May/June 2020

Industry Review Issue

For the May/June 2020 The New Brewer, we present our annual Industry Review issue. While the Industry Review traditionally focuses on the previous year, it’s hard to ignore the COVID-19 pandemic that is dramatically impacting the craft brewing industry right now. In our cover story, we examine the ways the pandemic has affected craft breweries, what they’re doing to cope, and how they’re still striving to help their communities in a time of need. The rest of the issue provides a look back at 2019, which was a solid year for craft breweries with 4-percent overall growth. Taprooms led the charge with 26-percent growth, accounting for 37 percent of overall craft growth.

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About The New Brewer

Cover Story

Industry Review Issue

Brewing in a Time of Pandemic

Many craft brewers have turned their focus toward maximizing their options through all available avenues including to-go beer and food, and a familiar focus on community.

Industry Review Issue

Featured Stories

Overview

Paul Gatza and Bart Watson

Craft brewers continued many of the 2018 trends through 2019, but the future now has a giant question mark for many breweries in the era of COVID-19.

Brewpubs

Stan Hieronymus

Brewpubs, which as a data set grew by 7 percent in 2019, continue to innovate and push the boundaries of beer and food while finding a restaurant/brewery balance.

Taprooms

Tom Wilmes

Nimble taproom breweries continue to be a growth engine for the craft beer industry, as their performance accounted for 37 percent of overall industry growth in 2019.

Micros

Gabe Toth

With 2,058 microbreweries operating in 2019 among 8,275 breweries, the definition of “local” continues to tighten every year, creating a competitive challenge.

Regionals

Greg Kitsock

The craft regional category, which grew 1 percent in 2019, has been essentially running in place the last two years, caught on a treadmill of changing market conditions.

Large Breweries + Imports

Harry Schuhmacher

It was a tough year for traditional domestic beer as spirits in particular continued to take share of ethanol and dollars from malted beverages.

A Note From the Editor

Jill Redding, Editor-in-Chief

This issue also includes most of our usual informative departments, plus brewery-generated news about the craft brewing community in the Brewery Updates, Distribution News, and Beer Releases sections; and new products and services from the allied trade in Industry Supplier News. In our back-page interview, we highlight Megan Parisi, head brewer at the new Samuel Adams Tap Room at Faneuil Hall.

Cheers, and we hope you enjoy this issue of The New Brewer.

About The New Brewer