Melvin Brewing on independence in Small Breweries amidst COVID-19

People have been repeatedly talking about “independence in the beer industry” for almost a decade now. Very recently the Brewers Association has pushed the case to be handled with urgency. Hence one would assume the brewery industry to be a happy industry.

Why Independence matter?

We spoke to the leaders of the brewing industry, some have been into this profession for years. We took to the experts of Melvin Brewing and he explained to us the entire story around the independence of the brewing industry.

Many have already raised their voice for creating awareness for the independence of the brewing industry. A few years ago the Brewing Association made independence it’s signature initiative and they also encouraged the members to promote it largely. The idea they put across was not to move a given unit of beer, in fact, it was to encourage the buyers to buy beer bottles from independent breweries rather than the corporate breweries.

Once the common people start buying it from the independent breweries, it will be a threat to the corporates. But it is of course a long drawn method and one might not be able to enjoy the fruit of their struggle.

What can be expected?

Expectations are high and it must be high in order to make the independence real. But the process has to begin in order to make a successful life in brewing.

It has been found that 50% of the customers have brought their bottles from the corporate stores but many of them also visited the individual and the independent breweries too. It has been very impressive, people find it very impressive if they see the progress like this, only then the individuals will be able to earn some more money. In the past few years, the breweries have grown significantly now. The idea and the consciousness of the local has spiked over this idea.

COVID- 19 in Buying Local

The COVID- 19 have done that which we never thought would happen to the brewing industry. We never thought that the brewing industry would almost be dead in the pandemic. There has been a lot of prohibition from the pandemic which led to a loss of the breweries.

The loss of drafts as a revenue source, particularly in taprooms and brewpubs, combined with forty million people experiencing employment interruptions scrambled nearly every business model. The breweries have not been asked to shut down but they had to shut down due to the circumstances and the lack of customers. The large companies that usually make a lot of profit otherwise have also seen the drop-in nature of the brewery industry.

The COVID-19 has hit the smaller breweries even more than they actually expected. The best thing among all of it was that the customers have been supportive majorly towards their favorite breweries which were a pleasure to see. The brands or the breweries who have built up with the mind of the people have actually seen this support majorly. Due to the COVID-19, many of the breweries have taken some extra effort like they helped the customers to get their breweries at their doorstep, online shopping, and pick up facility.

Conclusion

I think it is pretty wise to encourage the independent breweries to do a successful business, especially because now when everyone needs to earn money, post-pandemic situations. The corporates have still had enough money over the past few years but now it is the correct time to support the individuals. There are drawbacks for them but everyone deserves a chance, for a change let’s entrust the small breweries.