American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s just some of what’s been happening while you were drinking your way through the weekend.
War In Ukraine Leads To Craft Brewery Closures In UK
Just as in the US, craft brewery closures in the UK are escalating, a situation, which one accounting firm, sees as a reflection of the ongoing war in Ukraine that has led to grain shortages, higher interest rates and runaway inflation.
According to the accountancy firm Mazars, there was an 82% increase in brewery insolvencies last year, with figures rising from 38 in 2022 to 69 in 2023.
This surge predominantly affected smaller “craft” breweries in the UK, which struggled amid market oversaturation, high interest rates, and soaring inflation.
These economic factors in turn have pushed up the costs associated with leasing equipment and covering expenses like electricity, hops, and salaries necessary to run the small breweries efficiently.
And the cost-of-living crisis is not just affecting the craft brewers, its impacting consumers who are increasingly opting “for less expensive, mass-market beers over premium offerings from craft breweries, further squeezing the sector,” according to Proactive.
“The craft beer market’s competitiveness has intensified over the last decade, but many breweries find expanding beyond local markets challenging, limiting their profitability.”
Words to Drink By
“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.” – Steve Jobs American businessman and inventor.
Cocaine Beer
You’re probably aware of that “Cocaine Bear” movie, but how about Cocaine Beer?
Bolivia the world’s third-biggest producer of the coca leaf and of cocaine is now home to a new innovation, a coca beer. And while we understand that calling it an “cocaine beer” is a stretch, coca is the main ingredient in cocaine, and its leaves have been celebrated by locals for their caffeine like qualities when chewed.
La Paz’s El Viejo Roble Distillery, which already makes coca rum and vodka products has launched a coca-infused brew set to hit the market at only $2 a bottle.
“Getting this beer to global markets may prove challenging” reports Gzero. “Although coca-leaf products are legal and crucial to the Bolivian economy, these products are not in many other countries owing to their UN narcotic classification.”
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