From the initial stages of business planning onward, brewery owners are forced to make difficult decisions that affect the direction of their business. Successfully navigating these choices relies upon having a clearly defined vision and strategy.
Beer connoisseurs have long dismissed Africa as the lost land of Pilsners due to its proliferation of corporate breweries. But a burgeoning craft beer scene in Namibia and South Africa isn’t the only indication of the start of a new era.
Andy Thomas spent 12 years at Heineken International, where he held the reins as president and CEO of Heineken USA from 2005–2007. Then he surprised everyone when he accepted the position of president of the Craft Brewers Alliance.
As demand increases in newer markets, microbreweries are at a crossroads: take out large loans and expand, or sell stakes to larger brewers and distributors. Factor in that a generation of craft brewing legends is approaching retirement, and these questions become even more complicated.
Recent boycott trends target the big breweries of the world and anyone who deals with them. Should consumers punish companies that deal with large breweries, even if these same companies support craft beer, too?
Craft beer will never be the same again, so enjoy this golden era. Yet, even with the inevitable advance of major change, one thing remains clear: Great, local craft beer isn’t going anywhere.
Let’s face it: Beer is business. And those who can’t separate the beer from the business will be in for a very rude awakening in upcoming years, as the industry continues to mature and the natural evolution of business comes into play.
We’re so damn frustrated with the vast majority of restaurants that strive to offer quality service, food, wine, spirits and cocktails, but let their beer selection fall flat.
We have lived through the Age of Extreme and experienced the Era of Collaboration, reveling in years of unparalleled success. Yet the toughest times lie ahead as craft brewers move from the lighthearted teenage growing years to the increasingly responsible adult decades.
Will Straub’s returnable bottles get canned?; Independent Brewers United acquired by North American Breweries; no Christmas this year for Goose Island; and Sierra Nevada teaming up with Trappist monks.
What brings the visitors is the spectacular backdrop of Andean peaks, ice-capped even in summer, the breathtaking scenery around the seven sprawling lakes and, increasingly, the beer.
The end of cardboard beer coasters?; Atlantic Brewing acquires Bar Harbor Brewing; Kirin seeks to acquire Lion Nathan’s; Maine’s changing growler laws; A beery economic stimulus; Dogfish Head begins expansion process; and Red Stripe to can.
With no end in sight for the lagging economy, craft brewers will have to continue to develop new ways of serving the now ailing consumers who have treated them so well.
Beer Wars reaches the Big Screen; South Carolina microbrewers fight for their right to sell; Penn Brewery staying home; Possible Texas plan to allow buying beer direct from brewers; A tale of two Budweisers; and homebrewing legalized in Utah.
Miller beer caves; Carlsberg threatens to close historic brewery; Goose Island Clybourn honks on; Cancer-fighting beer; and poppy brew gets student in trouble.
As the country peers ahead toward an all-but-certain future, will the craft beer industry falter? When the storm clears, will craft beer be stronger than ever?
