Iconic California Craft Breweries Experience 2018 Production Drops

, Iconic California Craft Breweries Experience 2018 Production Drops

With craft beer’s momentum slowing and almost 1000 breweries online in the state, many of California’s most recognizable breweries are experiencing production drops for the first time since 2006.

Bear Republic, Stone and Lagunitas all reported production drops in 2018. All of these breweries have been growing their production year over year for more than a decade, but no longer.

, Iconic California Craft Breweries Experience 2018 Production DropsWhat these three brewers share is not just their size, Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Stone are some of the state’s largest breweries. It’s a business model based on nationwide distribution which, with craft beer consumers migrating to uber-local taproom-centric breweries, is now proving outdated and more difficult to sustain.

Cloverdale, California-based Bear Republic, saw its production drop 15 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to data provided by the state. Stone which also has a brewery in Richmond, Virginia saw its instate production fall 9.2 percent. And Petaluma, California’s Lagunitas which is now a Heineken-owned property dropped 2.4 percent.

And as Bart Watson, the Chief Economist for the Brewers Association explained to the Sacramento Bee larger breweries which are dependent on multi-state distribution are more vulnerable…

, Iconic California Craft Breweries Experience 2018 Production Drops“Breweries with the broadest distribution generally are facing the most headwinds. In an era where local is a big part of the demand equation for many beer lovers, it’s harder to be relevant the further away from home you go.”

“California breweries do this about as well as anyone, but you can only beat the odds so long. Regional craft brewers face challenges both from local nimble competitors, and from the acquired offerings of the world’s largest brewers, which they can scale up and then push through their distribution networks.”

And even though craft beer sales are still growing, the concept of big west coast breweries expanding their capacities by building additional production facilities in the east has ground to halt.

Sierra Nevada still operates a healthy hub in Asheville, North Carolina, but Deschutes Brewery’s long-planned Roanoke, Virginia, expansion is still on hold. And many expect it will never be built.

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