Kate Bernot

Changes to local, state, and federal laws helped to keep breweries going last year, and they can lead to greater success going forward. Here are ways that brewers and brewery operators can help make it happen.

• Lobbying
• Guilds
• Brewers Association

When uncertainty rules the day, brewhouse-equipment purchases need to offer trusted ROI. Breweries should look for equipment that solves today’s problems—but also tees up future flexibility.

• Brewhouse
• Equipment
• Trends

The pandemic hit urban, taproom-focused breweries such as Chicago’s Hopewell harder than most. Despite keeping its taproom closed, Hopewell has survived and thrived by leaning into to-go beer, widening its offerings, and widening its welcome.

• Case Study
• Hopewell
• Taproom

Fun, casual workplaces in industries dominated by men tend to be the most prone to sexual harassment issues. Here are several ways to get ahead of potential problems and protect your team.

• Harassment
• Diversity
• Human Resources

The aluminum-can shortage has led many breweries to take a fresh look at putting brands back into glass bottles. Logistically, of course, this is no mere flipping of a switch. Here are some factors to consider.

• Packaging
• Bottles
• Bottling

Have a plan—but build it with a cushion that will allow your business to adapt to the unexpected and take the occasional risk. Here, the planners at North Carolina’s Highland Brewing share their evolving approach and best advice.

• Forecasting
• Pandemic
• Raw Materials

Thousands of small, taproom-focused breweries are keeping afloat during the pandemic by leaning into to-go sales. How can we encourage those customers to keep coming back? One small brewery in Vermont has developed tactics that are working already.

• Sales
• Marketing
• Email

A strong off-premise retail strategy—including smart packaging decisions—is helping to keep Chicago’s Revolution Brewing afloat during the pandemic.

• Case Study
• Revolution Brewing
• Chicago

When COVID-19 shuttered taprooms and bars, the cofounders of a Maryland brewery whipped up a direct-to-consumer beer-sales platform, called Biermi, in record time. Then they gave it away for free.

• E-Commerce
• Direct-to-Consumer
• DTC

When Lexington, Kentucky-based West Sixth Brewing bought 125 acres in rural Franklin County, it learned that agriculture is only one part of the equation.

• Case Study
• West Sixth Farm
• Farmhouse

In a predominantly white and male industry, there are still some clear, common-sense avenues for getting more people—and more kinds of people—to apply for jobs and give your taproom a try.

• Human Resources
• Diversity
• Inclusion

Stubborn idealism meets commercial reality at one of the country’s best-regarded mixed-fermentation breweries. But as the market continues to change, how will the brewery’s strategy change with it?

• Ale Apothecary
• Case Study
• Distribution