Supply Chain

From aluminum costs to consumer spending, knock-on effects from the conflict in Iran will continue to reverberate and hit breweries’ bottom lines. And even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were to resume instantly, higher prices are likely to persist into 2027.

Rising costs and geopolitical instability make this another year in which forecasting and procurement demand small breweries’ utmost attention.

Do you have adequate insurance coverage for your brewing business, and are you preparing for the right kinds of risks? Insurance recovery attorney Kayla Robinson explains what breweries can do to better prepare for the next unwelcome turn of events.

CO2 prices are spiking, allotments are limited, and suppliers don’t expect the shortage to let up until late fall at the earliest. Is it time to consider shifting to nitrogen in the cellar? Boston’s Dorchester Brewing offers an example and some guidance.

Everyone’s costs are up, with no return to “normal” in sight. Big Beer is raising its prices and profiting. So, is it time to raise your own prices? Not necessarily.

A poor harvest in North America last year is combining with hot weather and war in Europe to constrain supply and raise prices. However, there are reasons to be optimistic. Here’s what you need to know to stay on top of your malt supply.

The aluminum can manufacturer has agreed to delay until March 1 policy changes that disproportionately affect smaller, independent breweries.

Ball’s new minimum orders and higher prices have left independent brewers scrambling. Besides higher costs industry-wide, likely knock-on effects include streamlined SKUs, a return to labeling and shrink sleeves, and a boom in digital can printing.

A historically poor barley harvest is piling on to supply-chain and cost issues that independent brewers have been facing with raw materials. Here’s what you need to know before placing your next order.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but fruit does—and yet, it can be a finite resource. For all the talk of how climate could affect malt and hops, fruit is another raw material of modern beer that’s vulnerable to weather, as well as to supply-chain issues.

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.

A lack of shipping containers in Europe has made it impossible for many North American brewers to get malts they rely on for some of their most important beers. It’s unclear when the situation will improve.