What does this rapid increase mean for the breweries? For many of the more well known craft breweries such as Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas (both based in California), it means expansion eastward. Both breweries are setting up new locations (Sierra Nevada in North Carolina and Lagunitas in Chicago) to increase their distribution, cut down on shipping costs, and send fresher beer to the east coast. Sierra Nevada is currently constructing a new brewery in Mills River, NC which they are hoping to be up and operating by the fall of 2014. Lagunitas, based in Petaluma, CA, will be opening a new brewery and tap room in Chicago late this summer/early fall. Founder Tony Magee, a Chicago native, was hoping to have the tap room open by early May, but it is looking now like the tap room will open up closer to August. The equipment for the brewery will arrive in July, and if all things go according to plan, will be installed this fall.
There are some breweries, however, that are taking a more inelastic supply approach to their beer. Vermont’s The Alchemist is not looking to regularly supply outside of their home state. The Alchemist, a family run brewery, originally only served their one and only beer, Heady Topper (a highly sought after American Double IPA which is currently the #1 beer in the world on beeradvocate.com) on tap exclusively at the Prohibition Pig restaurant in Waterbury, VT until they opened their cannery which now produces 120 barrels per week. Their end goal is to be able to supply the state of Vermont regularly with Heady Topper with occasional shipments to Boston and New York City. Westward expansion is clearly not in The Alchemist’s plans going forward as they like to consider themselves a “local” brewery, much like Vermont’s Hill Farmstead Brewery. Hill Farmstead was recently named the #6 Craft Brewery in the world by ratebeer.com, and like The Alchemist, aim only to supply the local population with their assortment of beers. This, however, has not stopped beer lovers around the world from traveling to these breweries just to get a taste of these highly acclaimed beers.
If there is one thing that the expansion of craft breweries like Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas, and the miles traveled by the patrons of breweries like The Alchemist and Hill Farmstead show us is that this country is thirsty for craft beer. New breweries around the country are seeing this and attempting to create the next Heady Topper and have the distribution of Sierra Nevada. It all comes down to the simplest concept of economics; supply and demand
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very informative
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