Month: July 2025

    Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Salt City Homebrewers in Syracuse, NY. Former member of Escambia Bay Brewers, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers. Ken has been writing on beer-related topics, and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for well over 30 years.

    There’s an obvious trend that brewers, and those thinking of opening a brewery, should consider. Some may ignore it if they have a brewery in a very small, very rural town, like where I live. When starting a brewery get the basics first, of course. But all who ignore this trend ignore it at their own peril, business-wise.
    The craft scene has expanded, contracted, then expanded many times. But I think we have reached what, I hope, is a permanent plateau, and paying attention to how the industry exists as it is now is crucial.
    Back when it started brewing a good porter or stout, a tasty light ale that’s more flavorful than the biggies, an IPA, well, you were all set. You were a credit to the growing craft beer community. Hell, even if they weren’t that good in some places you were set… for a while.
    Oh my, how times have changed. You don’t stand out as much in craft beer world. Even most of the big brewers are brewing porters, stouts, IPAs.
    Sorry if that’s bad news, but for most that no longer works as well as it used to. You walk into some of the more thriving breweries and they have several sours, maybe a barleywine, several kinds of IPAS: a trend I expect to shrink at least a little eventually, various fruit beers, maybe even a braggot, a gruit and/or a graff: a fermented cider/beer mix.
    Just so you know, I have General McGraff’s Appley Braggot I just bottled in my kitchen as I type. A cider, mead, beer mix. Yes, I do tend to go crazy. And I admit I write this as a fan of unique brews.
    Back to the topic… Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All: What to Consider if You Own a Brewery or Plan to Open One”