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New challenges on tap for craft brewing industry

By Clayton Baumgarth

Posted January 10, 2025

The taps at Switchyard Brewing, which closed in January of last year. (Devan Ridgway/WTIU News)

After nearly a decade of growth, it appears the craft brewing industry is slowing down. According to the Brewers Association, more breweries closed than opened in 2024.

Bart Watson, President and CEO of the Brewers Association, said 2025 will mark a new era for craft brewing.

“Nobody should hear this story and think that a bubble is bursting or that craft brewing is going away,” he said. “But it's not the growth era that we had five or 10 years ago, and that's causing breweries to adapt. They're still around, but they're having to change what they do and how they do it.”

Watch: Hoosier Spirits: Distilling in Indiana | WTIU Original Documentary

Watson said that in a market where consumers have so many choices, breweries must differentiate themselves.

Another challenge facing the industry is changing consumer drinking habits.

“We're going out a little bit less, you know, more to-go and deliveries, some of those post pandemic habits,” he said. “And so breweries are going to have to think of new ways on how they attract people into the brewery, whether that's with a wider variety of beverages, new services, you know, events that drive traffic.”

Nationally, 399 breweries closed in 2024 and 335 opened.

In Indiana, 15 breweries closed, including Switchyard Brewing in Bloomington, and three new breweries opened.

The Brewer’s Association has its annual national conference for craft brewing in Indianapolis in late April. Watson hopes that will drive traffic to breweries.