There will always be a market for beer but it is not unlimited, as local craft beer makers have learned in recent years.
In 2011, Rhode Island was home to just six breweries. By 2024, there were 42, matching similar growth across the nation. But 2024 marked the first time since 2005 that more breweries closed than opened across the nation.
Local brewers blame the pandemic for stalling growth in craft beer sales in what is now a mature local market. But as this week’s cover story reports, there’s still plenty of activity in the competitive market.
“The sky is not falling,” said Nils Weldy, executive director of the nonprofit Rhode Island Brewers Guild. But, he added, “If you’re not innovating and you’re not growing, you’re dying. You’ve got to keep up with your innovative competitors.”
Jeremy Duffy, co-founder of Isle Brewers Guild LLC and managing partner of The Guild beer halls, says customers are increasingly looking for ready-made cocktails and lighter beers. So Duffy, who offers contract brewing, is considering making cocktails, along with distilled spirits and THC-infused drinks.
“We’re going to continue to diversify and innovate,” he said.
The softening market means smaller brewers will again press lawmakers to make it easier for them to distribute their own beer. When the craft beer market was booming, preserving the status quo on distribution was easy for lawmakers to justify.
But next year smaller brewers will be justified in asking lawmakers to remove perceived barriers to competition in a changing market.