Minnesotans are drinking less craft beer
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Craft brewing's skyrocketing growth over the past decade in Minnesota has finally come to a halt as the industry sorts out a new normal.
Why it matters: According to the Brewers Association, craft breweries had a nearly $2 billion economic impact last year in Minnesota and the boom has brought taprooms to urban neighborhoods, suburban strip malls, and rural main streets.
Yes, but: Consumption in Minnesota is falling. It peaked from 2016 to 2018 and has been declining since then.
What's happening: Breweries are feeling the pinch from increased competition, rising labor and ingredient costs, and the surge of seltzers and canned cocktails.
- "The hard part for craft brewers right now is the ever-changing tastes of the consumer and what people are actually drinking," Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, told Axios.
What to watch: If the golden age of craft brewing is over, Minnesota's beer makers might be at the forefront of a new gold rush.
- When the state legalized THC seltzers a year ago, craft breweries quickly began making the beverages, which are rapidly gaining popularity here.
- Industry experts say those seltzers have high-profit margins but that could change with more competition.
- Brewers, though, are still trying to get a grasp on how big of a market there will be for those beverages.