The Challenges Facing Craft

Dear Client: One of the many behind-the-scenes conversations people were having at the Craft Brewers Conference centered around "is this a bubble?" and "is it sustainable?" With so many new brewers and so many SKUs, distributors and even craft brewers are wondering if we are going to see a late 1990s situation again, with a return to low volume growth, excess brewing capacity, and no pricing power. With 15% volume growth and accelerating, I don't think the craft segment is