So, the Brewers Association has been surveying its membership about, basically, economics and the latest figures are pretty grim…
It’s that 46.4% number that is all that I can see. That means that brewery unemployment is going to spike here in April and May as owners wait by the mailbox for a check from the SBA. I’m not even counting that 15.2% number which are those in more dire straits. Current numbers from a survey of California breweries has Tom McCormick from the CCBA estimating that 15 to 20% of breweries will be gone in the next month or two with 5 to 10% more gone the rest of the year.
Wha would a world with 38.4% remaining breweries look like? Well, I would guess that sales and marketing would have a lot easier times fighting for shelf space. The booking of yoga and comedy and trivia would probably decrease too as extra measures won’t be needed. I would assume that the bigger regionals who had been hurting will love having a large distribution footprint as well when that void needs to be filled.
But it will mean suppliers from hops to cans to labels will have less market to pitch to and industry events might be a little fiercer because of it. Then there is the matter of all that expensive equipment. There will be no ready place for it. And I do not see a rush to take over spaces where fermenters are bolted down either so what kind of creative solution will emerge?