Sebago Brewing Company founder Kai Adams during a New England Craft Beer Summit event in March. photo/Tom Major
Party On, Maine
I might have overheard the following conversation at Dewey’s the other day, or maybe I just hallucinated it.
WAYNE: Did you see that article about craft beer tanking? More breweries went out of business last year than new breweries opened.
GARTH: Tim Cebula’s piece in the Press Herald? Great article, but don’t panic. We’ve got about nine thousand breweries left.
WAYNE: Yeah, but it must be tough for the brewers.
GARTH: Dude, are you serious? Two months ago, four hundred and fifty New England brewers showed up in Portland for their annual summit. They had parties at The Thirsty Pig, Novare Res, Oxbow and Sacred Profane. They even had a battle of the bands and a hockey tournament! If craft beer is dying, nobody told them.
WAYNE: OK, but six breweries closed in Maine last year. You’ve gotta feel bad for the folks who lost their jobs.
GARTH: Were you feeling bad for them when you bought that twelve-pack of Goose Island IPA last week?
WAYNE: Dude, it was on sale! And anyway, my occasional lapses in loyalty aren’t the problem. It’s wellness, weight-loss drugs and weed. Sam Calagione, the guy who started Dogfish Head, said so.
GARTH: Wellness? You’re saying drinkers shouldn’t try to be a little healthier? Maine Beer Co. made Post Ride Snack for the bike club that meets there. Bissell Brothers hosts a freakin’ running club.
WAYNE: Granted, but what about Ozempic and Wegovy?
GARTH: Half the people who tried those drugs have already stopped using them. Do you really think meds that take the joy outta eating and drinking are gonna outlast beer?
WAYNE: Well, what about THC? The cannabis market grew 12 percent last year in Maine. Tilray, one of the biggest craft brewers in the U.S., started as a weed company.
GARTH: If cannabis is gonna replace beer, why did Tilray buy a dozen craft beer brands? Granted, they only paid $108 mil, but why buy them at all if beer’s dying?
WAYNE: Fine, craft breweries aren’t facing extinction. But the tide is ebbing, isn’t it?
GARTH: There’s nothing new about craft beer anymore. It’s not enough to just serve mediocre IPA with a fun label and a cool tap handle. Owners need to respect their staff, listen to their customers, and support their tap accounts. They need to earn the loyalty of the folks they depend on.
WAYNE: That sounds easy, but Gen Z is totally sober-curious. Old guys like him [points at the author] might still drink craft beer, but the twenty-somethings are into probiotics. And they’re literally the future.
GARTH: Yeah, well, the good news is that Gen Z-ers like to hang out together as much as anyone else ever did. Breweries have to evolve. They need good food, not just pretzels and popcorn. They need gluten-free and non-alcoholic options. How about protein smoothies and mushroom tea?
WAYNE: Shrooms?
GARTH: No! Well, not yet anyway. I’m talkin’ about Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Cordyceps and Reishi. Functional beverages to enhance your focus, sustain your energy and strengthen your immunity.
WAYNE: Easy enough for a bar, I guess, but how’s a brewer supposed to do it?
GARTH: Ask Robin LaPoint at Geary Brewing. Less than half the product coming out of Maine’s first craft brewery is malt-based. Markets change, Wayne. You adapt or you die.
WAYNE: Fair point, but Geary’s never had much of a tasting room. What about breweries that depend on people drinking there? They can’t all survive on running clubs, can they?
GARTH: No. That’s why Rising Tide has a knitting group. Foundation has Big 10 football and Detroit-style pizza. Hi-Fidelity has local bands and comedy and philosophical symposiums. Oxbow’s been booking rap legends like Pete Rock and Rakim on the reg.
WAYNE: OK, I concede. The industry isn’t doomed. Hey, is that Kai Adams?
GARTH: It is! It is!
WAYNE AND GARTH [both bowing]: We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!
