This particular incident cost 73 people their jobs, and this trend is, sadly, one that will soon come ashore in the UK. Another is Modern Times in San Diego – once among the fastest growing breweries in America – which has been impacted hard, having to close four of its eight sites along the West Coast, due to what it describes as “global declines in the craft beer industry”. There are plenty of other examples of industry struggles from across the pond that are forcing beloved operations like Hair of the Dog to close. Did I mention the price of your pint was going to go up? This is the tip of the iceberg as to why. Between climate change in the West and war in the East, global barley stocks are severely reduced-not a problem for British brewers as we grow enough for ourselves-but it means farmers and suppliers can significantly increase prices, due to market demand. The cost of gas, electricity and water is skyrocketing. In previous writing for Ferment I’ve talked about the supply chain, and due to its size the US is often at the start of this, in particular for products such as hops, and aluminium cans, to name a couple of examples.īoth are increasing in price, in fact cans are becoming harder to easily obtain, with some suppliers tripling their minimum order quantity, hitting small breweries hardest. You could say opening a successful craft brewery is an example of the American Dream, and if you look at leading lights from the past 30 years such as Stone, Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and Bell’s, you could add that many have achieved this.īut due to the size of the US beer industry, I’ve learned that what is happening there is an early indicator of what will happen to the global beer community. It’s home to an altogether slicker, more entrepreneurial beer culture. The US is home to more than 9000 breweries, way more than our 2000 here in the UK. What does an American brewery closing down have to do with struggles in the British beer industry, you might ask? Good question. “I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend over half my life doing something I love so much.” For fans of his brewery, this was not a happy Valentine’s day. “Beer has been very, very good to me,” he said in the two minute long clip. On February 14th, 2022, this warmth finally left me, when Hair of the Dog founder Alan Spinks, who had run the brewery since 1993, posted a video on Facebook announcing that he would be closing down, permanently. One of my highlights (in fact one of my most cherished beer experiences ever) was visiting a brewery called Hair of the Dog, on Yamhill Street, close to the banks of the Willamette River.Īfter tasting through a wide range of various barrel-aged delights, including styles I had not previously heard of like Adambier – a strong, dark, hoppy style not unlike an English barleywine, with origins in Dortmund, Germany – I left the taproom with a warm glow inside me that has remained ever since.
RISING STORM BREWERY FULL
This is a beer city like few others, chock full of variety, home to some of the best beers you can drink, and some of the best pubs and taprooms to drink them in. In 2013 I was lucky enough to visit Portland, Oregon, in the north-western United States. Little, however, is still better than nothing. Breweries and bars you love are going to downsize, or close down, and there is very little we can do to stop this rot. Part of me wanted to sugar coat this, and tell you it’s not going to be so bad, but I’m afraid that would be dishonest. It does not mean that your favourite breweries are trying to profiteer during a time of economic downturn-quite the opposite-like the rest of us, they are merely trying to survive by keeping beer in their tanks, and their staff gainfully employed. Unfortunately, like most things we pay for, what our beer costs is going to increase, and there is little we can do to mitigate this. But you should be concerned aware of how this might affect you as someone who enjoys great beer and how in turn you can support the small, independent businesses that make British beer culture so vital. It does not mean that the wealth of wonderful beer available from our favourite pubs and bottle shops is suddenly going to evaporate. The contents of this article shouldn’t be a cause for panic. After speaking to a few brewery owners, bar workers, and those involved with assorted industry bodies, I must confess I wasn’t prepared for how bleak the outlook would actually be. When I started researching this piece, I thought I understood how challenging things are for the beer industry.
0 kommentar(er)
