You’ve heard of supporting local. But what about “hyperlocal”?
Adam Romanow, president at Massachusetts Brewers Guild, defines the recent trend toward hyperlocal craft breweries as a small taproom focused on its immediate geographic area, where the beer is “probably traveling less than 20 miles.”
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In a current wholesale market that is very challenging for beer and with capital investment harder to come by, these small, niche breweries may be the way to survive the next era of an industry whose spotlight is dimming.
Brewery growth in the Bay State has exploded over the past decade, with the number of breweries in the state more thanquadrupling from 2011 to 2020.
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Now the industry is going through a maturation phase. Of the 38 breweries that planned to open in 2022, only half actually opened. That is down from the 38 that actually opened in 2019. Nationally, beer volume sales were down 3% in 2022, according to the Brewers Association.
“There is no question that the market has matured,” said Romanow, who is also founder and CEO of Castle Island Brewing Co. “The sector has been experiencing high levels of growth for a long time now, and that can’t last forever in the industry. I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon, but it’s just slowing down for now.”
But in the face of rising costs and supply chain issues, some Massachusetts beer makers aren’t ready to slow down. For many brewery owners still planning to open their breweries in 2023, their positioning as hyperlocal craft breweries is key.
