Kate Bernot

Tech that can bring beer labels to life—with animation, music, information, stories, and more—may soon be affordable to even the smallest breweries.

• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality
• Marketing

A small Michigan brewpub created a monster with its increasingly popular smoothie seltzer, expanding its footprint and inspiring imitators.

• Case Study
• Hard Seltzer
• Smoothie Seltzer

Let’s give the DO topic some oxygen—here are some practical ways that breweries using inline and mobile canning setups can reduce O2 in the package and better control freshness.

• Packaging
• Quality Control
• QC

More breweries are now using their websites to sell beer directly to drinkers, whether for on-site pickup or for delivery straight to their doors. Subpar design can hinder those sales. Here are ways to help customers buy more.

• Online Sales
• E-Commerce
• Shipping

Donna Wamsley of Seattle-based SoRSE Technology—a specialist in figuring out how to get flavors into our foods and drinks—talks consumer trends and what’s on the horizon for the beer industry.

• Flavors
• Trends
• CBD

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