Brewing Through Uncertainty: Lessons from a Changing Industry

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday that will always be tied to a new memory formed five years ago. In 2020, this celebration marked the last opportunity I’d have to enjoy a beer in public for months.

Seemingly overnight, the world changed.

I had just completed a logo for a beer tour operator in Antwerp, Belgium. He expressed concerns about the threat this novel virus posed to his beer tour business.

As schools and businesses closed, employees transitioned to working from home, students adapted to distance learning, and churches began streaming services every Sunday morning for anyone who wanted to watch, join the musical performance, and participate in the live chat throughout the service.

With bemusement, I watched as churches embraced technology to connect with congregants who were either unable or uncomfortable gathering in person once some restrictions were lifted.

I suggested to my client, who was worried about his tour business, that he consider offering online tours. He replied, “How about an online beer festival?”

It was beer festivals that first introduced me to the world of craft beer when I lived in Seattle, where I had moved on December 30, 2003. Beer festivals, and the many outdoor events where craft beer was served—like the Bite of Seattle—were some of my first volunteer and paid jobs in the beer industry. It was sad to see many of the largest beer festivals canceled, creating a social and cultural void in the community that thrives on connection and togetherness.

The idea of an online beer festival stuck with me. By the end of 2020, I had a name for it: World Wide Beer Fest. As time passed, it became clear that beer festivals would never be the same, even though society worked hard to restore what was lost due to COVID-19.

Businesses rely on predictability. The pandemic made it impossible to anticipate what would happen next. The crisis revealed that our medical system and business community had not adequately prepared for the unexpected.

Promoting and organizing online events to help fill the cultural void from so many canceled gatherings has been a challenge. I strive to inspire an industry that is weary, uncertain, and operating with limited resources.

Festivals are where the craft beer community comes together. The friendships and connections made there foster creativity and collaboration, which are at the heart of what makes the beer industry so enjoyable.

I started a small business in 2014 as a designer, targeting breweries, food trucks, and the burgeoning hemp, CBD, and related industries. In Seattle, food trucks would often be seen in South Lake Union and downtown, feeding office workers during the day and then moving to breweries and taprooms in the evening. This activity excited me—it just made sense.

With rising food costs, many taprooms have embraced walk-up service and the use of food carts and trucks.

Oregon sells significantly more beer than Washington. In 2024, Oregon produced approximately 289.7K barrels of beer and sold 1.4 million barrels, while Washington produced 124K barrels and sold 591.6K barrels. This means Oregon's beer sales are more than double those of Washington.

The laws regarding food carts are quite different in Oregon, which makes it possible to find them almost anywhere. This encourages guests to linger at their favorite watering holes. While correlation does not imply causation, experiencing the bustle of 13 food trucks gathered around a taproom certainly highlights the concept’s potential.

Despite the clear benefits of partnering with passionate, talented chefs to attract customers and traffic to a brewery taproom, and the efficiency of implementing walk-up service, I’ve seen the craft beer industry slowly waking up to the potential of this simple innovation—something that seemed obvious to me a decade ago.

”Brewers must do what they do best: adapt. They also will need to continue doing the hard work of finding ways to tell their story and differentiate their brands against the competition.” – Bart Watson, Brewers Association

Most industries are already being revolutionized by advances in internet speeds, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Embracing content creation and monetization, along with the potential of 5G to enable new connections, is just a fraction of the myriad ways technology and data analysis can usher in a new era for craft beer.

After tragedies occur, we’re often forced to change in some way. We hope to learn from the suffering and use those lessons to prevent future calamities. Resilience is about seeing a new way forward, rather than longing for days gone by.

Some of the struggles the industry faces are not external, but internal. As much as we desire stability, the only thing we can rely on is change. Slowly, more breweries are making reels, going live, and embracing technology. Like the pioneers who shaped air travel, those forging ahead must do the challenging work to pave the way, making it easier for those who follow.