Is a Craft Beer Catastrophe Brewing for Atlanta?
Atlanta, GA: For a city well-versed in the art of craft beer, there seems to be a haze of disquiet in the air. As craft beer sales hit a nationwide decline of 2 percent last year, Atlanta witnessed more than a dozen of its breweries pulling down their shutters. Is it the imminent arrival of a craft beer-pocalypse for the city? Let’s explore.
Gold Rush of Craft Beer Hits a Dead End
The craft beer industry had its zenith during the 2010s, with taprooms mushrooming faster than one could name a type of beer. There was a general buoyancy in the industry, with a prevailing sentiment akin to ‘build craft beer, and they will come’. But what brewed into a multi-billion dollar industry seems to be losing its froth, with breweries closing down across the country. Last year was particularly harsh, as witnessed by Sam and Sara Kazmer, the heart and soul behind the reputed Elsewhere Brewing in Atlanta. As they grappled with declining sales, the thought that people may have lost their taste for local beer led them to contemplate bankruptcy. Their story is not isolated but echoes the sentiment of many breweries across the city.
What’s Causing the Beer Crisis?
The dwindling allure of craft beer is probably a confluence of several factors. Rising labor costs, inflation, and disruptions in supply chain that have inflated the price of ingredients have hit breweries hard. Furthermore, outdated laws in Georgia, which prevent breweries from directly selling their produce to bars and restaurants, push them to engage wholesalers and distributors. This model has put an increased strain on small breweries, leading some to shutter their businesses.
A Temporary Hiccup or a Long-term Concern?
While some industry experts deny the brewing of a ‘beer-pocalypse’, there is an acceptance that the craft beer industry might be entering a mature phase in its lifecycle, implying it might have already peaked. However, Georgia still sits at a lowly 44th position in the country in total brewery licenses, implying that there is ample room for growth.
A hopeful sign was the introduction of the F.O.A.M. Act this year, which aimed to allow small brewers to sell up to 6,000 barrels of beer offsite per year. It failed to advance out of committee, despite the strenuous efforts of over a hundred Georgia brewers who rallied at the capitol, wielding a petition signed by thousands of customers.
Consequently, brewery owners, like the Kazmers, are resorting to survival tactics like lowering prices and hosting daily events like drag brunch and trivia, vowing to ‘Survive till ’25’. This grittiness underlines the undying spirit of Atlanta’s craft beer industry, as it braces itself to wade through choppy waters.
