Winter

It’s the toughest time of year for beer—cold weather, health kicks, and lots of people just staying home. For breweries barely hanging in there, these months can be a knockout blow. From a variety of voices in the industry, here are some ideas about how to make it work until spring.

Knowing that business will slow as the weather gets frosty—especially amid fears that indoor areas are less safe—breweries are taking different tacks to keep attracting drinkers to their patios and beer gardens.

Drinkers are visiting less but spending more when they do. Package and store sales remain strong, while draft margins remain scant. Here we round up some recent data and analyses relevant to independent brewers.