investors didn't jump on board and pony up as much as $15 million because they think the logo is cute or because they're so certain the beer is going to be outstanding.

Maybe that's the lesson here for any would-be brewery. The pitch: You are not just investing in a brewery, you are showing those damned liberal/conservative nutjobs that you're tired of all their liberal/conservative nonsense. These days a lot of people are just sitting around looking for something at which they can hurl money for the sake of proving how liberal/conservative they are. Of course, if you take that approach, you will alienate a lot of potential customers.

Earlier this week the City Council disregarded recommendations from the city’s planning commission and a local neighborhood association and moved forward with issuing the permits. Many residents said the brewery would be a terrible fit for the community. They argued Armed Forces Brewing’s ownership doesn’t reflect the diversity of the U.S. military, veterans, or the liberal-leaning city of Norfolk.

Much of the opposition focused on the actions and words of two individuals that the brewery now calls minor stakeholders. One of those individuals had worked as the brewery’s spokesperson and cheerleader. It’s not pretty stuff and it’s not hard to understand why community members would express discomfort about this brewery moving into their predominately black neighborhood.

Again, if you want to know about the ugly controversy you can read the bigger story here. Just recognize the city has moved ahead and issued the permits despite the opposition. We welcome your thoughts. We recognize the incendiary nature of this subject and ask that you please be kind.

We are Here for You

The news ticker is slowing down as we approach the year’s end. Before you know it, January will arrive. We will be here to help you navigate Dry January. Last year we were introduced to the term sober-curious. Together, we’ll see what the coming year brings.

This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones.