Kate Bernot

Expensive equipment and a steep technical learning curve make contract brewing nonalcoholic beers an attractive option for smaller breweries.

• Non-Alcoholic Beer
• NA Beer
• Contract Brewing

Sales of imperial IPAs are outpacing their standard-strength counterparts. Yet breweries need to find the right packaging mix, price point, recipe, and marketing to keep margins in line.

• ABV
• Sales
• High-ABV

Given the ongoing uncertainty in on-premise hospitality, there are fewer taps flowing than there were two years ago. Yet those open draft lines represent opportunities for breweries willing to adjust and build relationships.

• Draft Beer
• Taps
• Kegs

Like it or not, social and political issues are becoming impossible for breweries and other businesses to avoid. Here is concrete advice on knowing when and how to get involved, and on how to choose your battles.

• Politics
• Issues
• Causes

Recurring payments, exclusive memberships, loyalty rewards, and games are among the ways that breweries of all sizes can keep customers engaged in e-commerce.

• Direct-to-Consumer
• DTC
• Membership

While some brewery owners seek a way out while keeping the brands they’ve built alive, others see opportunities to grow, diversify, and gain efficiencies.

• Acquisitions
• Growth
• Expansion

Here’s how breweries are building in flexibility amid ongoing shortages, supply-chain headaches, labor crunches, and the rising costs that obfuscate next year’s forecasts.

• Forecasting
• Materials
• Planning

The economy’s so-called “Great Resignation” isn’t affecting only the hospitality side of the brewing business—it’s also affecting the brewhouse.

• Human Resources
• Labor Market
• Hiring

There is growing demand abroad for local, niche products—including beer. Even smaller breweries can tap into that sales channel. Here’s how to evaluate your brewery’s potential to export beer abroad.

• Exports
• Exporting Beer
• Export Development Program

With careful planning and carefree beers, the New Jersey brewery took itself from a Shore town taproom to a three-state powerhouse.

• Case Study
• Cape May
• New Jersey

Even as the shortage of aluminum cans gradually eases, supply-chain issues are wreaking havoc on price and availability. Here are specific tips for making sure you have the packaging you need, when you need it.

• Cans
• Can Shortage
• Candemic

As vaccination rates lag and the Delta variant surges, some breweries are choosing to require proof of vaccination for staff or customers; in some places, it’s required by law. Here’s how some are implementing such policies while minimizing complications.

• COVID-19
• Pandemic
• Front of House