A Look Back, A Look Ahead
Some Monday Morning QBing and a look ahead to some winter beer events
My friend Will Cleveland, who writes an excellent beer newsletter called Cleveland Prost that covers the beer scene in Western New York, always picks my brain each year for my predictions in beer for the year ahead. I’ve been asked about this long before his newsletter, and I’m consistently wrong in these predictions, because nobody has a crystal ball. But after I shared my 2024 predictions with him (which you can read here), I looked back at my 2023 predictions to see how they fared:
More closures: 2022 was the biggest year for brewery closures in the modern era in the U.S., and it's not surprising that the bubble is deflating a bit. With increasing costs of doing business and consumers being more wallet-conscious, it's not surprising, but the breweries that are closing can be surprising. No one is really immune to the slowdown in beer, so expect to see some well-known and successful breweries close, along with some smaller start-ups. This trend does leave room for opportunity: closing breweries leave behind brewhouses and spaces that other brewers may use for expansion, and closing breweries with popular brands may have those brands picked up by other brewers, too.
Well, this one was pretty much on the money, in a year with an even higher number of closures… a year when we learned that even large breweries owned by multinational corporations weren’t even immune from shuttering. The second point held up, too. While it hasn’t happened in New York City yet, the concept of the “hermit crab brewery” — a new brewery opening in a space previously occupied by a brewery that went out of business — seems more common than ever based on my travels last year.
The weed conundrum: What impact will legal recreational marijuana have on New York's beer industry? I don't think it's going to do much damage based on beer's continued success in states that have a mature weed industry (Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, for example), but I'm absolutely certain that it will be on the minds of beer industry members across the state this year as dispensaries begin to open.
This was a bit of a dud, but that falls mainly on the State of New York’s utterly embarrassing rollout of retail sales of legal weed (there are still, more than a year after legalization, only 43 legal dispensaries in the entire state). What’s even more intriguing to watch in 2024, however, is if any other state takes a plunge into the deep end like Minnesota did. It was fascinating to see THC beverages and edibles for sale at brewery taprooms there, and it could really be a boon for the beer industry in other states.
Breweries seeking a niche audience: We all know what the typical clientele of a brewery taproom looks like, and as the beer bubble bursts, I think more breweries are going to open this year with a unique angle that attracts an audience that doesn't typically drink beer. I've seen more Black, women, and queer-owned breweries open in the past year and create spaces that are more welcoming, more diverse, and more community-focused. I hope we see more of that in 2023.
This didn’t happen as much as I had hoped, but there’s a lot more promise for more diversity in the beer industry with efforts like the establishment of the National Black Brewers Association, the continued efforts of the Michael James Jackson Foundation, the launch of The Lovibond Project locally, and countless other projects from leaders and pioneers within the beer industry, there feels like there’s more momentum than ever toward making the beer community less homogenous.
Coming Attractions: The Events You Won’t Want to Miss in January and February
There’s a lot going on in the city in the next few weeks, so here’s a rundown of some important beer events to plan for.
Gun Hill Barrel Aged Fest: Gun Hill’s annual Barrel Aged Beer Festival returns this Saturday afternoon for a fourth year, offering up a selection of rich, warming beers in the dead of January at their brewery in The Bronx. They’ll be pouring their own special releases and more beers from more than a dozen other visiting breweries, including KCBC, Strangebird, Grimm, Finback, and more. Tickets are on sale now. The VIP hour starts at noon (and includes a 750mL bottle of their Comes the Night Imperial Stout aged in Kings County Distillery bourbon barrels) and general admission begins at 1pm.
Finback Not-So-Dry January: Finback’s celebration of lighter, more sessionable beers returns for a second year. Next Saturday, the 20th, they’re throwing a shindig at their Brooklyn location with their own crispy beers and pours from The Seed, Fidens, Human Robot, and Fox Farm, plus a special collab with the comedy podcast Stuff Island. $20 gets you a special Kolsch glass for the occasion and $4 pours all day, and there’s a live comedy show at 8pm (tickets are available for that, too).
Other Half All 10th Anniversary Everything Celebration: Mark your calendars — Other Half is throwing a party at their original Gowanus location on Saturday, February 10th to mark ten years in business. To celebrate, the brewery is inviting more than 25 of their closest brewery friends to re-brew some of their favorite collaboration beers from over the years. They’ll pour those and some special new collaborations at the party, which will run from noon-4pm on that Saturday. They’ll announce when tickets are available to the general public soon — keep tabs on their Instagram.
NYC Beer Week Opening Bash: The biggest beer event of the year in New York City returns to the Box Factory in Industry City, Brooklyn on Saturday, February 24th from 12:30-5:30pm. Breweries from across the five boroughs will be in attendance, and each year, they bring along their brewing friends from across the state and around the world. The festival celebrates all things New York City beer, and is a fundraiser for the New York City Brewers Guild. Tickets are on sale now, and early-bird tickets are available until this Sunday at a discounted rate of $75 for General Admission and $110 for VIP.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 3,284
Total breweries visited in 2023: 389
Total breweries visited in New Zealand: 28
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #3038, Flavourtorium, Nelson, New Zealand (Visited 5-Apr-2023)
Since I’m headed to New Zealand as you read this, I figured I’d highlight a brewery that I didn’t give much attention to after my last trip to this beautiful corner of the world. Nelson is a town you’ve probably heard of if you’re a beer nerd, if only for the fact that one of the nation’s most beloved hops, Nelson Sauvin, takes its name from the town. Heck, as you wander through town, you’ll be reminded of other locally-grown hop varietals as you pass streets like Waimea Road, Motueka Street, and Wakatu Lane. Yet despite being the hop-growing capital of New Zealand, there aren’t a ton of breweries in this part of the country.
I stumbled into a brewery by accident, in fact. The Flavourtorium is part of a beloved beer bar in Nelson called The Free House. The bar opened in 2009 in a former Reformed Church in town, and it’s a regular hangout for brewers in town for hop selection in the fall, so it came recommended to me by more than a few beer industry vets. The Free House celebrates all things craft beer, but got into the brewing game themselves in 2021 with a nanobrewery in their front garden that’s tucked into a 40-foot shipping container (this is not the first brewery I’ve visited in such a locale). On my whirlwind trip through Nelson, I managed to try two of their house-brewed beers and enjoyed sipping them outdoors while marveling at the special place The Free House is and wondering how much beer royalty has come through its doors.
The Weekly Reader
Get to know Zahra Tabatabai of Brooklyn’s Back Home Beer [Roxana Saberi and Kerry Breen, CBS News]
Chicago’s beer scene had a rollercoaster ride last week freaking out about Other Half’s beer pricing [Jim Vorel, Paste]
Another Japanese brewer has snapped up an American brewery [Kate Bernot, Good Beer Hunting]
A conversation with the founder of the Pink Boots Society [John Holl, All About Beer]
One Last Thing
Here’s hoping the jet lag doesn’t stop me from visiting my first brewery of 2024 tomorrow in New Zealand. Thanks to the readers who reached out with recommendations for my trip down under! I’ll check in from the road in next week’s newsletter.
Cheers,
Chris
Re: the "hermit crab brewery," would you not count NS shutting down and Niteglow opening up in its place?