I witnessed the exact same thing attending a recent German Beer festival in Philly. In other words not just a cask thing. Cheers! P.S. The cost to attend the German Beer festival was pricey.
I don't think I have anything useful to say in response to that, I've only ever worked in health food stores that cater to people with bigger wallets. I guess I've always considered craft beer to be outside of the non-wealthy or working-class segment of the economy to begin with? At least here in the capitalist paradise that is the US. Furthermore, I don't know if any of the local breweries I buy from really cater to anyone but the people that are into/can afford craft beers. Maybe this is just the region that I am in (Hudson Valley). All the major players here seem to be doing great, and have really nice locations with events, music, et cetera and tbqh, a very specific type of crowd. I'm sure the places that sell conventional beer, like main grocery chains here, are doing just fine. They only really seem to care about filling the walls with as much as they can, to the detriment of quality, dates, et cetera.
I wonder how the demographics of beer festivals compare to demographics of craft beer drinkers in general. I haven't been to a beer fest in a decade or so, and was never a big fest guy, maybe some other BAs can weigh in on what they see between beer fest attendees and their typical brewery crowd. Do your local breweries skew similar to what you saw at those two festivals?
I can provide one more 'data point'. A local craft brewery, Sly Fox, held a 30th anniversary event a few months ago. This was a zero cost (no tickets needed) event and once again the vast majority of folks there had gray hair. You guess is as good as mine here. Oh, one more 'data point' (but a supposition). In a few months I will once again attend a National Homebrewers Conference (now branded as Homebrew Con). If the 2026 version of this event is like past years: lots of people with gray hair attending. Cheers!
We’ve had quite a number pivot to emphasize their food menus. Here, they are turning into a space of young families - lots of kids and, when allowed, lots of dogs.
I agree, it’s a tough market, tough business. I’ve seem]n lots go out of business recently and lots changing their focus to food… I think the excitement of 5-10+ years ago has subsided. It’s not as in.
And that's because I was talking about the end consumer, and what they are doing instead. Those are actual realities that are in play in the marketplace a brewery able to withstand a lower cash flow is also experiencing.
Homebrewing is a hobby you pick up when you have free time, then it somehow get's sucked away by family and career, and then you can get back into once it calms down. How many fishermen in their 30s or 40s are out there every week?
They can't afford it but more than anything they don't care about it or are drinking a different type of Alcohol. Plus are buying THC products instead. I notice more and more for big beer releases that there are very few people under 40 and most are over 50 Plus I have been to tap room only Big beer releases.were many people especially the younger crowd are NOT drinking the big stuff, there just regulars there for the crowd or would have been there anyhow
OR....I got into homebrewing in 1995 because I either couldn't afford the import beer prices or nobody was brewing/offering the extreme, high-alcohol, kitchen-sink, umpteen-spiced holiday beers except for Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada. Fast forward to the 2000s and I could not only find umpteen dozen, strong, bizarre, even barrel-aged brews in the stores but my wallet could finally afford to buy whatever caught my fancy eye! Then around 2005, besides the fact that homebrewing is a LOT of work for sometimes questionable 5 gallon batches that you don't know until weeks after the work if'n it's worth drinking....well....I'll just buy my brew now & save myself all the work, storage space, sanitization etc., plus down through the decades I'd look on the shelves, read the labels & laugh that some brewery basically recreated many of my old homebrew recipes for Cherryball Stout, Holiday Humbug Mojo, Mr. Blues Brown, Rock 'N' Billy Bitter, Coffee Blues Stout & on & on & on. As well as variations of mead, melomel & braggot. Still got a few decades old melomel if'n anybody wants any cleaning product...er....I mean...melomel.... And for the record, I actually know some local, "In-Fisherman" who are still out there as often as possible in their 70s & 80s. But then again, they're hardcore....
I also remember my dad using slurs for Swedes that I hadn't heard before or since because of the Volvo turbo diesel on the boat acting up.
MacLeod ales in Van Nuys Priding themselves on ONLY cask ales they are down 1 on tap with 10 or so guest taps and bottles aling with some seltzers and micheladas Cant blame them. They do what they have to to stay open Its the shit american culture. What can you do? We fuckin suck as a country Now . Everyone is the new gen is a useless piece of shit that cant read or write and just wants Adderall. Thanks boomers.
Beer's best time lives in the past a memory of good times...presently we're not there yet. Cheers and all that but I still buy beer and home brew. others...I can't imagine how difficult a winery would be for a start up without huge investments.
