The craft beer industry is trying to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s a task that’s been complicated by the fact that there are so many brewers competing for the same customers.
As a result, some smaller companies have been swallowed up, while others are trying to hold their own in a tight market.
“Throughout COVID, it’s just been pretty interesting,” says Andrew Silver, founder of Fine Balance Brewery in Kingston, Ont.
“Lots of ups and downs.”
There was nothing unusual about why Silver opened the brewery.
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“(I’ve) always had a passion for craft beer,” he says.
“Did some home brewing, and saw an opportunity to do modern beer in Kingston and sort of bring a new style of beer to the area.”
What was unusual was when he opened it — smack-dab in the middle of a global pandemic that ravaged the bottom lines of countless small businesses across the country.
“Starting in the pandemic was a challenge,” says Silver. “First and foremost because we didn’t really have a taproom, so it forced us to become more of a distribution-oriented company.”
That focus on distribution proved to be good for what was ‘ale’ing the industry, according to Mike Sawchuck, founder of an event called Craft Beer Days, which was held in Kingston over the weekend.
“The whole system kind of changed, and it allowed people to get out beyond the confines of their own community and get their beer right across the province,” says Sawchuck.
It also resulted in a bigger focus on supporting local businesses, like Craft Beer Days.
“Craft Beer Days is a program that I created to really celebrate beer culture in different communities across Ontario,” says Sawchuck.
Silver is happy to be celebrated as well.
“I think there’s a lot more awareness from locals, and also people across the province, to try to buy locally made, high-quality products,” he says.
“I think that trend will continue in the future.”
Despite the pandemic — or, in some cases, because of it — the future for some in this business remains cold and frothy.